Let’s see if we can get back to the problem I was discussing in my Aug. 3 postings.I was lamenting not being able to meet a customers need for a better multioutlet cable because of the need to order in huge lots and to wait months for design and manufacturing processes to play out.

The customer had a real need and the solution to his problem would have given the world a better mouse trap, but, because the product, Electratrac multioutlet cables, was sourced in China, there was no practical way to get him what he needed.

Why not just build the product on a custom basis, using off-the-shelf parts? The unit cost, when factoring much more expensive US based labor, would be higher, but there would not be a large minimum order, there would be no complicated design and tooling costs, and the time line for getting the product into the users hands would be cut by months.

Here is my idea on making that better moustrap.

Neutrik now makes a line and panel mount connector, similar to their extremely popular Speakon connector system that that is intended for low to moderate amperage AC power distribution. It is called “Powercon” and it is a really well designed connector package.

Powercon is designed so that both the line mount and the panel mount connectors are insulated and shielded in a manner that insures that there are never any exposed electrical connections. It is safe, simple to use, and has a well made twist lock locking mechanism that keeps it secure. It would be great for a multioutlet cable design, based on this diagram.
Using this concept, it would be possible to essentially make up a cable of any number of outlet boxes, spaced at whatever interval you chose. You could have outlet boxes with single, dual or quad outlets and you could have multiple choices of cables to connect the boxes.

There are two problems that could be easily managed by someone with a little electrical savvy, but they could really cause a lot of trouble if used by someone who didn’t understand some basics regarding electrical power distribution.1. Since the voltage delivered by your cable drops over distance, you would need to take care not to extend your cable too far. Larger gauge cable allows more proper current (voltage) to be delivered over greater distances, but the larger the cable gauge the greater the weight-and the cost. As long as you were doing something like tent lighting, a reasonable voltage drop over distance would be acceptable, but if you were using the cable to power multiple electronic devices or computer work stations, voltage drop would really cause a lot of problems.

2. The second, and potentially much more important problem, would be the impact that overloading the cable (too many devices drawing too much current) would cause. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where a fire danger was created or, in a really extreme case, the jacket of the cable actually melted.

It appears that the item that is missing from my design is some sort of inline circuit breaker that would see the entire load on the cable system, regardless of how many outlet boxes or lengths of intermediate able were used.

This would not solve the problem of voltage drop, but at least the safety issue would be addressed.

There are still a couple of more pretty good sized impediments to getting this better mousetrap to market. I’ll discuss them next time.
GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords, OnStage Stand mic stands, and lots of other useful production supplies.

My thoughts regarding solving the lead time for modifying an imported product (Electratrac Multioutle Cables) were quickly sidetracked by a much more pressing problem related to extension cord manufacturing. That problem is the volatility in copper prices.We received notification that one of our primary extension cord suppliers was raising prices almost 25%. They gave us no warning, so we had no opportunity to stock up at the old price.

GoodBuyGuys.com, as a seller of expendables, is in the marketplace with everybody else when it comes to dealing with the upheaval in commodity prices.

Even though we are a very small business, the makers of our products must compete with some of the largest purchasers in the world when its time to buy raw materials for making the products we sell.

We have seen multiple price increases over the last 18 months on most of our tape products because tape adhesives use products derived from petroleum. One way or the other, $3.00 gasoline is going to be reflected in the price of gaffers tape. Without question, war in the middle east and disruption in the flow of oil from Alaska is going to lead to another round of price increases.

Dealing with the cost of copper is much more difficult to predict. Demand for this metal hit historic highs in November of 2005, primarily based on demand from China. Since our extension cords are made in China, these price increases are what now impact the cables we sell, almost 9 months later. It takes a long time for this price volatility to work its way through the supply chain. We face the double challenge of waiting for the product required to get inventory that is created by shipping from Asia

When a distributor of extension cords in North Carolina has to compete with a country that is building power plants at a dizzying rate, guess who is going to lose?

We are hopeful that copper prices will stabilize, as they are not driven as much by middle east instability and short term interruptions in the delivery system.

If prices decrease in the future, you can be sure that pricing on our extension cords will follow.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords, OnStage Stand mic stands, and lots of other useful production supplies.

I got an interesting call today from a new customer and it started me on problem solving quest that I can’t finish. Maybe someone who drops by here can help.
This customer had ordered some of our Electratrac multi-outlet extension cords and was interested in getting some more. The problem came from the fact that the outlet spacing that his project required was different than those on the standard Electratrac 50 foot 12 gauge cable. He was a display designer for a museum and found the Electratrac product to be useful for putting together temporary displays.
This guy was familiar with the original design process and patenting of the first Electratrac product so we had a lengthy discussion about how hard it was to get good design to market.

The problem was this:
The manufacturer was happy to consider a custom size and custom outlet spacing, but their first question to me, the distributor, was “how many containers do you want?”. This great product, conceived by an American farmer and distributed from a warehouse in Chicago, is made in China. This meant that not only would there be several months of lag time while submitting new (even simple) design information, making new tooling (necessary since the Electratrac outlets and ends are molded on) and the actually manufacturing and ocean shipping of the product. This meant that the American distributor couldn’t even consider taking on my customers problem unless they had a purchase commitment for thousands of cables. Our customer needed six.

So where am I going with this? The real dilemma that I faced was how to combine a real customer’s need with an opportunity to innovate. Certainly, creating a multi-outlet extension cord with a different length and outlet spacing barely qualifies as innovation. Its more like some form of re-inventing the wheel. The work of conceiving and designing the product has been done. How can we simply adapt it to make it useful for more applications without having to go through the incredibly complicated, expensive and time consuming process that would be required to make exactly what our customer needs-to say nothing about what to do with the other 2494 cables that Electratrac would have to import and we would have to commit to buy-remember the “how many container lots do you need” that started this discussion?

Maybe the continuation of offshoring the manufacturing of goods will actually lead to a new renaissance of Ameican innovation. The need for quick turnaround of new products in small quantities could well take advantage of the kind of manufacturing prowess that the US developed after World War II.

Small machine shops, foundries and factories and were quick to the market with new ideas-the work being done by young people, men and women, who used their opportunities in the military to learn new skills that could be applied to civilian applications.

We’ve got an idea for a new product in development that might solve our customers multioutlet cable need.

Check back at this space soon and I will tell you more.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries, MagLite flashlights, Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Electratrac and Coast Wire extension cords, OnStage Stand mic stands, and lots of other useful production supplies.