[dazza]

Originally Posted by Coley

If you are moving ahead with producing these towhooks...good on you for endeavoring.
One thing you might want to do is approach and discuss producing these through an already existing towhook forging/manufacturer.
They would already have the forging equipment in place..and the rest would be the tooling and final process required to reproduce these to shape.
A partnership might prove to be a lucrative approach.
This arrangement would be similar to someone producing an injection molded part.
What you want to pay for is just the part tooling...not the injection molding machine/equipment and there are companies out there that do exactly this for you and all you have to do is (usually) supply the 3D file of the final part and having done it on more than one occasion...I know this first hand.
Whatever you do....don't let people shut you down on a responsible end goal or positive business idea.
Working in engineering I run into this all the time in meetings. There are people that see a new design and spend all their verbal time either running it down or saying no or trying to market and explain why it won't work and why its a bad idea.
Its a personality type......someone who is too conservative and analytical for a successful team environment. These people are not good at progressive, independent or innovative thinking...they are 'maintainers' and administrative people and should be kept well clear of the early concept and idea stage.
These people usually last about 6-7 minutes in my meetings before I eject them.
The people that remain are those that work collectively to push an undefined or an unresolved idea into something that is useful and profitable.
My two bits.
All Good
Coley

So I guess it would be end of meeting if you were to eject the individual with a poor idea? Six to seven minutes seems hardly enough time for a thorough discussion before coming to a decision to eject a person. Definitely a team I don't want to be on.