You have a new product idea. You might also have committed customers. What is between you and success? A successfully-produced first batch of your new product. If you haven't developed new products and had them manufactured in China before, you will probably find the process difficult and frustrating. Unfortunately, there can be a number of prototyping iterations, difficulties in finding the right manufacturer and/or components, some solid work on setting production & testing … [Read more...]
The 7 Most Common Product Launch Pitfalls in China
More and more companies work with Chinese manufacturers on new product developments. And, in most cases, things don't turn out the way customers want. I thought I'd highlight the most common product launch pitfalls I have observed for electrical and/or mechanical products. 1. Thinking that "the factory is an expert in manufacturing and all will be good" We have run into many people who think this way. This is typical among companies that essentially do trading (buy and then resell without … [Read more...]
Pros and Cons of Crowdfunding (Kickstarter/Indiegogo) for Startups
Crowdfunding has emerged as one of the main sources of funding for hardware startups (and many other ventures). Here are a few impressive statistics: 15 million people have backed a Kickstarter project since 2009. Backers pledged a total of 3.9 billion USD. More than 9 million people have backed an Indiegogo project since 2008. However, entrepreneurs need to think about all the pros and cons of raising money this way. If you are in this situation, here are are some … [Read more...]
On-Time Delivery for your New Product Made in China? Possible?
We have seen this situation a number of times: An American or European company designs a new product They find a manufacturing partner that has some general experience in their industry (but has never made that precise product since it is totally new) Since the buyer needs flexibility and service, and can't afford high prices, they tend to work with a small or medium-sized factory (fewer than 500 employees, and often fewer than 200) All the development (NPI) work gets done, but … [Read more...]
Making Prototypes In China: 5 Key Steps And Objectives
By Fabien Gaussorgues Are you going to manufacture a mechanical and/or electrical product in China? This article will help you plan for the steps to follow. You might need a concept of the product, to show investors and to launch a Kickstarter campaign. You might need a prototype that is close to the final version of the product, in order to run testing (including usability testing) and validate the design before going into production. When making prototypes in China, the usual … [Read more...]
Product Specifications: What Tolerances for Measurements?
A client asked me, how to decide on tolerances to write on a drawing, when giving a technical file to a Chinese manufacturer? I always suggest to importers that they define a product specification sheet. And they often struggle with setting the right tolerances. Many considerations need to be taken into account. This is not a formal how-to guide, but I jotted down a few ideas. First, you might not need to specify every dimension on your product. And on those dimensions you end up … [Read more...]
Example of Indiegogo Project Made in China: NAOX
The number of new products to be launched on Kickstarter or Indiegogo has grown very quickly. It seems not a week passes without a start-up team contacting us over at Sofeast for either developing a new product or for help on their production in China. Some projects are very successful and raise important amounts of funding on these platforms. Most projects raise more modest funds and don’t receive much publicity. However, some are worth studying. Not just because their products can be pretty … [Read more...]
Manufacturing an Electronic Product in China: Ideas for Cost Saving
This is the last article in our series about what it takes to develop a complex electronic product in China. We'll look at ways to save on the costs of electronic components, and how to make assembly easier. Ideally, your Chinese contract manufacturer would help you on this topic. Especially with making assembly easier, since it translates into fewer quality issues and delays. In reality, it is up to the buyer & designer to come up with these types of improvements. 1. Cost Saving … [Read more...]
Design Optimization For Production of Electronics in China
This is the next article in our series that aims at giving readers an idea of what it takes to develop a complex electronic product in China. So you have prototypes. Before you start to work toward mass production, you probably want to refine the design. It usually takes one of the following two forms: Optimizing the material selection Miniaturizing some elements (This is not exhaustive. Many other aspects can be optimized -- for example power consuption, performance of the … [Read more...]
Making Prototypes for an Electronic Product Made in China
This is the fifth article in our series about what it takes to develop an electronic product in China. Let's look at the prototyping stage. The imaginary example we thought of, the Drone Intruder Interception System, is a complex design. It would require many different prototype models which would require different prototyping methods. For each element, there needs to be functional prototypes that not only work and function on their own but also as a system. This allows for individual … [Read more...]
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