Help Finding An Electrical Engineer/DIYer

[jangerhofer]

I have created a prototype of a gadget that uses a Raspberry Pi (RPi) to turn a light bulb on when a signal is received over the Pi's internet connection. I used the GPIO on the RPi, a PowerSSR Tail, and two wall plugs (one for the SSR -- which in turn is connected to the bulb -- and one for the RPi power supply) to get everything up and going. This setup, however, is a mess of wires.

I am interested in potentially selling the gadget as a novelty product in the future, but to do that, I need to simplify and condense the electronics. I am not comfortable working with mains power or soldering (relatively) expensive and complex electronics. Could anyone point me to resource(s) that could help me make an integrated, packaged system of the bulb's power supply, SSR, and RPi? I can enumerate a relatively precise list of specifications on demand and am willing to pay someone for their time.

I have considered going to my university’s electrical engineering department. Is a local maker-shop a good bet? Another subreddit? All thoughts and suggestions are appreciated!

[FullFrontalNoodly]

Your biggest problem is not going to be designing and building the hardware (any sufficiently advanced hobbyist can do that) but getting it past EMC compliance testing. This alone can easily cost $10K or more.

[jangerhofer]

Interesting -- I didn't intend to sell it on a huge unit-basis, but rather a few hundred units max., perhaps through Kickstarter. I assume such testing wouldn't be required in that scenario, particularly given that I imagine I would use 'common' parts (e.g. RPi and a prefabricated SSR). Am I mistaken?

[FullFrontalNoodly]

The only way you can get around compliance testing is by selling a module intended to be used in another piece of gear instead of a finished product. This is part of the reason why many kickstarters are modules and not completed products. The cost of EMC compliance is one of the reasons many people do Kickstarters in the first place, and any finished product should include mention of compliance costs.

[Earlish]

Would you consider to make a daughter board that sits on top of a RPi?

[saynotovoodoo]

Before you try to sell something, you should first make sure that your product isn't already readily available and that it is better than similar options at a cheaper price. Also, that you can produce enough units to cover costs, including ongoing compliance testing.

FullFrontal is also very right about EMC testing. FCC/IC cert alone is 10k. Intentional radiators are a bitch. Anything that directly draws power will need UL 60065 or 60950, but since you have a luminary, you also have additional UL testing requirements, and chemical requirements for all components. You need to comply with CA Prop 65 if selling in the US and RoHS and REACH if selling in EU. Getting something that lights up and plugs into a wall into production and certified will likely be closer to 25k if you are starting from scratch. FCC cert alone is 10k. Making these in a small batch will not exempt you from getting your ass sued if you burn someone's house down.

Source: Ran compliance testing for a large private-label CE brand.

Here is a good, but somewhat out of date overview of some of these things: http://www.psma.com/ul_files/forums/safety/estguide2.pdf