Edison Inventors Association, Inc

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Tom Kershaw has done a very informative and well done video on creating  displays for the EIA display case at the Estates.

It behooves the inventor to do this step well, as 240,000 visitors come through those doors each day.

Here is a link to Tom’s video.

Also, a page link on this site.

A big THANK YOU to Tom!

Jeff Abbott of Kinetic Thoughts LLC

An interesting article about innovation. Can large companies actually still innovate?

A look at an incubator in Cincinnati that is bringing jobs and innovation back to the Queen City while pondering that very question.

Some of the ways an individual inventor can outgun a large company is his diversity, ability to adapt, and sheer tenacity to make things happen. Why? Because at the end of the day, he or she has the motivation to make their product a reality, where as a manager in a large corporation is about keeping their job and doing a satisfactory job.

Jeff Abbott from Kinetic Thoughts LLC.

Have you ever wanted to make some small plastic part for your invention, but didn’t have the right tool or know-how? Ever needed that weird replacement piece you cannot get at the hardware store, so you end up buying a new item? Ever think about the costs of not having such items over the years? Consider not only the replacement costs, but missed opportunity costs as well, especially if you are an inventor.

Let me introduce you to the MakerBot. From MakerBot Industries, their Thing-O-Matic comes with the following:

* Makerbot StepStruder™ MK6 Plus Complete (standard with 0.4mm teflon-coated nozzle)
* MakerBot Automated Build Platform v.2.0
* The lasercut parts to assemble a Thing-O-Matic CNC machine.
* 3 x NEMA 17 motors
* 1 High Torque NEMA 17
* The hardware to assemble it.
* Belts and pulleys
* Smooth Rods and Drive system components
* Pre-assembled 4th Generation Electronics
* a USB cable to talk to it
* cat5e and rainbow cables to wire things up
* a standard ATX power supply
* a tools kit with all the hex keys, wrenches, and other bits you need to construct it.
* SD card to buffer your prints
* 1lb of 3mm MakerBot ABS Plastic to print with

Although a price tag of $1299 may seem steep, think of all the time and money you save while considering the potential creativity and usefulness.

Check out this video (I love the reference to Edison):

~Jeffrey Abbott of Kinetic Thoughts LLC

One of the things that an inventor may want to know about is the CNC machine. The CNC (computerized numerical control) has become an easy tool for prototyping parts, and doing some light manufacturing. Also, the idea of “personal” CNC has recently evolved with the use of some opensource software known as the Enhanced Machine Controller (EMC). You can read more about CNC here on wikipedia.

That said, a small company LumenLab has created fairly inexpensive kits for small CNC robots ranging in price from $699 to $1799 depending on the work area size.  In comparison, used CNC machines from manufacturing are $20,000 and up. The devices from LumenLab, depending on the attachment, will:

• Mill wood
• Mill metal
• Engrave
• Mill PCBs
• Print on fabric
• Pick-and-place
• Draw and plot
• 3D printing
• Rotary 4-axis milling

All this with a tolerance of up to .001″. The machines come in kit or assembled form.

If you are looking for DYI prototyping of your inventions, take a look at LumenLab. They have other resources about GCoding and EMC/EMC2. The Google Sketchup Tool will export your drawings to gCode CNC code with the right plugin. Since there are many plugins that do this, it is suggested you find a couple and test them out for the one you like. Note: gCode is the programming used by the CNC robot to make your part.

~Jeffrey Abbott

The Edison Inventors Association Display Cabinet, formerly on display in the Edison-Ford Estates Museum is available for a donation of $1500. Own a piece of history! This hardwood and glass, triangular display cabinet has displayed many inventors creative endeavors over the years.

It would be perfect for display in a jewelery shop, antique store, or perfect in a home as an upscale curio cabinet. Let the inventive and entreprenaural spirit of Edison Inventors Association be a part of your business or home.

If you are interested in donating to obtain the cabinet, please contact:

President – Joseph Gross
Phone: (239) 292-0819
e-mail: grossrdlab@yahoo.com

We now accept PayPal for Membership dues. This means you can pay with a credit card (even if you don’t have a PayPal account). Check out the membership page.

Please help us maintain the high quality of the organization and its goal of educating inventors by renewing your membership!

Thank you!

As part of a series of blog posts about Creative Problem Solving (a tool that everyone, not just inventors, can use) here is a major component called Creative Thinking.

A major crux of the creative thinking is the ability to diverge (an implementation of this is brainstorming) and then take those ideas and converge for the outcome you were hoping to achieve (granted this is only a part of the process, but you will see these are the “nuts and bolts” of the overall process).

That said, here are the rules for each:

Divergent Thinking Rules

• Defer Judgment
• Strive for quantity
• Seek wild ideas
• Build on other’s ideas

Convergent Thinking Rules

• Be affirmative
• Be deliberate
• Check objectives
• Improve ideas
• Consider novelty

Remember to expand out when diverging (think “Expanding your mind”) and to then look for the hit, highlight, “sparkle” when converging.

Stay inventive and be creative,

~Jeffrey Abbott