Picking up the phone and calling is easy, it's being successful, that's the hard part.
When I changed jobs a couple of years ago, cold calling became part of my duties (not what I originally believed, but that's another story). I found a book "Cold Calling Techniques that really work" by...
Here's some more distributors
Bondioli & Pavesi in Ashland, Virginia.
http://www.bondioli-pavesi.us/index.jsp?lingua=eng
ITG in Carlsbad, CA.
http://www.itg-usa.com/English/indexusa.htm
Comer Industries in Charlotte, NC
http://www.comerindustries.com/
I don't know about toys, but other products can be self certified. The question is do you want to and are you prepared and able to accept the risk and liability?
Not knowing your situation, I would suggest working with the manufacturer.
Ah yes, What to do?
As IRstuff says the answer is going to depend on where you see yourself 10, 20 or 30 years down the road, and that, you have to answer yourself.
Do you want to be the leader or the doer? Do you see yourself as a GM, President or Engineering Manager? Do you want to be...
"And Suddenly the Inventor Appeared: TRIZ, the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving" by Genrich Altshuller
I have only skimmed it so far, but it has some interesting examples.
Altshuller is considered one of the creators of TRIZ.
Right on ggarciae.
"Even if you use an harmonized standard you must go on doing self-declaration or whichever procedure fits for declaration of conformity."
You still have to do your homework and due diligence.
It's been a couple of years now, but as I recall you can declare conformity to the Machinery Directive based on any standard you want, even internal ones. However, if you meet a harmonized standard, then you have a Presumption of Conformity.
So basically if you do not use the harmonized standard...
"How much would adding a small idler sprocket add to the cost of a chain drive?"
However much the idler sprocket cost plus mounting/attaching hardware.
Refer to:
ASAE S203.14 Front & Rear Power Take Off for Agricltural Tractors
ASAE S207.12 Operating Requirements for Tractors & Power Take-off Driven Implements
If you are looking at Europe, check the ISO standards, I believe 500 and 8759 relate to PTO's and also the CEN standards.
"So basically the price is often not directly related to the manufacturing cost. In another word, if a product can be made better even if the manufacturing cost stays the same (or even go down), it can still cost more to consumers."
You got it. That's how most companies increase their...
What processes are you using to make your parts?
Are you machining, drilling, punching/stamping or torch cutting the hole?
Is the shaft saw cut, sheared, torched, machined?
Eliminating or combining steps, using a different process or combination of process can all reduce the manufacturing cost...
Another reason for the larger equipment is a combining of tasks. Harvesting use to involve cutting the grain stalks, tying them into bundles, then hauling the bundles to the threshing machine where the grain was separated from the straw. The modern combine "combines" all these processes...
The type of gearbox shown and many variations thereof are very common in the ag equipment industry. Some of the gearbox manufacturers are: Comer, Bondioli & Pavesi, Omni, ITG and John Deere to name a few.
