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4 days ago
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
commented on a projectHey, We've had to order a load of new cases, and are waiting for more information from the factory re: how long it's going to take...
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on May 18
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
commented on a project updateRooting for you!
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on May 11
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
commented on a project updateBut don't worry; we're working on finding a way of getting the Triggertrap v1 and Shield shipped out as soon as possible, which will include the Triggertrap Mobile Dongle.
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on May 11
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
commented on a project updateDave: Well, in that very same update, you'll have noticed that we **spent** that extra money on developing the Triggertrap Mobile, which means that we have zero left. ~H
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on May 8
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
commented on a project updateThere are a few problems with shipping several parcels, unfortunately: Sending out the dongles or the casings or the Triggertraps separately would effectively double our shipping costs, and with the risk of having to re-create (or adapt) the casings, we're already in a position where we have to very careful with our cash reserve, so we can afford to ship the items. We have 898 backers, and each parcel will cost around $4 to ship - that's around $3,500. If we send out dongles separately, that's an additional $1800 (plus packaging and handling cost). If we also send out the casings separately, that's an additional $3000 or so (plus packaging and handling cost). Whilst shipping things now might be a great way to keep a feeling of things happening, the truth is that we simply can't afford the additional cost of shipping more than one item per person. ~ Haje
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on May 8
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
commented on a project updatehttp://www.jingyingsigns.com is the manufacturer.
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on May 8
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
Posted project update #17Another Triggertrap v1 delay
I can’t believe I’m here again with yet another blown deadline. It’s bloody embarrassing, is what it is, and I’m absolutely gutted that today is not going to be the shipping date for Triggertrap v1 as promised.
This time, we’ve been scammed by one of our suppliers.
Even though the Triggertrap casings were delivered to Seeed (the people who are manufacturing the Triggertrap v1) back in February, they only checked a few of the casings, and subsequently only counted the rest. Once they saw all the casings were there, the boxes went back into the warehouse, in order to be pulled back out once the PCB assemblies were going to get mounted inside the casings.
When they started doing that last week, however, it turned out that we had a really embarrassing problem indeed: The PCBs didn’t fit into the casings.
Of course, I immediately thought it was our own fault; Had we somehow made a mistake in the CAD design? Was there a problem with the PCBs? Did we somehow fail to account for something? We went over everything one more time, but it simply didn’t make any sense: We’ve already built a total of 5 prototypes using these casings – so how could something be wrong? It turns out the answer is simple: Not all casings are the same.
The problem is here; as you can see, the inner width of the casing is 65mm. The width of our PCBs are 64mm in our CAD drawings. That gives a whole millimeter, right?
As it turns out, our acrylic manufacturer didn’t quite deliver what we had asked for, and for many of the casings, the distance A is much lower than distance B – in some cases, the difference is over 1.25mm – which means that not only does it differ from the drawing by nearly 2%, the PCBs won’t fit into the casings, and the casings have to be discarded.
The Scam
We immediately contacted the manufacturer of our enclosures, but didn’t get a reply. When Seeed Studios gave them a call, the response they received was that they refused to create additional casings, and wouldn’t even consider trying to rectify the situation.
I’ve been e-mailing them since the 28th of April, switching to daily reminders that I’m still waiting for an answer this past week, but they have only given me one reply so far:
The acrylic enclosures are curved by heat bending, there are a little bounce when acrylic cools down, the normal tolerance is ±1mm. you didn’t note the tolerance for the width, so we produce as we could. The two samples I sent to you, the “A” and “B” are different too. Our equipment could not keep A and B exact same size.
Of course, there was no mention of normal tolerance, any form of apology, or any sort of suggestion that they’d be willing to help sort out the problem.
And then, they stopped answering their phones or replying to e-mail.
And so, in the wonderful world of Chinese manufacturing, we walked into a trap: Because the manufacturers demand full payment up front, and because realistically, we have no legal comeback – there are no lawyers I could involve, there is no police I could call, and it’s too far to go there on my motorbike myself and confront them – we’ve been had.
And not just 'had' as in innocent prank; we've been had to the tune of US$4,500. That's right - nearly 7% of the money we received from our Kickstarter campaign, lost to a company that didn't deliver.
What now?
The factory have gone through all the enclosures and measured them by hand (!). It turns out that by matching PCBs that are slightly narrower to the widest of the enclosures, about half of them are useable; but measuring all the PCBs and acrylic enclosures took up a lot of time (it took 2 people working full-time 4 days to measure and QC all the enclosures)
We are working to find a new supplier that can help us have another round of enclosures made, or whether it's possible to heat-bend the enclosures into the right shape again (I don't know enough about working with acrylic to know whether this is even viable).
I’ve been walking around the flat like a helpless little ragebunny all week, but there’s nothing I can do to change the fact that yes, there’s going to be yet another delay to the Triggertrap v1 and Shield.
I’m really sorry.
When is the Triggertrap v1 shipping, then?
I’m not going to give a new estimate for when we will ship the Triggertrap v1 – hard-earned experience dictates that even if I relay the new estimates from the factory, we just don’t know whether there will be another surprise that pops up and bites us.
The next thing you guys will hear from us about Triggertrap v1 and Shield shipping dates, is when the devices are in their envelopes with addresses on the front, ready to ship.
Post Comment -
on May 7
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
commented on a project updateScott! Thank you so much for cheering us on, and for your enthusiastic feedback! :)
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on May 4
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
backed a project
Seuss-Escher Lovechilde goes the Whole 9 Yards! by Skye Lucking ~ Artist
9 Yards (27 feet) of canvas filled up in 5 days with a style that's akin to the whimsy of Dr Seuss & geometric ambiguity of MC Escher!
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34% funded $2,605 pledged
- 55 backers
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on May 1
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
commented on a projectMore about the Android version: https://triggertrap.com/triggertrap-android/
Ziah Fogel & Haje Jan Kamps
San Francisco, CA
Ziah has spent a lot of her life behind the scenes creating Hollywood blockbusters, and is driven to focus on processes and ways to make projects succeed. Haje writes books and makes projects happen, and is currently in the final phase of turning his previous Kickstarter project into a reality.
But don't worry; we're working on finding a way of getting the Triggertrap v1 and Shield shipped out as soon as possible, which will include the Triggertrap Mobile Dongle.
Firstly, I want to say that I can only imagine your frustration. Saying that it is all part of learning how to do these things is true but it doesn't make it any easier.
Secondly, to the impatient, welcome to the wonderful world of venture capital. Just because Kickstarter uses a community sourcing model doesn't change the fundamentals. I support Kickstarter projects because I want the product but also because I value innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. If all I wanted was the product or something important was hanging on having its capability, I'd buy an existing commercial equivalent. Triple constraint risks in projects are real, and the more 'venture' there is in the undertaking, the more they can bite. If you want to lower your exposure or are an impatient person, don't play in the venture capital world.
Thirdly, I just laugh when I read about how all of this would have been avoided if the factory was located in (insert your country of choice). Ask a few people who has been involved in small run, low cost manufacturing in your own country and, surprise, the stories will be exactly the same.
And, finally, to Ziah and Haje, keep going, you will get there. You have imagination and tenacity, and from what I can see from some, admittedly limited exchanges with Haje by email, the right way of dealing with people. Triggertrap Mobile shows that, even with the stress and upset of your journey so far, you are still coming up with new stuff to capture our interest. I am envious of your imagination.
Ziah & Haje, I would be more than willing to send you the 5$ or so that it would cost to ship out the dongle seperately, just let me know where to, paypal etc. In the interim I would like to use the 10$ triggertrap app I purchased if at all possible until the triggertrap is mailed out. Thank You