[curt]

Take a look a my manufacturing guide, if you have more questions about a specific idea I'd be happy to vet it for you. If it's viable I'll tell you how to progress.

If you're smart you can develop a prototype for far less than you would think.When I was actively taking products from concept through production I could do it for under $10,000.

But if you're talking chip set design that's in a whole new category. It really makes no sense to get that in detail now a days since it's really hard to achieve scale and bring the costs down. Off the shelf components are much cheaper, you would be amazing at how cheaply you can buy parts with a little creativity and negotiation skills. If you want to do chip set design, you need to first find a company that needs the chip, design it, and then establish a relationship with a fab and have a minimum order in hand. It's not that hard once you learn how to handle and manage the channel.

It's a very broad area, can't really help you without more details on the specific area you are thinking about.

As an aside, I've moved from hardware to web/mobile software (taught myself iOS, php, and rails) because I got tired of dealing with all the new regulations and hurdles. So be warned before starting a project.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1840896

[dkersten]

Thanks!! I missed your post the last time. This will be extremely useful as I have just started prototyping an electronics product I hope to get released soon and your I think links will nicely fit my needs.

Can you comment on the regulations you're talking about as I'd like to prepare for future hurdles as best as I can. I'm guessing you mean compliance with FCC regulations and such?

For the OP: I have spent about €400 on parts for building two prototype units. Most of the parts were ordered on Mouser and with a few random bits and pieces on ebay. Of course, I'm not building processors or anything like that, but rather consumer (EDIT: well, not really consumer, more like specialized electronics.. I don't expect to ever sell these in an average electronics store) electronic devices (can't release details just yet, as I am in talks with potential investors). Curts links may prove extremely useful here.

[curt]

Make sure while you are prototyping to keep production in mind. If you design for production from the start things get a lot easier as you progress through development to production. That was one of the reasons I can go from concept to production in a week, I would always design for mass production from day one.

Tip: also keep your design as flexible (unconstrained) as possible.

I was doing products targeted towards kids, when Mattel had the lead paint problem the government issued new regulations written by the lobbyists for Mattel. Instead of increasing safety in any meaningful way they just limited any competition by small companies by increased compliance and testing costs drastically. Congress is contemplating a number of other laws that will make it even more of a pain in the ass.

[dkersten]

Thank you, your advice is very much appreciated.