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China has a terrible reputation when it comes to intellectual property theft and in all fairness much of it is well founded. Copies of almost everything you can imagine from iphones to bottled water are sold all over the place. So with that in mind should you even trust a Chinese supplier with your idea and what steps can you then take to ensure your property is well guarded against IP theft?
First of all we should address the issue of IP in China, who it affects and look at just how large an impact it actually has. I’m not going to bother with statistics as they can be readily found everywhere on the internet but I will say that the statistics do highlight just how massive a problem IP theft is in China. Some of the major corporations with interests in China view it as a very serious threat indeed and apply massive pressure on the Chinese government to better enforce the WTO agreement they signed upon gaining membership in 2001. In reaction to global pressure the Chinese government is taking a more hard-line stance against the problem but for some it is still just too little. IP theft in China for many seems like an unfortunate but unavoidable consequence of the cheaper costs involved with producing and manufacturing here.
The problem really is not one of government non-enforcement, but one of cultural apathy. This is where business leaders in China come in, they understand that the reputation China has for IP theft has a negative impact on investment and collaboration with western companies. With this in mind a growing number of companies are taking the matter very seriously and instigating rigorous checks and controls. Sometimes as with the case of the Chinese man who took his own life recently, these may seem a little harsh.
In terms of what you can do to protect your IP in China, the most important thing is to find a good reliable company, one willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement, one with transparent management systems and a dedication to their customers rather than their wallets. There are companies like that out there, and it’s worth the extra effort to find one. IP theft is not an unavoidable cost of working in China.
Many of you may have heard of the sad case of a young Chinese man who commited suicide after misplacing one of 16 4th generation iPhones in his care. This case is a terrible example of the importance of protecting intellectual property and ideas when working with prototypes. The treatment of the man following his admission is still under investigation so I will refrain from comment but that the man felt like taking his own life is a truely upsetting consequence of the severity with which these things are looked upon. When working with people and companies with original ideas and inventions ensuring their ideas are protected from intellectual property theft is one of the most important roles we as prototypers play.
The environment is a very important concern in everyones lives. Now more than ever people, companies and governments must realise that something must be done to change our present wasteful, neglectful and damaging practices.
At Bole we are commited to reducing our global footprint at every turn. We are aiming to become a leading company in China by setting an example others can follow. One of the biggest objections companies have against implementing environmental protction policies is the percieved costs involved. This is a mistake, if you look at it logically reducing waste at all levels of your production processes, implementing energy saving policys and education staff on reducing the harmful effect on the environment will save you money rather than costing you it.
This is why there should be no objection to companies implementing these and other measures to ensure they are doing their utmost to reduce their global footprints.
We at Bole are 100% dedicated to protecting the enviroment as much as possible, so you can rest assured by working with us you are working with a company who cares about the world around us. There is a further benefit of our waste reduction policies for our customers, the savings we make through better management can be passed on to you.
There are several advantages to producing a prototype of your product before going on to production. The first and most obvious is that a having prototype allows you to see the actual product assembled. It allows you to check the design, to touch it and see how the whole thing fits together. If there are any problems or design flaws you can then make the changes you require.
It allows you to see the finished product, it’s structure, design and colours. It allows you to develop an impression of the product that 2D and 3D drawings no matter how accurate can never provide.
Prototypes allow you to test the structure and function. Imagine if you spend all the money it costs to produce a mold and start production of your product without first having a prototype produced only to find that there is some fatal flaw and the whole project was for nothing. Prototypes allow you to offset this financial risk. Although they may sometimes seem an expensive luxury in the long run a prototype could save you a lot more money.
Prototypes are also a useful tool for generating interest and investment in your idea. A lot of companies will not even entertain you without a prototype. If you have something to show potential investors, something tangible, a prototype they are much more likely to be excited about your product and invest. If you only have a few drawings scribled however neatly and accurately on a piece of paper you are selling yourself short, imagine the impact you could have with a fully functional prototype.
CAD Design We offer a fully comprehensive design service allowing us to take your vision all the way from conception to production. If you have an idea for a product, part, game or whatever you want to create you can discuss this with our dedicated design team. Our highly skilled and qualified designers can take your idea and bring it to life with a fully rendered 3D CAD design. At this stage you can see a 3D representation of your idea allowing you to better visualize the finished product and make any changes you desire prior to prototyping and manufacture.
