I was hoping I'd wake up today and receive the news of the samples shipping, and you've probably already guessed this hasn't happened.
I discussed with the factory that the plates would initially be CNC'd for the sample, with the full production to be laser cut. However, the engineers chose to have the plates laser cut, like the production, so that the sample represents what I'll receive, and what you'll receive. They tried to have the plates laser cut at their usual supplier, who cannot do the job due to the higher MOQ they have. They will now aim to have it complete by Monday (26th).
Unfortunately this doesn't play well with the timeline I outlined a couple of weeks ago when I was told it would take 15 days to finish. The current word is that I'll receive exact news on the plates on Friday (23rd), along with pictures. They hope they can finish on Monday, and shipping will be the next day (however I'm allowing for more). The timeline I outlined doesn't really allow for delays apart from during shipping, so I've also taken this into consideration when revising it. Here is what we're looking at now:
- 09/28 - sample shipped
- 10/05 - sample received, production approved, invoices out
- 10/12 - invoices due
- 10/26 - production shipped
- 11/02 - production received, shipping invoices, packing
- 11/06 - all orders out
I'll give another update on Friday as soon as the factory contact me, which will be around this time.
I've also been told another 3-4 weeks for anodizing with the prototype from the first factory, however since I don't need them to be anodized (and the design is a earlier revision), I've asked for them to be shipped unanodized which should hopefully get them to me soon. This doesn't affect the group buy any more, as I won't be using the factory that machined the parts.
