Prototype Building / Development

Prototype building or development might be done by yourself or your company, or you may need the help of another company or organisation. Costs for this stage of the commercialisation process can vary greatly, as can length of time to complete development. In some cases a virtual prototype or basic working model can be sufficient to gauge interest from potential licensees or the market; a licensee might want to tailor your idea to their own product portfolio so previous extensive prototyping work might be wasted. Conversely it may be necessary for a fully working prototype to be built. Prototyping can be regarded as a stage on its own, or integral to a 'deal' with another company which might eventually take the product to market themselves under a licensing arrangement (please see next section).

There are a number of organisations which help with initial prototyping, some of these are;

Stopford Workshop Ltd
Stopford Workshop is based in Stockport and designs and builds medical and scientific instrumentation. The Workshop may also be able to help with other electronic devices. Barry Gleave is the main contact for the Workshop, and information can be found on the company website.

The Centre for Virtual Environments
The Centre for Virtual Environments has arisen from Salford University, and offers comprehensive virtual and rapid prototyping service for a fee. The Centre also works with clients to produce interactive powerpoint presentations to demonstrate product capabilities. Linda Piper is the main contact for the Centre, and the website has more information.

Staffordshire Virtual Prototyping Service
Staffordshire University offers an extensive virtual and rapid prototyping service for a fee, and may be able to help with design elements of your idea. The main contact for the service is Stuart Brown, and more information can be found on the website for the service.