The idea that started Gizmo Engineering began when I was working as a process engineer in1993 in circuit board manufacturing. Despite sophisticated controllers to regulate the specific gravity on the conveyorized machines, the leading cause of process failure was that the drums of etchant were constantly running empty!
I searched everywhere for a simple device that I could stick in a drum and have it beep, but was no such device available. The only device available seemed to be a pop-up gauge but it proved to be next-to-useless because it didn’t solve the problem: people were busy working instead of monitoring drums. Drums continued to be overfilled and the problem went unsolved.
So, I made the first drum level alarm in my basement. This was the start of Gizmo Engineering.
After producing a few of these for the PCB shop I worked at, a sales rep. saw them and thought another one of his customers would like some. So I made more and sold them. This moment in 2007 is when Gizmo Engineering was born.
Since then the drum alarm has gone on to be a staple in industry. I continued to develop many other products, and in every case, the products meet some need that is not addressed in the marketplace. In every case they are meticulously designed to economical while robust at the same time.
An example of this design choice is the CDG product which uses a 3D printed enclosure. An off-the-shelf enclosure would cost $90 for the unusual shape – if it were possible to find it! The 3D version costs us about $3 in material and is equal in quality. At the same time the product can be assembled in a fraction the time since there is no machining necessary. Its this relentless pursuit of intelligent product design, and manufacturing efficiencies that allows us to sell very high quality products at very reasonable prices.
