Back orders, manufacturing, NEMA 17s, and where’s my package?
Hello, Everybody! (I’m doctor Nick!)
I’m back from Black Rock City where I’ve been sequestered for the last 2 weeks. I’m delighted to be back at work filling orders and making awesome robots. It used to be I dreaded coming home to my j-o-b and now I find I can’t wait. I’m facing so many new and exciting challenges that keep me young and entertained.
Case in point, I just got word of my first damaged shipment. Uh oh! Craig (our unfortunate victim) was also really helpful with great tips about ways to improve the kit. He seems to know his stuff, talking about unique value propositions and tooling. As soon as I get a breather I’m going to be implementing most (if not all) of his ideas. Thank you, Craig!
I’ve also received my first order for printed parts. This is where I run into some manufacturing problems I’ve been trying to keep on the DL. You see, ladles and jelly spoons, so far I’ve had to depend on other people for 3D printing. This has proven to be a monumental disaster of enormous delays. Please tell your friends about my Indiegogo campaign to get robots into schools so I can afford my own 3D printer and (I hope) solve these issues once and for all.
One more good piece of news is that my first order of NEMA17s from china have arrived. They’re 0.3a each and come with a 1m wire and a D-cut on the shafts. That means they’ll be easier and tidier than ever for including in Drawbots. I’ve got to run them through some testing. Expect to see them in outgoing shipments really soon.
To prevent further chaos, I’m going to update all store inventory to “out of stock” if it has a 3D printed part until such time as I can get this sorted out. DONT PANIC – I’ll still be filling orders. It’s just a stop gap to slow down the orders until I can get this streamlined the way I’d like. All I’m saying is Please be patient with me and I’ll update here as often as I can.
I’m also going to put priority on acquiring some boxes for safer shipping. Do you know someone in Vancouver area that can supply them at a good price? Do you have a template for a cardboard box I could run through a laser cutter? I love the idea of making them on demand instead of lying around waiting for a fire.
I see now that happy customers = short delivery times + good communication. I’m dedicated to making you happy. If you have any ideas about how to make things better (or maybe just to share the love), please comment below.
