Happy Holidays Team!

Since the last update we received the first samples of Handground components and shipped out all the Handground coffee ink Tshirts. We have a ton of photos to share with you of the tooling factory and the first sample components. There have been some delays with the tool making process and we have a revised timeline for shipping. 

Tooling Update and Factory Photos

On the left are plastic injection machines and the right are molds that aren't in use
On the left are plastic injection machines and the right are molds that aren't in use
Close up of one of the plastic injection machines
Close up of one of the plastic injection machines
CNC machine that is used to create the molds for each component
CNC machine that is used to create the molds for each component
CNC machine in action
CNC machine in action
After the CNC is finished cutting out the cavity, the molds must be hand polished to remove all imperfections
After the CNC is finished cutting out the cavity, the molds must be hand polished to remove all imperfections
This is the mold for the bottom ring that houses the burr mill on Handground
This is the mold for the bottom ring that houses the burr mill on Handground
This mold is for the steps piece that gives Handground 15 coarseness levels
This mold is for the steps piece that gives Handground 15 coarseness levels
This is the other half of the steps piece. It is fresh off the CNC mill and still needs to be polished
This is the other half of the steps piece. It is fresh off the CNC mill and still needs to be polished
This mold is for the stepper piece that supports the axle and moves up and down the steps
This mold is for the stepper piece that supports the axle and moves up and down the steps
This is half of the mold for the hopper
This is half of the mold for the hopper
Both sides for the top cap lid
Both sides for the top cap lid
The bottom half of the top cap
The bottom half of the top cap

Glass Catcher and Pakka Wood Knob Sample

The tooling for the glass catcher is complete and we have some samples from the first pilot run. The threads are dimensionally accurate and fit the grinder perfectly. The glass is clear and pretty thick which adds a good amount of mass to the bottom of the grinder. 

There are some wavy areas that are forming on the bottom of the glass and we are working with the tool maker to make changes to attempt to smooth them out. Overall the catcher works great functionally and coffee grounds pour out of it without any resistance so the change we made to reduce the lip underneath the threads worked. 

Glass catcher sample from first run
Glass catcher sample from first run

 

The bottom will be covered by a rubber non-slip pad
The bottom will be covered by a rubber non-slip pad
Side view of Handground catcher

This is the latest sample we have for the pakka wood knob. You may notice some marks and dents on the surface, these will not be on the final parts. Our goal with this sample was to finalize the light and dark brown color, our previous samples were leaning on the orange side. 

We are moving forward with this color pair and the new samples with a smooth, matte finish have already been shipped to P88 in Shanghai. 

Handground wood knobs


We have also ordered samples of all the metal components (bushings, axles, screws, springs, gears) that will be purchased from vendors and should have them within the next week. 

Updated Shipping Timeline

We have had some delays with the tooling factory that were outside of our control. We worked with Platform88 to see if we could pay extra to accelerate the tooling schedule but there were no feasible options. 

The tooling schedule has been pushed back from the end of November to the end of December. Once it is finished we will do a small pilot run to check the tooling calibration. It could take 1 to 3 weeks to dial in the dimensions for each component within our tolerances. We hope to have a sample run of all components completed before the end of January so we can assemble and test production units during February. 

The Chinese New Year starts at the beginning of February and for a few weeks, more than 800 million people return to the rural areas of China to visit their families and celebrate the holiday. For most factory workers, this is the only time they see their families all year. All activity in the factories stops during this period so we will not be able to make any progress towards production for these weeks.

We will begin full production after the Chinese New Year with the capacity to produce 1000 units per day. We should begin ocean shipping in late March/ early April. From Shanghai, Handground will be shipped to international distributors around the world and we expect deliveries will begin to arrive in May.

This sounds like a big jump from January and we realized we made a mistake in our last update. If the tooling had been finished at the end of November, we would of shipped from Shanghai at the end of Jan. before the CNY and the units would of arrived to us in March.

Now with the one month delay for CNY and one month delay with tooling we are at May. We are truly sorry for this jump in the timeline.
 

We have been working full time on Handground for 14 months now and there is nothing we want more than to ship Handground to you. We understand that hearing about delays can be frustrating and we are so grateful for all the positive comments throughout this project. We will continue to be transparent about everything that happens as we finish the next leg of this journey. 

Coffee Ink T-Shirts Have Shipped

Handground tshirts

Since our shipping timeline for Handground has been pushed back we packed and shipped all of the Tshirts to backers in the US and internationally. We are still waiting on the sizing information from a couple people, so if you have ordered a shirt and not received a shipping confirmation, please email us at hello@handground.com

If you have already received your shirt, remember to wash cold with mild detergent!

Bamboo Filter Racks Are on Their Way

Handground bamboo filter rack

We arranged for the bamboo filter racks to be shipped to us via ocean freight. We think we can use this as an opportunity to learn how to arrange freight for a small shipment and bring it through customs before we have to send entire container of Handgrounds. We plan to ship out the bamboo racks once they arrive here in the US.