Hi everyone, I'm an inventor/ engineer and I'm looking for some feedback on a new product I'm designing as a startup venture. It's got some very unique features, and it's very small for really tight spaces, like residential yards. I will be very thankful for 2 minutes of time from anyone experienced in landscaping or skid steer work, and welcome any questions. Thanks! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/microdig
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The issue i see is that machines like this are already available, they have them over here called a dingo. Essentially a motorized shovel.
It would need to have some really fancy additions to make it stand out from brands taht have an established name to them. From what i have seen (never run one myself) is that they tend to be rather jumpy. As you move the steering levers, you move and it jerks, so for new users, it's rather jumpy. If you could address that, it could be an advantage.
The ones i have seen use a hydraulic pump to run the drive motors, not a piston pump like bobcats run. I'd like to think a vairable displacement piston pump would help with this and possibly make it more efficient?
It would need to have some really fancy additions to make it stand out from brands taht have an established name to them. From what i have seen (never run one myself) is that they tend to be rather jumpy. As you move the steering levers, you move and it jerks, so for new users, it's rather jumpy. If you could address that, it could be an advantage.
The ones i have seen use a hydraulic pump to run the drive motors, not a piston pump like bobcats run. I'd like to think a vairable displacement piston pump would help with this and possibly make it more efficient?
vinito
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The difference I see is those robot omni wheels. Have you built and tested these yet? They might be great or not, and they might be expensive to maintain and may not provide the traction that regular tracks or tires provide. And if they are actually better, then you'll have to show that pretty convincingly to woo customers. You'll need comparison videos and/or data in your marketing.
If you make the attachment mechanism anything different than the pretty much standardized quick-attach, then I believe most potential customers will view that as a negative rather than a positive whether it works better for whatever reason or not. You can currently rent or buy from various vendors lots of attachments that can fit those little machines. If you have any kind of proprietary mounting system, it will be more limiting than "improved" because of this. It's already a bit of a negative that those "mini skidsteers" use a smaller version of the quick attach that may not fit attachments a guy or business already owns.
Another difference is that you stand on the back step rather than standing on the ground behind it like the existing mini skidsteers. I don't know if that would be more pleasant to use or not, but off the top of my head I can imagine that you'll have to feel the motor vibration in your feet & legs the whole time you're using it and if it tips over, it's an increased safety hazard. So that's a difference that may or may not be viewed to be better.
As Tazza said, you'll need to really stand out to compete with the existing brands. I agree that if the existing offerings are jumpy because of the hydraulic system, then simply offering a hydrostatic piston drive, a very common thing even in lawnmowers, that should be a big improvement. First I would research mini skidsteers and verify that they indeed don't already have hydrostat versions - to me it seems very strange that they wouldn't already have models which are hydrostatically driven.
To compete with the existing market, you really need to be very knowledgeable about what exists in that existing market.
Thank you for your feedback. Yup, I'm "familiar" with the dingo line-up--in North America they are called Toro. And yes, there are a lot similar on the market (about 10 brands I've found), but I've never been able to find anything as small as what I am proposing, so it'll truly be a motorized shovel. I have experienced first hand the jerkiness you mentioned, and yes I think I've fixed that. The drive motors will be low-speed radial piston motors with high quality metering valves, and a variable displacement pump providing the pressure, so should be much smoother and more efficient than competitors. This is all based on theory right now though. If you have any other comments, suggestions, etc., let me know!
Why would you go piston motors? Is there an advantage to them over geroler style? as i suspect they would be more expensive. It would be an advantage to keep the costs down, for obvious reasons.
You really do need to get a prototype out and get it running, you will need to find all the weak spots and get them fixed.
I too saw a potential issue with the wheels, they are great on hard surfaces, but i have no idea how they would hold up in dirt/mud.
The main reason for using radial piston motors is their much smaller length/ size compared to a geroler type, and the high torque for their size. I really don't have much room to work with, as you might guess. That, and with piston motors I can get them with built-on wheel drive flanges that can handle the axial/ radial loads directly, unlike the shafts of the geroler's I've seen. Yup, the front wheels are probably the biggest question about how well the design will work, for sure. And yes, a prototype is most certainly needed, the challenge is just finding the funding... Thanks again!
That makes sense, you have done your research
Hotrod1830
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Skid steer's and grass do not get along. Period. Ever think about trying All wheel steer? It would be difficult to package in such a small frame, but you would be the only one that offered it in that size. It would be easy on grass too.That makes sense, you have done your research
Being that there are plenty of compact loaders on the market of simular size. One could argue that you will need to stand out to get a piece of that market, as they are very "established" brand's.
Auxillary equipment is a must. Also the ability to use other manufactures Add-on's is a must. A standard Quick-tach would be a plus. Why would someone buy your's, only to not be able to use any other atatchment's but your's? You can rent attachment's for the Bobcat's and dingo's BTW, and alot of people take advantage of that.
By all wheel steer do you mean the front and rear wheels actually turn? Or have the entire machine articulated? There are a couple small loader machines on the market that are articulated, but they have to be longer than what I'm going for, plus you lose the tight turning circle. And I just don't have the space to make the individual wheels turn in the overall size I'm going for. That was one of my original design ideas though. Yes, the market for small loaders is pretty full of some big brands, I agree. I'm hoping what I'm doing will be different enough, and valuable enough, to attract customers. Are the attachments for bobcats, dingos, ditch-witch, etc. interchangeable? From what I've found they aren't. I'm not sure I'll be able to accommodate other brand's attachments anyway, simply because they are all designed for a 36 or 40+ inch arm width, and my arm width is 28 inches. Thanks for your feedback!
I have never seen one in person, but if you look up specs for say an A300, it's an all wheel steer machine. You have skid steer mode that holds the wheels in place and it skids areound, or you have all wheel steer mode that makes the wheels turn like a car does. For how much something like that would add to the price, not sure that would be an option for most customers out there.
It is an interesting idea, i just wonder if the benefits would be worth the extra complexity it would cause.
7LBSSMALLIE
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ADVENT outta finlind. has beat you to the punch.sorry man. great idea.
6brnorma
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Got a link Millie?
6brnorma
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Danged auto-correct………Mallie
The A300 with the all steer is pretty interesting, for sure. I didn't realize Bobcat even made those, and they must not be very common. Thanks for the info.
Do you have a link or other info? I looked at Avant, and my machine is way smaller than anything I could find on their site.
