Land matters: A roundup of manufacturing and assembly wisdom
If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you know we’re big on sharing useful information, knowledge, and resources to help you on your hardware journey, from prototype to production to promotion. We know not everyone sees every post, so we thought it might be useful to round up a handful of related stories. With the current global political and economic shifts, the future of manufacturing is a topic of conversation for anyone in hardware making physical products at scale. Our co-founder Sam Holland has been well steeped in design for manufacturing and assembly, for well over the past decade, so we made sure to include a couple of his insightful pieces. Here we offer you a snippet of six previous posts focused on manufacturing location and scale, with links to delve deeper if your interest is piqued.
For posts covering the broader product development landscape, from product design to packaging, patents, funding, and more, check out the Hardware Handbook collection on our blog. And stay tuned for our upcoming series on the logistics of domestic manufacturing.
Choosing a manufacturing location
Manufacturing in the US vs. China
“As a product design engineer with just about a decade of experience designing and manufacturing products, one of the biggest questions people looking to produce a new piece of hardware ask me is whether to produce in the United States or in China. Before COVID, I would typically spend 3–4 weeks a year out in China visiting vendors, supervising manufacturing and production lines, and working with factory engineers to optimize products.”
“I’m going to share with you some pros and cons of US manufacturing, and give a bit of context that sheds light on why this is a complex issue and what you might need to know if you’re considering producing a product.”
The inside scoop on visiting factories in China
“Nothing beats a factory visit to gain confidence in their manufacturing process and vendor quality. Visiting is highly recommended, and once there, problems can be identified and fixed in hours instead of days. However, these vendors are often deep in China, and getting there can be quite an adventure. Having spent months of my life traveling to factories in Shenzhen, Dongguan, and the surrounding areas, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks that may help you on your journey.”
Doing it domestic
“Not all paths to hardware startup success lead through Shenzhen, China. More than ever, there are serious reasons for founders to consider US-based manufacturing. By now, the reasons for producing in China and other countries, such as the low cost of labor and scalability, have been well documented. And today, many startup leaders may consider long, expensive trips abroad an unavoidable cost of doing business. However, in recent years, US manufacturing has quietly amassed its own advantages. We look at eight significant advantages.”
Considerations of scale
The power of amortization
“One of the biggest drivers of unit costs when manufacturing hardware is the quantity of units made. Put simply: It’s cheaper to make more of something. Manufacturers and suppliers provide volume discounts based on the number of items you purchase from them, and the process around manufacturing and assembling items can be automated or streamlined as the number of units increases.”
“Injection molding, an incredibly common way of making physical parts at high quantities, is the poster child of volume discounts. Typically, there are two costs to factor in when reviewing an injection molding quote: the tooling cost and the unit costs. Let’s check these both out, and see how you can better compare quotes by amortizing costs.”
Tips on manufacturing small-scale products
“When it comes to creating hardware for small-scale production runs, the manufacturing process can sometimes get a bit messy. Sourcing parts, testing parts, and keeping prices down don’t always go hand in hand. Andrew Dunbar, a mechanical engineer and informal member, is quite comfortable with small-scale manufacturing. He recently joined us to share his process of designing a cannabis vaporizer, one of a number of similar projects he’s worked on in his 10+ years as a product designer and engineer. We caught up with Andrew to get his top tips for all things small-scale manufacturing.”
The middle ground of medium-scale production
“Prototyping is a critical part of designing products, as it gives you the ability to iterate faster and test various concepts simultaneously. On a computer, it’s very difficult to get a perfect sense of scale, test assembly methods, and ensure parts feel solid when assembled. Having physical, tactile components in hand makes it far simpler.”
“Choosing the right manufacturing method and material for your prototype or final product isn’t an easy task, however. We look at a handful of prototyping and manufacturing options to better understand how they work, what types of parts they can create, and the limitations of each method.”
Methods covered include injection molding, CNC machining, 3D printing, SLA, SLS, and urethane casting.
Is there a topic you want us to cover? Do you have related wisdom you want to share with the hardware community? Drop us a line!
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