iamsuperbleeder

took measurements of my BJ-Spacers I bought, plotted it out on a CAD program, them uploaded it on YT for all to see, and possibly use to make their own?

Here's a preview with measurements turned off

jsn_stockard

if I did it, I would be sure not to name the brand anywhere.

iamsuperbleeder

which is precisely why I just said I purchased them, and didn't say where

although it is mentioned another place on the forums where I bought them...

sincal

I wouldnt think so how do you think "said" company got them. They make different brands of all sorts of things some times just by measuring stock parts. I say go for it. your just measuring your not making them

iamsuperbleeder

good point; it's not like I'm making money of of it... or could I haha, jk

plus all I have at hand right now is a small tape measurer; my mic's at work but it's still really close, if not exact...

sincal

I say go for it.. all your doing is measuring your not doing any harm.

parkkicks

i dont believe that any particular design is copyrighted. a bj spacer is not a brand name either it is a "ball-joint" spacer. if you wanted to be sure look carefully at the fine print on the site that you got yours from and look for any thing like "all designs are copyrighted by such and such" but i really doubt it. in fact if you improved on the design at all i would start selling them as i see they are in high demand.

Good Luck

Parker

abecedarian

In general, 'logical' things (rather, incremental things) are not patentable. Take for instance a way to remove bolts. Logically, one could drill through the center of the bolt and provide a screw with threads in the opposite direction of 'standard' thus causing the fastener to retreat when turned. That's the basis of the EZ-Out. Does that mean you can't make a similar product? It means you can't market it if the thread pitch, et al, are the same as the EZ-Out.

Since BJ spacers are a 'logical' way to increase lift and / or travel, the idea is not patentable... but the physical design of the spacer may be subject to patent... but more likely copyright. If you make your BJ spacer 'look' different, it's hard to argue patent infringement.

jsn_stockard

You sly devil. I don't think I would, but who has the tools to machine them. They make them in a large quanity to keep price down, but for every product there is room for improvement.

abecedarian

I could say...
Hey... those BJ spacers push the camber out. So I'm going to make a BJ spacer that has geometry (read: upper control arm and ball-joint mounting surfaces) that requires the minimum amount of alignment adjustment in order to keep the stock... read as: I just bolted these in and don't want to adjust the alignment any more than I have to... alignment, and maybe I can suggest to the buyer to pull the toe in 1/8".
In order to accomplish this I need a 'shim' on top of the upper control arm that causes the ball-joint mounting bolts to be canted inwards at a 5 degree angle, thus allowing the upper ball joint to set 1/8" inwards... a net change from 0 over stock with relation to the steering knuckle mounting angles.

I'm sorry, what were we talking about?

- the above information within this post including descriptions of parts and how to machine and or install said parts is copyright January 5, 2008 @ 18:23 PST abecedarian, all rights reserved. Reading this post acknowledges receipt of the information above and relinquishes any rights, implied or otherwise, to any of the information contained herein and any works derived from the information presented.

iamsuperbleeder

lmao, ok abe

well, they're already a basic design... not much to impove apon... so there's not a whole lot I could "change" about the design


oh, and their's no copyright info or patents on the site of the manufacturer of these BJ-spacers; not that I can find anyway...

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Regardless of copyright or patent, your actions are unethical IMO.

BIGMIKES~98RUNNER

send me the prints. i can have them cut on the c/c at my fathers shop.

abecedarian

so like I implied... angle the spacer and its bolts so that changes to camber when they are installed is minimal...?
oops, I covered that in my post above, copyrighted as well....
You can use that if you decide to sell... I'll accept 10% royalty.

RMA

Dude !! 5 minutes Before I logged on to yotatech , I was on ebay looking at aluminum stock. I Have a ball joint here on my desk and was measuring it. $25 for the stock to make the spacers and the diff drop. Wow !! I am not the only one thinking of making some right now..

iamsuperbleeder

that's another thing I thought about, the ethical part of it...

Honestly, I like to support any and every vender I purchase things from, especially if they provide outstanding products!

That being said, after thinking about it, I will not post, nor release to anyone, the drawings and measurements I have.

It's just that I found my AutoCAD CD that I obtained from HS in my drafting class, started playing around with it, seen my BJ-spacer just setting there, and the next thing I know I've got a detailed render of it

iamsuperbleeder

well a diff drop's pretty simple really... I mean, you could accomplish the same thing with a bunch of washers, lol

RMA

The diff drop would come from cutting the center out of the spacer with a hole saw. Yea pretty easy.

elripster

Have fun cutting those radii.

The spacers are not patented. We compete on price by making a whole lot at once. It has enabled us to keep our prices unchanged since the debut of our spacers in '04. As an engineer, my goal is to make the highest quality product as the lowest price.

There is certainly nothing wrong with making your own or even trying to produce them competitively, that's the American way. I think a person could enjoy fabricating their own parts but if they tried to make them and sell them they would quickly find their hourly wage to be ridiculously low and give up.
Either that or they would have to drop some serious coin on some CNC equipment. That would make for one expensive pair of spacers.

Frank

RMA

You are probably right Frank , I would just make them for myself , since I have more time than money right now.