KS Project Update #13: Update 13 - Scaling Up and Surveys

Project Update #13: Update 13 - Scaling Up and Surveys Posted by M3D LLC ♥ Like

Hi Everyone, We’re proud to say everything here at M3D is moving according to schedule due to a lot of exceptional planning and incredibly hard work by the M3D team. Here’s an update on some of the exciting progress and goals! Scaling Up for Production First, we extensively evaluated our manufacturer’s production capabilities over the last month to generate feedback for them. Based on those experiences, we were able to fine-tune the engineering designs both for higher quality and higher throughput manufacturing. From those tweaks, we expect another round of medium scale tests, with nearly every component being purchased in lots of 100s or more. These multiple rounds of testing are what is essential for our stringent timelines to get The Micro to every backer the way we promised, on time and with quality in check. Last week also marked the first of our very large-scale component purchases, with some being ordered in the tens of thousands. Doing all the diligence needed to sign off on these contracts gave us a hearty taste of what is needed to get The Micro to every backer. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, we launched the first of many injection molds which are needed to produce the full-production batch printers starting in November. We look forward to seeing all the parts flowing in at high volume so we can begin making the thousands of Micros we’re all waiting for. It’s so exciting seeing these large scale processes quickly going underway. https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/pr...png?1404296871New Filament Sign Up For Shipment Fulfillment Testing In our last update we told you we want to test our fulfillment methods and would offer discounted larger filament rolls to our backers for helping us with these tests. This ignited a flurry of interest and many of you offered to help. So we’ve created a mailing list for you to sign up and be first to help us test our shipping and fulfillment network. Due to popular demand we’ve also expanded the testing to include North America. To sign up go here http://eepurl.com/X_149 T-Shirt T-shirt designs are finalized! We’re excited get them shipped out to you throughout July. Our last step is getting all of your names on the shirts. A survey for T-shirt backers was sent out in a recent email to those in that respective tier. Make sure you have filled it out with your name so we can process the shirts and get them to you quickly. If you haven’t received an email, please contact us as soon as possible. Surveys For $1+ Backers We will be sending out the survey for this shortly! So keep an eye out if you are a member of this tier. This will be the information used on the wall of fame, which is soon to be located on our website. Surveys For $899 Backers We have also created our first survey for those of you who are receiving a Micro! If you are a member in the $899 tier, expect to see a survey in your mailbox in the coming days! Maryland We have been working hard with many folks in Maryland, including those involved in Economic Development, Manufacturing Extension Partnerships, and Real Estate. They have been keen on helping us plan and stage the build out of our production facility in Maryland, which we hope becomes known as the silicon valley of 3D Printing. They have been critical in helping us get it right the first time around. With their support we have been able to setup a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. Below is a sneak peak render of the facility we are going to build, which is about 1/3rd office and 2/3rd manufacturing, because we believe that synergy between our engineering and production teams is critical to innovation and cost competitiveness. Every team member can be tightly in sync with every aspect of the Micro’s production from design to shipping the final product out the door. https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/pr...png?1404295112 As always, thanks for your support, and keep in touch with us and follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Yours Truly, The M3D Team