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5 days ago
Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
Posted project update #23Project status and shipping address questions
Backers,
Well it has been a few weeks since our last update, and we unfortunately do not have any exciting news for you. We are having countless difficulties with our injection molding vendor and are trying very hard to push through it. Sometimes in design and development your hands are tied and you are at the mercy of a vendor to deliver on their promise. Now here we are, and as a result we're not delivering on ours and we sincerely apologize for that.
Believe us that we have learned a lot through this project and will definitely not make the same mistakes twice. We should have something for you to see in the next week or so.
***The shipping address question***
Many of you have moved or are moving and are asking about shipping address updates. We will be sending out another update before we ship that will let you once and for all update your most current address. Please, the KS email platform is terrible for communication. We will direct you to another email when we get near our shipping date.
Thanks again for the support!
Jon and Joe
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on April 25
Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
Posted project update #22Baby steps...
Hey guys,
We know this project has tested your patience and we want to thank you again for your understanding. We have surely had our setbacks and it has definitely been frustrating, but we are moving forward everyday. Even though a small announcement, we have received the machined aluminum and anodized adapter that we added to the project midway thru. The parts looked great on the first try! So that's done.
Tooling and Production
We are still in the process of tooling refinement and are working to dial-in the inter-connection of the parts. We have also had some issues with materials and we are trying to get that kink worked out as well. What can I say, it's a process and it takes time. That's the reality of product development.
Grumpy Folks : (...........
We know that a handful of you guys are getting fed up with the time it's taken for this project to deliver on it's promise. We apologize, but the challenge we have created for ourselves is something that simply takes time to process out. We are at this point because we are devoted to solving the problem and our bigger promise of delivering a quality product still stands. I hope you guys can understand that.
Have a great week! : )
Jon & Joe
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Andrea Boyd on May 7
I would rather have an awesome product than a crappy rush job. I hope you are learning a lot from the project and that it helps in future projects. I am not disappointed or grumpy. :)
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Alan Languirand on May 13
Word. Keep making it awesome. Anyone who doesn't think they got a deal and doesn't love knowing they're enabling your ability to be creative and productive should rethink backing on KS.
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on April 8
Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
Posted project update #21First shots received.
Hey guys,
We just received first shots of the Orbit. We have a few adjustments to make before production begins but things are looking pretty good considering this is just a preliminary run. Textures will have to be finalized, wall thicknesses adjusted and a few other details that have to do with insert molding the threaded inserts. The intricacies of our ball and socket design are not trivial and we are working closely with our vendor to button up all of the issues. We will keep you posted as we receive a more dialed in part.
Details:
Cup side with brass threaded insert. An additional cost but well worth it.
A look at how the band will interlock the cup to maintain a constant grip on the ball side of the joint but flex enough to allow you to pop it out.
We are having a few issues with the ball side of the orbit. Wall thickness and material selection are posing a few issues, but we should be able to process them out in production. Notice the "sink" marks on the ball due to uneven cooling and shrinking.
We will have more for you soon as we begin to dial in the fit.
Thanks again for being patient.
Sincerely,
Jon & Joe
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on March 27
Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
Posted project update #20First shots scheduled for next week
Molding about to begin:Just a quick update that we are scheduled to receive first shot production parts next week. From there we will will begin to make any last minute adjustments that need to be made. Not the greatest images, but here are the core/cavities of the final tools.
We will have pictures as soon as we get them out of the box. We are just as anxious as you are!
Thank you all for being so patient. We are getting closer and closer.
Jon and Joe
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on February 26
Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
Posted project update #19A first look at the tool!
Tool Design 101:
This is just a quick update about our injection mold tool production. What this is telling us is how our molder went about designing the tool that will produce the Orbit components. We are in the process of tweaking a few things. Let me explain...
Some things that we are concerned with is where the tool will be "shutting off". This means that when two halves of the tool come together, there will be a visible hairline or witness mark. Common practice is to try to keep all of these "blemishes" in non-cosmetic portions of the product. We are examining this and making a few adjustments.
Also, every tool includes ejector pins that "eject" the parts off of the tool once they're molded. These ejector pins also leave a faint witness mark or blemish on the part and need to be strategically placed in order to minimize scarring the surface. A few of these needed to be repositioned as well.
So... although not the most exciting, tool design is definitely a very important part, seeing that every shot that comes out of the tool will be exactly the same.
We are definitely approaching the home stretch! : )
Hope you all had a great weekend!
Jon and Joe
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Robert C on February 27
Thanks so much for the update Jon and Joe! That thing looks menacing and really helps to illustrate how much planning and work goes into the production of such a seemingly simple product. WOW!
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Jim Young on February 27
Yeah, injection molding is not simple. Many tweaks and considerations for all kinds of things. Glad you guys are through the tough design part. Now onto first shots!
