Let’s say you buy an electrical product that is assembled by your Chinese supplier and they promise to purchase original batteries from a well-known company. Are you sure you will get what you pay for? For the buyer, the question becomes: "How to ensure our batteries are really made by Samsung, LG, or Panasonic?" … [Read more...]
Shipping E-Cigarettes with Lithium Batteries by Air from China
By Fabien Gaussorgues With the sharp increase of shipments of electric & electronic devices working with a lithium battery and new rules that appeared recently when it comes to shipments, clients keep asking us about applicable regulations for shipping e-cigarettes. This guide covers the shipment of e-cigarettes, as an example, but it is mostly applicable to other small devices with lithium batteries (smart devices, IoT, Bluetooth speakers, and so forth). Note: on sofeast.com we … [Read more...]
Evaluating a Battery Manufacturer in China for Consistent Quality
Over the past 3 months, we have heard of more problems with batteries than with any other electrical component. Our team over at Sofeast in Shenzhen has been busy evaluating battery manufacturers, recently. And the average level of those manufacturers is much lower than I expected. A bad battery means the entire product doesn’t function (and, worse, it might explode or catch fire). And yet, few buyers have focused their efforts on working with a good supplier. What to evaluate? A battery … [Read more...]
4 Ways to Test Battery Capacity on an Electrical Product
As you look at the products you manufacture in China, you need to evaluate the risks that something goes wrong. When it comes to electrical products, one of the major risks is that the supplier uses substandard components in order to earn more profit. From experience, the risk is particularly high with batteries. The product might work fine during an open-the-box-and-turn-the-product-on inspection but might have a very small capacity. There are basically 4 options to check the battery … [Read more...]
R&D and Power Consumption Evaluation – Develop an Electrical Product In China Part 2
Last week I posted part 1 of our series on What It Takes to Develop a New Electronic Product in China. In this second part, we look at R&D and at the evaluation of power consumption. 1. R&D (both in-house & with a manufacturing partner) 1.1 Functional and System Development Research and development involve a lot of work that is typically split between your in-house capabilities (if you employ designers and engineers) and your supplier capabilities. One extreme is a company … [Read more...]
Having Troubles Shipping Batteries by Plane? Here Is Why
Several of our clients have increasing troubles shipping batteries alone (that is, not as part of a whole product such as a laptop). The magazine Quality Progress published an interesting article in their March issue. It is entitled "Botched and Dangerous". The author starts by setting the stage: Since December, there have been 52 reported incidents involving hoverboards catching fire. More than two dozen incidents of explosions and fires caused by bad batteries in e-cigarettes … [Read more...]
Purchasing Primary (Disposable) Batteries in China
By Fabien Gaussorgues Primary (or disposable) batteries are non-rechargeable cells -- mostly 1.5V and dedicated to toys and other products that don’t need battery replacement on a daily basis. We recently did some research on this product line, and I thought a general introduction might be interesting to a few readers. The most common types of primary batteries are alkaline/zinc-carbon (round shape) and lithium metal (button shape). The price varies from 0.05 to 0.4 USD per Ah (Ampere … [Read more...]
Is it wise to outsource all manufacturing to China?
Most economists tend to view the move of (some of) North American and European manufacturing base to China as an illustration of Ricardo's competitive advantage theory. In their view, developed nations are better off focusing on higher-value-added activities (design, services...) and get rid of low-paid jobs (low-cost manufacturing). However, it seems more and more academics conclude that the most advanced nations should keep as much of their manufacturing industry as possible. "As America … [Read more...]