Tips for New Inventors: Making Blueprints

Tips For New Inventors: Making BlueprintsiComing up with an invention or product in your head is quite easy, but going from mere thoughts to blueprints can be a challenge for newbies. And beyond that, the patent application process is nerve-wracking, even with help from an invention company. 

When applying for funding or registering a patent, you will need to include a blueprint of your invention. While you can spend money for a professional to do the hard work for you, it is important to get the hang of doing it yourself.

Sketching Skills

The barebones way to get a blueprint planned out is to use a pencil and a sketching pad. Since this is supposed to be the first draft, let your idea guide you into a drawing, no matter how poor it looks at first. The point is to take a vision and put it on paper, so the editing process can come later.

If you have trouble sketching legibly, it is only a matter of practice. You can try to replicate others’ sketches or drawings to get the hang of using a pencil.

Once you have a satisfactory final draft of a sketch, trace over it with ink so that it will last long-term.

Software-generated Blueprint

While a hand-drawn blueprint will work and holds to classic inventors, you can’t match the quality of something made in CAD. If you work with an invention professional to help with blueprint creation, they will probably use AutoCAD, but Blender and other software suites are also available.

2D drawings are doable in digital form and are suitable for a handful of invention types. For example, mechanical engineers find use in the to make precise drawings, along with detailed dimensions and specifying materials.

Otherwise, you will need to develop skills to produce 3D imaging to get more in-depth end products.

The 3D model will have a three-dimensional view, meaning it can be visualized from any orientation. If you load it into the right software, you can move around the camera angle and see a better representation of what it would look like with a live product.

3D CAD models also help detail the materials and how they are put together. While the 2D blueprint should have more technical specifications, this would help one visualize how it would be put together.

Some software suites also allow for visualizations, albeit with varying levels of realism.

Schematics

If your invention involves PCB in some way, you probably will also need electronic schematics. This would use a 2D blueprint concept, and there are also types of software used to produce these.

Such schematics will include voltages, connections, and components used on the board. You may need copies of schematics from manufacturers if you plan on using pre-made boards within your invention product.

If the PCB is just a small part of the project, you will have to define how it fits into the rest of the blueprints, even if it seems relatively small. You may need to hire an electronic engineer for this part, especially if it involves some technical details that need to be defined.

Inventor Log Book

It would be a good idea to carry around a diary and jotting down progression in your invention from the start. This would allow you to keep in-depth information about your invention project, as well as aid you during the blueprinting process.

Another important reason to keep around a logbook is so you have proof that you went into the research & development before, during and after creating a blueprint. This would be highly valuable for filing patents in a competitive market, where someone might race to the same invention registration.