For prototyping I used an off the shelf model, like all my doggy designs , "I have improved it", and working closely off the original, I have drafted a clone in CAD, this way i can change things enough to get over the copy write hook.
I bought these off the shelf, gutted them and re-wired , I would ideally like to resell them as modded device and in fact this way would prove simplest & cheapest again closer to that 40$ mark, but wouldn't that have similar issues which bring up topics like "royalties" ????
... besides that problem I would have no problem using the pre made model I found, since the originality is in the guts.
yes, some of the shape is functional and critical and needs to be somewhat aesthetically pleasing, I dont think blow molding will work for me, it looks like it needs it die too. .. and a thicker shell .. but i did wonder how they made bottles and such
Imagine like a tv remote, it needs to be enough of a rectangle to fit the hand, but can be different from others, and so far using that type of plastic enclosure too.
Plus there are actually several parts to mine, such as lid, cover, body, base, -- not all 90deg not all perfect squares/circles.. ie cones and pyramid shapes there too!
Or is it that you just need to make it a different shape from an existing product? "i mostly just fear getting sued using the original!"