Doc's Saga™ Epic Fail - Back To The Drawing Board

[Doc]

Hey Gang,

Well, back to the drawing board.  The first samples of Swing Arms we got into the field have failed miserably.  Thanks to all of you who have put up with the frustration of being guinea pigs.  If you have had one that failed, return to the dealer and he will refund your money, until the revised version is available.

If you have one that has not failed, use it until it does, so you can give us feedback on what happened.  Pictures are very helpful. So some of the things that have been identified are:

1.  The strap, which I requested be made with some kind of UV rubber with fiber reinforcement was not made with reinforcement, so it stretches and then breaks.  It also needs to be about  1 1/2 inches longer with one more adjustment hole.

2.  The pivot ball joint has way too much play in it.  It should only rotate 360 degrees with no side to side movement.  Initially I thought it would give more freedom of movement, but it is movement that is not necessary and causes undo stress on the joint and a feeling of instability.  The purpose of the ball joint is to only allow the arm to move up and down so it does not break.  But the opposite is happening, because it has so much movement, there is a lot of stress on the part.  That is an easy fix, the collar has to be redesigned to restrict the movement.  I'll try to attach a pdf file to show you what I am talking about.

Collar correction.pdf

3.  The pivot joint, the one that has a pin in it that allows the Swing Arm to swing out and away from the detector is too thin and flimsy.  This was supposed to be made of Nyglass, but I think they used something that was not suitable for this part.  This will have to be redesigned to be thicker with tougher material and a more substantial nylon pin that will be sonic welded into place.

The concept and functionality is solid, it is just the materials and some of the design that needs to be corrected.

Now I don't know many manufacturers that announce to the public that they "screwed the pooch" so to speak.  But you guys have always been very helpful with ideas and suggestions and helping me field test all this crazy stuff I come up with.  So I wanted to include you on this.  And trust me, this is the process I go through every time with everything I develop.  From initial concept, to design to prototype to pre-production to testing to modification and back to testing and then to full production and shipping and delivery and to the market runs about 9 months to 1 year.  Sometimes things go very smoothly, sometimes, not so much.  It depends on the complexity of the item.  Unfortunately for this SAGA swing arm there are so many different molded moving parts.  2 Molds for the handle, a mold for the storage clip, 3 molds for the pivot and pivot ball joint assembly, 1 mold for the straps, a mold for the buttons in the fiberglass rod, extrusion mold for the fiberglass rods.  About $10,000 in mold costs alone.  Fun, right?

However, I have never brought to market anything that I don't use myself and stand behind 100%  And the SAGA Swing Assist Guide Arm will be no different.  So your patience is appreciated as we work on SAGA™ Version 2.0

Speaking of production, the "G Spot" scoops are in production but I had them made with a satin finish as in the attached picture.  The shiny ABS material caused too much glare in my opinion and was too slick allowing small gold to slide too easily.  The top picture is the new satin finish and the bottom scoop was the shiny prototype.

Standby while we work out the bugs.  Thank you and Happy New Year.
Doc

[Northeast]

Love your honesty Doc  👍

The issue may also be the name - it was always going to be a long, drawn out SAGA with a name like that  😉

Best wishes with the fixes and amendments - hopefully not too lengthy or costly. 

[Doc]

5 hours ago, Northeast said:

Love your honesty Doc  👍

The issue may also be the name - it was always going to be a long, drawn out SAGA with a name like that  😉

Best wishes with the fixes and amendments - hopefully not too lengthy or costly. 

I may have jinxed myself with a name like that.  But it was shorter than Swing Assist Guide Arm.  One of the definitions of Saga is "a long story of heroic achievement."  Hopefully it will be that kind of Saga.  Not the kind of long story where I sit defeated in a corner and cry. 🤣

Doc

[dgatleyDP]

Personally, I favor the more information option you have exhibited, vs no info.  That policy eliminates speculations and maintains your “golden” reputation.

I’ll be buying ASAP when the dust has settled.  Thank you for your trying to bring great product upgrades. 
What is appreciated is that you are sticking to your business ethics as you’ve always done.

Keep us posted, and thanks.  Dave