J Thomas wrote:As far as value, an original molded enclosure will remain a much sought after item. A machined item will always be identified as that. There will always be appearance differences between a molded and a machined part.
Regards, Jeff
Yes, they will be much different, as some inside corners can't be machined the same as if you were grinding the profile of the
inside mold half for that piece. Making a sharp corner on the inside of a molded piece is often easier than on the outside of the piece. Also, Lexan plastic has very poor machine finishing qualities - it is very difficult to polish compared to the more common acrylics used in most red LED lens.
On the patent protection issues. I worked for a patent attorney for some years, so I'll just point out the basics. First, someone needed to keep the patents current. A design patent is only good for 14 years, but it can be renewed at a cost of several thousand dollars. Also, Reihl probably didn't get all the foreign country patent protects, so all bets are off there. Some digging with the patent office would answer all questions.
If someone made a knock-off, they could just call it the "Synchrographer" or "Solanar" or something like that. "Pulsenar"?:lol:
Quick Contest: Best name for a Synchronar knock-off made in China.
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