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Industrial Design vs Mechanical Engineering — How Endless Manages the Give and Take

Beauty and function encompass two critical elements of a hardware product: one tangible and the other intangible. For Endless Mobile, these two elements encapsulate the overarching vision for the product they sought to create: an affordable, yet delightful and luxurious computer for the developing world. For hardware companies, mechanical engineering and industrial design can sometimes appear […]

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How to Reduce 3D Printing Costs by Cutting Your 3D Model

We receive a lot of questions about how to reduce the cost of 3D printing. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure your model fits on a smaller build bed to ensure the fastest build time on the cheapest machine available to produce your part. In this article we’ll show you […]

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Financing Hardware Products: Kickstarter vs Indiegogo vs Pre-Orders

You’ve ran your tests and iterated until you can iterate no more (well, you could but you won’t). Now finally, (finally!) you’re ready to bring your product to the masses. But what’s the best way to get it out there? Kickstarter and Indiegogo have brought some real success stories to market over the past few years and […]

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Why Process Trumps Relationships in China

When it comes to manufacturing in China, there’s one idea that seems to dominate the conversation: relationships are everything. Success seems to revolve around your ability to build strong relationships with the right people who will introduce you to the right factories. Moreover, continued success depends on maintaining a strong relationship with that factory so […]

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An Overview of RTV Molds

Injection molding has long been the best method of bulk production, while 3D printing has recently become the best choice for early stage prototyping. But when and how should you make the switch from single volume production with 3D prints to high volume production? With small run production it can be hard to find the […]

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Building Dreams: Insights on Becoming a Hardware CEO

Each startup begins with a dream, an idea. But to discover the courage, strategy, and means to actually move toward realizing that idea is a exceptional task and for most Founders that period of transition is both challenging and transformative. Clifton Roozeboom is in the midst of such a transition as he moves from completing […]

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3D File Types

There are three different types of digital files, broadly speaking: ones for printing, ones for modeling, and ones for 2D drawings. In order to produce a physical part, a 3D printer requires a specific file type. Known as a ‘mesh model’, the most common file type for 3D printing is called STereoLithography, or STL. To […]

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Petcube’s CTO on How to Work with Vendors in China

For this week’s Hardware Spotlight, we’re chatting with Alex Neskin, the CTO at Petcube, an innovative product that connects owners with their pets using remote wireless camera streaming, 2-way audio, and a built-in laser pointer. Often the greatest lessons are born out of challenges encountered and Alex Neskin, CTO at Petcube, relates to this sentiment all too […]

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Design for Manufacturing Terms

Manufacturing is hard enough without knowing terms most manufacturers use. Here’s a quick resource to help you learn the most common terms around describing physical parts. DFM (Design For Manufacturing) Terms Undercut: In manufacturing, an undercut is a special type of recessed surface. In machining it refers to a recess in a corner or a piece of […]

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Luna on Best Practices for Manufacturing Your First Hardware Product

If you’re developing your first product, the process to take a prototype and transform it into a commercially viable product may seem overwhelming. Should you find a contract manufacturer or use several independent manufacturers? Should you work with local vendors or consider overseas? How finished should your prototype be before you start talking to a […]