Some inventors toil their entire careers without success. Perry Campbell is not one of those people.
The 23-year-old Colorado native has designed a product, built functional prototypes, raised capital, and is now going into business for himself.
His product is called the SwissMak, an all-in-one manufacturing tool.
“It’s a machine that makes stuff. You can make anything you want out of metal, ceramic, or plastic up to the size of a large shoebox,” said Campbell, who entered CU Engineering as a BOLD Center GoldShirt student.
In technical terms, his creation is a computer numeric control (CNC) mill-turn center. Devices like this are used by major manufacturing companies around the world to cut and shape blocks of metal into everything from sprockets, to car engine parts, to cell phone components.
These tools have been used for decades, but until now have been off limits unless you had a huge bank account balance.
Big Cost Savings
“Machines like this typically cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are no options for people who can’t spend $300,000. What I’ve built costs under $6,000,” he said.
Campbell has been able to achieve such a jaw-dropping cost reduction by using off-the-shelf components where possible and by taking advantage of new, lower priced technology that was not available until relatively recently.
His goal is to do for metal manufacturing what 3D printers are doing for plastics: bring down the cost so significantly that hobbyists and small businesses can access a tool that is currently confined to factories and full-scale industrial facilities.
Prototype to Reality
Campbell built his first prototype in an independent study course in 2016 under the guidance of Robert McLeod, a professor in electrical, computer and energy engineering. The following year, Campbell set out to improve the design on his own, but needed financial assistance.
He reached out to his freshman GEEN 1400 instructor, Mike McGrath at CU Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. Campbell hoped McGrath could connect him with a backer or two to help raise $2,000. Instead, McGrath donated the money himself.
“When Perry sent me information about his work and described the need for some additional funding, I was impressed (an understatement),” McGrath said. “The photos of his product showed a level of engineering aptitude and professional capability that was convincing, and more specifically I had a sense that this was something Perry was committed to doing. I could see he almost had a product, and needed just a little more help.”
Kickstarter Success
That lead to a second prototype and then to a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year. Campbell set out to raise $120,000, but ended up with nearly $190,000 from over 100 backers.
While his youth might have caused some investors to step back, Campbell was not running a typical Kickstarter campaign.
He was not asking for funding to turn an idea into a reality. His second prototype is already a full-size, 100% functional product. The fundraising was to take the device and turn it into a business making more of them.
“I’ve had interest from every continent except Antarctica. It ranges from home hobbyists to bigger businesses like jewelers, watchmakers, and medical device companies,” Campbell said.
Building a Business
He is now in the process of setting up a manufacturing facility, and aims to deliver 40 machines to financial backers of the Kickstarter campaign by October. A “very reasonable” goal, he said.
Campbell’s decision to pursue SwissMak does mean he is putting one aspect of his life on hold – his degree. Because of the incredibly positive response to the campaign, Campbell is transferring out of CU Boulder’s electrical engineering program with about one year left in his degree.
“It was a hard decision, but by turning this into a business I can create what I want rather than relying on someone else’s schedule,” Campbell said. “It’s having your own dream, rather than someone else’s.”