🚀 Moving Right Along! 🚀
over 1 year ago
– Wed, Oct 02, 2024 at 10:54:00 AM
Great news, backers! 🎉 Our latest Pilot+ run helped us fine-tune a few details, like adjusting a button fit and tweaking an alignment pin, ensuring everything is just right for you. These small fixes shifted our production timeline slightly to October 21st. We are also upgraded our packaging after a shipping lesson, so your units will be even better protected. Lastly, we're making sure the left-hand units are flawless, even if it means a small delay. We’re closer than ever to delivering the goods! 🙌
🛠️ The Pilot Run Evaluation 🛠️
We received the units from the latest Pilot+ run and, while they looked great overall, we ran into a couple of minor hiccups. Here’s what happened:
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Button Adjustment: One button was tighter than we wanted, so we removed a bit of material from the design (by adding some material to the mold) to fix that.
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Alignment Pin Issue: A molded alignment pin was breaking off during production, causing problems. We shortened the pin to solve the issue.
These adjustments were necessary, and though they caused some delays, they were crucial to ensuring we ship your top-notch devices. We initially aimed for a couple of earlier build start dates, pushing for late September despite the factory setting October 14th as the target. However, with the recent fixes in place, our official start date is now set for the week of October 21st. While pushing these dates out again is annoying, we feel it’s worth it to get this right. 🙌
📦 Shipping & Packaging Improvements 📦
We also learned something valuable about packaging during shipping. One of the six boxes of pilot units got separated and ended up in a different state for a while. It arrived a week later looking a little beat up. Fortunately, the units themselves were unharmed! 🎉 However, some of the blister packs protecting them weren’t so lucky. We’ve increased the thickness of the blister packaging to ensure better protection during future shipments.
🏗️ Production Timeline 🏗️
Our factory will now start building the units the week of October 21st. We’re confident that we'll be shipping right-hand units during the first week of November, with all orders sent out by the end of November.
Expect to see e-mails in the middle of this month so we can get all updated shipping information from you.
✋ Left-Hand Units ✋
Originally, the left-hand mold was set to be completed by mid-October. However, the changes made to the right-hand molds also apply to the left-hand units, which pushed their timeline back by about a month. Rest assured, we’re working hard to ensure that the left-hand units are perfect on the first try!
Thank you again for your continued support! We’re excited to deliver a top-tier product, and we couldn’t do it without you. 💙
With gratitude,
Branden
Hedgehog Gaming, Inc.
🛠 Project Update: Right & Left-Hand Units Progress
over 1 year ago
– Sat, Aug 31, 2024 at 09:46:11 PM
Hey everyone,
It’s been a rough month, and I want to keep you all in the loop. I expected the right-hand units to be ready this month, but unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. I’ll break down what happened, how we’re moving forward, and give an update on the left-hand molds.
🖱️ Right-Hand Units:
We thought production would be underway, based on the feedback and status updates we provided the factory last month. However, unbeknownst to us, the factory paused the pilot run to address the issues we highlighted. Despite our efforts to push things forward, progress was slower than expected.
The good news? 🎉 The factory just completed what I’m calling the "Pilot+ run," and they're shipping nearly 200 units to me for inspection. They should arrive between September 6th and 9th.
Even before they arrive, I’ve already reviewed a video the factory sent me, showing the assembly, programming, and testing process. Based on what I saw, the issues from the first Pilot build have been successfully addressed. While I’ll still perform a hands-on inspection, I’m confident we won’t face any major issues this time. 🙌
📅 Production Timeline:
When will full production start? I’ve been pushing the factory for a definite build date and, honestly, I wasn’t happy with their response. While I’m advocating for a September 23rd build, the factory gave me a start date of October 14th due to upcoming holidays:
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Mid-Autumn Festival (Sept. 15-17)
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Golden Week (Oct. 1-7)
The factory initially chose the later date to be cautious, considering the holidays and their concern about having enough time to fabricate the parts. I’m working hard to push the build to September 23rd, based on my pre-approval of the Pilot+ build and the video footage they shared. They’re holding a meeting on Monday to discuss my proposal, and I’m hopeful we can move forward sooner. 🤞
I can’t express how disappointed I am with the delays, and I truly appreciate your patience and support as we push through this.
🔄 Left-Hand Units:
The molds for the left-hand units are moving forward! 🛠️ We expect to receive the first parts from the mold for inspection around the third week of October. Thanks to what we learned with the right-hand units, we’re not anticipating any significant issues with the plastics or electronics.
The factory estimates the production build for the left-hand units will happen in the first or second week of December. Since the two models are so similar, they may be able to run a brief 5-10 unit pilot test from the first molds, which will help speed up production.
Thank you again for sticking with us through this journey.
With gratitude,
Branden
Hedgehog Gaming, Inc.
🦔 Hedgehog Pilot Run Update 🦔
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Jul 30, 2024 at 07:45:15 PM
✨ Great News: The right-hand mouse has officially been approved for production as of late last night! 🎉
🔧 Pilot Run Insights: Thanks to the pilot run, we provided the factory with valuable feedback and corrected some errors. Now that it’s approved, I’m fast-tracking this first production run. Simultaneously, we're getting the tool maker started on the left-hand units.
