Out in the Wild
Being a few months into the project, and having reached something I am satisfied with, I thought it was about time I had someone else see this design. The first person was, of course, my benevolent mother. Always supportive, she and my other close friends encouraged me to put my design Out in the Wild.
At this stage of the design process, I find it super important to seek outside opinions. It’s so easy to get caught up in your own designs and lose sight of the initial objective. Even though explaining your entire project to someone unfamiliar with it will be frustrating, seeing from what your future customers’ or investors’ point of view may be is crucial.
Caption: My Printables profile page: www.printables.com/@TechTastic
Currently, my primary creative outlet is on Printables. Pre-release, I polished up the model for printing and tested tolerances, print orientation, and the best print settings. More importantly for the protractor, I created a measuring scale in Adobe Illustrator. It seemed to me that the easiest way to imprint a precise scale onto a 3D printed object is by printing it out on paper and then gluing it to the 3D print.
Another step I took before publishing was writing a set of clear instructions detailing printing and assembly. Then a few nice photos for the cover, plus a short description, and we are ready to publish! Many underestimate the amount of work it takes to take something that you are designing for fun and then turning it into something presentable and printable to be shown online. Remember to leave yourself enough time to create all the sides necessary in making the main dish shine!
Caption: Detailed instruction to assembling the protractor.
Engineering and design are worlds of constant ups and downs. You never know how well a new design or product will be received, and there’s always a slight sense of unease. Having followed my journey up until now, I hope you’re at least intrigued by the novelty of what I’ve decided to call the ZeroPivot Protractor. If you are, come support me so you can make one of these for yourself!
Update: 2025-5-2
The following entry merely reflects my own path through the legal jungle. I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t legal advice. If you need that, go find someone with a law degree and a billable hour rate.
It is always great fun looking back at this record and finding my past self so naive and trusting. Current me is looking into all the legal side of things, and the one piece of advice I would like to tell my past self is the following—do not share a design that you have created yourself with the outside world if you have the intent to patent it in the future.
The protractor is a completely new redesign, eligible and even suitable for a patent, yet the naivety of sharing the design online has ruined that opportunity. Dear reader, if you stand where I stand currently, don’t feel too upset. As young and innovative designers, your “first great design” is not synonymous with your “only great design”. Sharing an early concept like I did with a welcoming online community has its own benefits as well; it puts yourself out there and allows others to get to know you.
So, what are you waiting for? Wipe away your tinge of regret and go design some great things!