Building a mp3 player (not hyped)

[Tray]

Hey guys, does anyone know anything about manufacturing electronics?

Sure, there are a 1001 mp3 players already and there probably wouldn't be another iPod. I do however have a couple of features backed up with an excellent marketing plan.

Prospects aside, I am now considering between making them myself and sell out later, or pitch the idea straight to an electronic giant. The roadblock to BOTH these ideas however, is making the player itself.

Being a designer by trade, I'm totally clueless about the cost and process to manufacturing a mp3 player. I'm thinking it'll go something like this: Find Material - Get a China electronic contractor - negotiate a deal - Tool the machines.

What if I just want 1 - 10 working prototypes? Does anyone know how I can do limited run? I'm currently getting my colleague to do a 3D sketch but I feel that having a sample would aid my presentation.

[Tray]

Actually now that I think about it, the prototype doesn't have to be a working one with the electrical components. Anyone know anything about creating the "shell" only can offer me your input as well, thanks.

[Strong Eagle]

I'd use 3D Autocad to create a 3 dimensional mockup of the player you propose... you can make extremely lifelike looking objects in Autocad and can blow up various features like controls and connections.

Like you say, there are a 1000 MP3 players out there so you really do need some distinguishing features to make it stand out, and if I were marketing it to a firm, I'd focus more on features and market than cost.

All MP3 players are roughly the same, and roughly the same cost. As a rule of thumb, you can expect that manufacturing costs will be about one fifth of the retail price. So, for an MP3 player that costs $100, it costs about $20 to make.

Unless you've got some new component that adds substantially to the cost, then yours will cost about the same.

[Tray]

Strong Eagle, thanks for the input.

Yes, I mentioned that a 3D render is on the way, however I feel that having a tangible model would aid my presentation either to Investors (if I'm doing it on my own) or Corporations (if I'm selling the design).

Thanks for giving me an idea of the industry margin, my main concern at the moment however, is the cost of producing a sample run. Do you have any idea how I should go about doing that?

[Scorpion]

....

All MP3 players are roughly the same, and roughly the same cost. As a rule of thumb, you can expect that manufacturing costs will be about one fifth of the retail price. So, for an MP3 player that costs $100, it costs about $20 to make.
..

Might be varying from where the production base is located at, like china, malasiya or singapore itself. labour an other cost might shoot up that would cut down the margin !!

[Stoven]

Tray,

All the responses so far are only relevant to production. What matters to you is prototyping. Since your mp3 player consists of Mechanical Design, Electronics Design and Software Design I do not recommend prototyping since it will cost thousands of dollars.

What I would recommend is creating nice photo-renderings of your product and having a rapid prototype of your design. I would take the 3D CAD model of your product and render it using Rhino, Alias or photoworks.

There are many different types of rapid prototyping. I use an FDM machine that builds the model out of ABS plastic. It doesn't look that nice but gives you the general size and shape. The prototyping method I would recommend is using a Zcorp machine(www.zcorp.com). It is a 3D printer that uses regular printheads to solidify a starch material. The cool thing is that it can build 3D models in color.

If you are still set on prototyping, then I would recommend doing internet research looking into existing Mp3 manufacturers in China. globalsources.com or alibaba.com are good sources for finding almost anything in China.

Steve

- I thought your post sounded familiar, I see you posted the same thing on productdesignforums.com. Another site for product design / Industrial design is core77.com. If you are looking for design in Singapore or Asia you should check out www.idasia.org