For those, of you who have followed this site and known it as a royalty-based platform we have changed to a cost-plus basis as the royalty system did not really work for us.
However, for any manufacturer who wants to talk seriously about a Royalty deal, we would be interested if the price and assurances were right.
Design Costs,The costs shown on each design page is the price for exclusive use and ownership of that particular rifle design, this will include a 3-dimensional model of the assembly plus 3-dimensional models of each part along with a set of 2- dimensional drawings as required.
Details of the materials and finishes required will be included on each drawing. Once purchased this rifle design will not be offered to anyone else to ensure exclusivity. However, GET-Designs reserve the right to use some of the technology and certain component parts in other rifle designs, as and when required.
Rome, was not built in a day, and this level of design takes a great many hours to perfect. Usually, a design will be produced then it will be interrogated and redesigned several times, before various items are made and tested in the workshop over a period of several months or more depending upon the complexity of the product being designed. During this process the design will be simplified as much as possible and individual component parts modified to suit the most economical manufacturing methods. When Valves are involved the number of seals will be considered with a view to keeping them to the absolute minimum and all possible leak paths checked.
The fact, that I am wanting to retire has influenced me to use the 1994 hourly rate of £30 per hour as a basis to calculate the nominal price for each design and then it has been rounded to the nearest 5K. This must provide the purchaser with excellent value for money because our rate today is more than twice that. The act of spending the last 30 years, concentrating on the design and development of a wide range of air weapons and Crossbows, has enabled us to produce designs, considerably cheaper than the costs that would otherwise be incurred by manufacturers trying to do their own in-house development.
However, designs such as the single stroke pneumatic and twin piston rifles have taken a considerable number of hours and would most likely break other companies if they had tried to do it. In some cases, our prices do not represent the total number of hours incurred, if the technology gained from a specific development has enabled other designs to be produced. In which case the costs have been shared between each version.
The continuation, of this site is assured by the fact, we have an excellent and much younger Designer joining us, who will be producing new and exciting designs as well as looking after and maintaining the legacy contained within the products that have been developed over the last 30 years.
Optional Additional Costs, Whilst any customer is welcome to pay for a design and make or modify it, as they see fit, we do offer the following services.
Tailored Design, If the design on offer is not precisely what is required, then we are prepared to alter or amend it as necessary but there will be a cost for this. However, a quote will be provided before undertaking work of this kind and we are usually able to negotiate a price acceptable to both parties.
If our assistance, is required after the first prototypes have been satisfactorily produced, then we also offer the following support packages.
First Year Support package, Unlike, many design houses, we at GET-Designs when creating a component, consider the manufacturing process that will be required to make it precisely and economically. Therefore, if anyone that purchases one of our designs would like us to stay on board and assist with the pre-production process then for a fee, we are prepared to do so. For example, since every component part influences every other and if for any reason, the new owner of the design wants to change some thing in some way, then it would be better to run the idea by us first, to ensure that any consequential adjustments to the overall design are made as required. This can save both time and money in the long run. Plus, we will always be on the end of a phone or available by email to answer any ongoing technical questions that might arise. For example, most Air Weapon Markets have their own power level requirements and specifications, this is another area for which our expertise may be required. IE advising on how best to meet those requirements. We do not advise on what specifications are required for each market as that is the responsibility of the product seller.
However, in the event that any purchaser of one of our designs decide not to purchase the support package but then run into difficulties for which they need our help, we will always be here to assist for a negotiated fee.
Ongoing Development package, In, todays ever changing market it appears necessary to update a product approximately every two years.
Therefore, for an agreed fee, we will work alongside the owner of the design to produce an updated version to be available as and when they need it.
Production of a Prototype Air Rifle.
In the past, we have usually produced prototypes of a design for a customer but whilst our prototypes have always worked as per specification the first ones produced by the customer have often fallen short of expectations. This is usually due to different manufacturing techniques being used, a difference in materials or the misunderstanding of how a certain set of components were supposed to work together.
For this reason, to reduce costs and production development time; we now suggest that a company purchasing a design should produce at least three prototypes and send one of them to us for our evaluation and testing. By working with that prototype, we should be able to advise on what if anything needs to be done to make it work properly. Where we have been asked to evaluate a prototype, we usually keep it for future reference. Whilst evaluation of the first prototype is included within the initial purchase price, if we are required to re-evaluate further versions then we reserve the right to charge for doing so.
If we are required to produce a prototype, for one of our fairly standard type rifles, it will usually take 3 months and cost around £10,000 whereas when we have worked in conjunction with large manufacturers development teams, we have managed to do it, very much quicker. But the costs are usually about the same or more.
However, production of prototypes, for a design such as one of our twin piston rifles, would cost considerably more.
Regarding Rifle Names, Unless otherwise stated, most of our rifles have a name which is used only to distinguish them within our system. I find that when designing a rifle, quite often a name will begin to feature in its association with its intended purpose and when it does, it somehow seams to help with the design process. Therefore, upon purchasing a design the company acquiring it, is welcome to use the name subject to third-party trademark rights and at its own risk.
Alternatively, a different name could be chosen and used subject to all the usual restrictions that would apply to it.
Intellectual property,
All our Designs are original and therefore many of them are or have features that may qualify for Patent or similar protection. However, obtaining patents can be an expensive and time consuming, exercise and should only be considered after seeking professional advice. For this reason we work closely with an excellent Patent Attorney, Richard Halstead richard@richardrhalstead.co.uk to advise on the intellectual property rights available for our products, although it should be noted, that we leave it up to our customers to seek what protection they feel is commercially worthwhile for designs purchased from us, in which case GET-Designs will assist in signing such things as inventorship declarations for no extra charge.
However, all other costs with respect to obtaining such patent or other intellectual protection must be met by the purchaser of the design.
Limit of Liability.
Whilst GET-Designs, guarantee that our designs will work if made precisely to specification using high quality materials, we accept no liability for the products made using them, because we have no control over manufacturing processes and materials used during manufacture and the use or type of market for which a product is being sold. It is up to the Manufacturer and supplier to test the product being made to ensure that it is both safe, legal for the intended market and fit for the purpose for which it is being used.