CNC At Bole we have over 30 industry leading CNC machines. These top quality machines work by processing 3D CAD data. CNC can be used to produce machined parts and prototypes very quickly, at a high production rate and to a high degree of accuracy. CNC machines are able to work with a great many different materials including; plastics (ABS, Polyurethane, and Polypropylene etc.), metals (Copper, Aluminium etc) wood and other specialist materials. There are a number of benefits to using CNC from the wide variety of materials available, the strength and accuracy of the finished product, the materials used are strong and durable therefore very good for testing and CNC processing process is relatively cheap. We are able to offer some of the highest quality CNC machined products at very competitive prices. Our CNC machines have a maximum size capacity of 1800mm×900mm×450mm per item.
SLA is a rapid prototyping process that creates a model from 3D data using a process known as stereolithogrphy. The machine builds parts one layer at a time using a highly accurate UV laser to solidify one layer of photosensitive resin at a time. SLA machines apply layer thickness so precisely the tolerance can be controlled to ±0.05mm. Once all layers of the part are complete it is baked in a UV oven to be cured. Our SLA machines utilise the most advanced laser technologies producing parts with high accuracy and an excellent surface finish. The benefits of using SLA are; the process is extremely accurate, SLA can be used to create very complex and it is a very quick process. The machines can process maximum size 450mmx450mmx350mm per item. The most common material we use is a photosensitive resin which when cured is very similar to ABS. We can use other materials dependent on customers requirements.
SLS is another form of rapid prototyping which works in a very similar manner to SLA but uses a powder material instead of a resin. Working from a 3D drawing of the part to be produced the machine builds layers using a laser which selectively fusies together the plastic powder material a layer at a time until the part is complete. Benefits of SLS are similar those of SLA, i.e. it creates accurately very complex parts in a short time. The machines can process maximum size 300mmx3000mmx600mm
Vacuum Casting / RTV Silicon Mould This process is used to produce a short production run or duplicate products. Using the part produced via CNC, SLA or SLS as a master mold to produce a silicon rubber mold. This silicon rubber mold is used in via vacuum casting to produce acurate duplicates of the original products. RTV equipment has several advantages including high production speeds, high levels of accuracy (including the surface finish) and much lower costs. We are able to duplicate the product in a range of different materials, PU, PP, PC, ABS etc. We have 4 Vacuum Machines with a maximum size of 1000mmx800mmx800mm
Hand Sculpture IN THIS AREA WE ARE NUMBER 1! Our expert craftsmen have over 10 years of dedicated sculpture and model making experience. When our customers require parts which due to their complexity simply cannot be machined such as certain toys and models, that is where our crafts people take over. They are highly trained, skilled and and experienced in all manner of model making and can replicate amazingly accurately from customer drawings.
Surface Finishing To give all products a very professional and realistic finish we provide skilled painting (hand, spray, silk) and finishing services as per the requirements of our customers. We have an anti-dust spray rooms, spray paint booths, ovens and UV machines to complete the various types of professional finish. We can also provide metal plating, anodizing and apply many different patterns to models. Master Tooling Manufacture
Bole Dongguan RP & M co.ltd in Dongguan, China is an industry leading prototype design, manufacture and molding company. Bole are at the forefront of 3D printing and prototyping, we are highly experienced, technologically adroit and dedicated to quality and great customer service. Our comprehensive service and extremely competitive prices are available in the following areas;
CAD design/ 3D drawing/ Prototype manufacture (CNC, SLA, SLS, Vacuum casting)/ Hand modeling
Our previous clients have included both large corporations and small businesses as well as individuals with inspirational ideas. We have a massive range of experience and have produced prototype products for everything you could imagine, such as mobile phones, kitchen utensils, medical devices, toys, automobile parts, all manner of electronic parts and devices and lots more.
Quality and innovation aside customer service is our main concern. We believe that in order to develop a long and fruitful working relationship for both parties it is imperative that we offer our customers the best possible level of service and consideration. We will ensure that you are kept informed throughout the entire process allowing you to be as involved as you wish and ensuring your experience with us is an excellent one.
We are very proud of the work we have done in the past and invite you to visit our website www.bolesolutions .com to view some examples of what we have done in the past and learn a little more about our company.