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on February 21
Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
commented on a projectToo all of our backers, Jon and I will be the first to admit that we have over promised and under delivered. Robert, no need to pull down your comments. They appear to have summed up the issues that have become painfully obvious to both of us. We are very thankful that we funded at the level we did, otherwise we would be in a deeper hole than we already are. We have run into all kinds of material issues, which we should have been aware of beforehand, however we had (pre-Kickstarter) limited funds and full time jobs which kept us from going as far as we should have in understanding the tradeoffs between aesthetics and performance. We made a number of assumptions that have set us back and there were issues that came up that could not have been foreseen. Who would have thought that something so simple would taken this much time. We accept the comments from all of you. We understand your frustration. Like Jon said, the injection mold tool designs are nearly done, we will be cutting steel soon. We will keep you posted as we make progress. Please direct your comments to us and not to each other. Everybody that is a backer is certainly entitled to their opinion. We are hoping that those of you planning to launch a KS project can learn from some of the mistakes that we have made along the way. If you have questions, please feel free to ask. Joe & Jon
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on February 20
Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
commented on a project@All This is getting out of hand. Guys, I just logged in to check the surveys and find a catfight. We're surprised that things have come to this. We're sorry that we aren't able to please everyone. We'd love to, but it seems that just isn't the case. We'll gladly accept the blame for the bumpy road and are working hard to smooth things out. - I would hope that people would remember that this is just a suction cup. No need to get into an online heated battle over opinions. Can we all just relax and wait for pics of tooling?! We're moving ahead nicely now. ; ) - We do appreciate your support!!! j&j
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on February 19
Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
commented on a project@VideoMagician- We understand your issue and again apologize for the situation, but we also have resellers bundles at 30 units and can't possibly provide individual votes on every orbit pledged. The KS platform just doesn't allow for that sort of complexity. We hope that you will understand the situation.
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on February 19
Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
Posted project update #18Colors and survey
For backers only
If you’re a backer of this project, please
log in
to read this post.
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Kristin Murphy on February 21
White that transforms over time to yellow sounds awe.... Wait for it.... Some.... Awesome baby. I voted Black...
In all seriousness though, great work guys, looking forward to the update on when these might actually ship and seeing this in stores.
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Blake Matejowsky on February 22
I voted red, but am disappointed that grey and orange aren't an option. I agree with everyone else that white was a pointless option if it won't stay white. And I agree with some of you that black, while it looks good and neutral, looks like every other phone accessory out there. GO BOLD!!! It doesn't have to be clear, but an exciting color would stand out. Kickstarter green would have been cool.
I am curious if there will be an difference in quality from color to color. I ask just because clear plastics and opaque plastics don't always have the same properties. Either way, looking forward to getting mine. -
Brian M on February 22
Translucent Red stands out as unique. Otherwise I'd have just backed any one of the other dozen phone suction cup stands on Kickstarter. Going to be severely disappointed if I get 4 black Orbits. At least with white I could spray paint it a different color.
I'd prefer they not send me my Orbits until they can find a way to fix this. I'll wait however long it takes.
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on January 31
Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
Posted project update #17Tooling Underway!
This has been a challenging project for both of us. We have confronted a few mechanical obstacles and have had to make a few adjustments. Although the "ball joint" seems to be a simple concept, the added complexity of separating the two parts to function as a kickstand while maintaining enough friction to support a phone has proved to be a delicate blend of material properties and mechanical design.
Now, they're are ball joints out there that use an assortment of steel clips and springs and bulky plastic components to achieve the effect, but the simplicity and size of the Orbit is what makes it so appealing. We are determined to achieve the best of both and are proud to announce that we have begun production tooling!As soon as we have first shots in hand to evaluate, we will be able to continue to "dial" in the fit and performance. From material thickness, the durometer (flexibility) of the plastic, to the exact type of plastic, we will be able to tweak many factors to get things working just right. As soon as we get there, we will have a lot more of the process to show.We apologize for the delay in progress and the limited communication in terms of updates, but we are definitely moving forward. We appreciate the support and will be sending out our survey later in the week.Many thanks!Jon and Joe
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Jon Norton & Joe Molinari
San Francisco, CA
Joe Molinari and I(Jon Norton) are both designers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Although our experience is disparate, our motivations are both clearly focused on a product's experience. The Orbit is the perfect illustration of our ability to fuse func... view more
Development on this has taken way longer than I was expecting (and I'm sure you guys were expecting). That said I totally am looking foreword to getting my hands on one! I'm glad you guys are paying attention to details rather than doing a rush job to get the product out!
Keep persevering and keep the statuses flowing!
I really have NO hassle with the time factor. As far as I'm concerned, I'm a PRE-early adopter, and I knew that when I signed up for the pledge.
You're doing what's required, you're communicating, and one of these days I'll be surprised by the mail delivery person.
Till then, I'm a happy fellow regardless.
Thanks for going through all these hoops. I hope you're experiencing at least SOME joy amidst the frustrations.
All the best.
Blue skies
Roy
Thank you for providing monthly updates - it's all good.