🚀 Pilot Run Highlights: I’m thrilled we conducted the pilot run, catching numerous issues that could have been problematic in a larger build. We identified 6 critical issues and 8 noncritical ones. Critical issues must be resolved before production, while noncritical ones are acceptable to proceed with.
🔴 Critical Issue Examples:
- The base pad feet weren’t holding the base pad still on the desktop. They were too short. The solution is to double stack the feet for more height. Tested on 4 sample units, this fix worked perfectly.
- The circuit board manufacturer used an incorrect part. This part was from 6 months ago, and the change wasn’t captured due to similar part numbers. We flagged this, and it’s easy to correct before production.
🟢 Noncritical Issue Examples:
- The box is tight and somewhat difficult to open. We recommended expanding the dimensions but only if it doesn’t delay production.
- A typo in the manual.
All 6 critical issues are straightforward to fix, allowing us to move comfortably from pilot build to production.
🏭 Production Build: The manufacturer estimates about 3 weeks for the production build. I’m pushing to ensure the right-hand units are units are in most of your hands on or before August 26th. I’ll be in China for this build to assist with any challenges. A manufacturing engineer and the manufacturer company owner will join me to ensure a smooth process.
📦 Shipping: Post-project, we collected shipping and billing info via Backerkit. We know some information may be outdated. We’ll send update notifications for CC information (for shipping charges) and address confirmations around mid-August. These updates might come from Backerkit or our shipping partner, Easyship.
🖱️ Left-Hand Units: With the right-hand units approved for production, we’re diving into the left-hand units. The tool maker should handle this easily since they are mostly mirrored. I said mostly mirrored because there are some minor changes made that shouldn’t be noticeable.
🟢 Mold Change Examples:
- Instead of double stacking the base pad feet, we’ll raise the plastic for a single stack.
- The forward and back pinky buttons had a stopper causing difficulty in pressing. For right-hand units, we’re clipping these stoppers short. For left-hand units, they’ll be molded with shorter stoppers to avoid interference.
We estimate it will take about 3 months to complete this process. While there are unknowns, we hope this timeline remains stable.
🙏 Thank You for your support and patience.
-Branden, Hedgehog Gaming, Inc.
🚀 Pilot run update and current status including some dates!
over 1 year ago
– Fri, Jun 28, 2024 at 10:10:25 PM
Hello Backers,
📅 Pilot Run Update The pilot run has started but hasn’t finished yet. We encountered a couple of minor issues, such as a mold ejector pin breaking while making the initial 200 pieces. Despite this, we successfully produced all the parts necessary for assembly and are well into fixing these minor issues.
🎉 Exciting Progress The great news is that we have an official timeline for completing the manufacturing process for this 200 piece right-hand mouse build. We are starting the assembly on July 8th, and it should be complete by July 11th.
🌏 Quality Checks and Testing These 200 pieces will be evaluated overseas immediately. Some units will be sent to my team for critical evaluation. Additionally, some units will undergo destructive and non-destructive testing at an independent lab. This is to ensure our product meets the required standards from various agencies.
🔍 Next Steps Assuming there are no major issues with the pilot build, we anticipate knowing if we can approve these units for mass production by mid-July. Expect a mid-July update in which we will let everyone know how the pilot run went. Once approved, we will immediately initiate the larger production build which we hope will be complete less than a month from the approval date. We will also start the mold fabrication process for the left-hand mouse.
Thank you for your continued support and patience!
Best regards,
-Branden
Right-Hand Clear to Build Milestone Achieved!
almost 2 years ago
– Sat, May 25, 2024 at 07:12:12 PM
Great news! All parts have been approved, and we now have the green light to start a 200-piece build! This build will be completed in about two and a half weeks. Once we've evaluated the parts, we'll initiate a 2000+ piece right-hand mouse build. This production run will be enough to fulfill orders and stock our website to begin sales. The larger build should be completed about three weeks after the pilot run is approved.
✈️ To ensure everything goes smoothly, I’ll be traveling to China with a couple of my manufacturing partners to oversee the larger build.
Before we start any shipping, we'll send out e-mails that will have you approve the address we have on file and give you an opportunity to update, if necessary. The update e-mails will most likely either come from Easy Ship or Backerkit. We'll keep you updated on more shipping information as we get closer.
🔧 On another exciting note, our tool builder is ready to start on the left-hand molds as soon as the 200-piece right-hand run is complete. We've already gone through a design check with the manufacturer for the left-hand tools and are approved to start building those molds, assuming nothing goes wrong with the right-hand pilot run. The left-hand units should ship 2.5-3 months after the right-hand pilot run is approved.
📅 I'll provide another update when the 200-piece pilot run is completed since it's another important milestone.
🙏 Thank you again so much for your support!
Best,
Branden
Hedgehog Gaming, Inc.
