I suspect that may be the issue. They’re playing the idea close to the chest, which means they may want to prototype an invention then produce it for a profit.

The issue is, if they’re asking such basic questions on “how to get an electronic device made”, then likely they don’t have the expertise to really understand the device well enough to get it made or improve on it in any meaningful way or provide real support. They probably also lack the insight to invent something really useful that the DIY community doesn’t already have designs for. Whatever they make will probably suck for all these reasons.

My advice would be that ideas are cheap, implementation is hard, and if you want to get away with throwing out a bunch of ideas with engineers at your beck and call to make it all happen then you need access to VC funding and a dearth of morals. In other words you need to be Steve Jobs several decades ago.

Every technical person has heard “I have an idea for something can you make it we’ll be rich” and none of them with any real talent has ever been interested.

Unless they come back with “no I just want a basic device to do something simple just for me”, in which case it probably already exists and they’ll get a lot further by asking direct questions.