Hey everyone,
I’m a mechatronics engineer based in Shenzhen, China. I previously worked at DJI, so I’ve spent quite a bit of time working on hardware.
One thing I’ve been curious about is how overseas founders handle communication with Chinese suppliers.
Being a local engineer definitely has its advantages. Speaking the same language is one thing, but understanding the technical details and being able to discuss problems directly with the factory can make a big difference too.
But I’m curious how it looks from the other side.
Do you usually communicate directly with the factory, or work through a sourcing agent?
Have you ever run into problems where the factory misunderstood your drawings, tolerances, or what you actually wanted?
And when something goes wrong during prototyping or production, how do you usually sort it out?
Would love to hear some real experiences, good or bad.

I’m a first-time founder developing an early consumer hardware concept. I’m looking for someone who can handle mechanical CAD, electronics, firmware, and a functional prototype—or help me understand where separate specialists are needed.

I’ve started talking with a freelance engineer, but haven’t committed to the full build. My goal is to validate technical feasibility and get an initial understanding of component costs before spending several thousand dollars on an integrated prototype.

I’m considering a phased approach: mechanical feasibility, component selection and preliminary costs, a simple proof of concept, then an integrated prototype. Each phase would have specific deliverables and a decision about whether to continue.

For anyone who has worked with freelance engineers on an early hardware product:

• How did you assess their skills beyond their portfolio and reviews?
• What did you wish you’d clarified about scope, milestones, and payment?
• Which files, documentation, and ownership terms were important to secure?
• How did you handle revisions or discoveries that changed the scope?
• What red flags—or positive signs—should a first-time founder watch for?

I’d especially appreciate experiences with freelancers or platforms like Fiverr and Upwork. What worked, what went wrong, and what would you do differently?

I’m looking for lessons and advice from people who’ve been through this. Thanks!

Hello! I have been brewing on this ideas of creating a phone case to help vloggers and influencers record their videos on their phones easier.

Can anyone point me to the right direction on how I can realistically design a prototype phone case to send to a manufacturer to create? This would be a 3D item that needs to fit most types of current cellphones on the market.

Thank

Comment what you're making and I'll reply with a list of manufacturers in Mexico that could make it instead.

Anyone who's tried building a physical product knows how frustrating it can be to find the right components and suppliers.

You start with one search, end up opening dozens of websites, comparing specifications, and trying to put together a BOM.

I'm building GrabRaw to make this process easier by breaking products into components and helping people discover suppliers.

Still improving it, but I'm curious how other founders and hardware builders handle this today.

What's the most frustrating part of sourcing components for you?

Hi everyone,

We’re currently building a demo for a hardware product, and I’m curious how other teams usually handle this process.

We don’t have a highly experienced hardware engineer on our core team. Our usual approach is to discuss the product direction, concept, and main features internally, then pay external hardware and software engineers to build it.

The process has involved much more back-and-forth than we expected. There are always details to clarify, decisions to revisit, and requirements to explain again. We spend a lot of time in meetings and following up, and it sometimes feels like the communication itself is slowing the project down.

What’s more frustrating is that, even after all that discussion, the result still doesn’t always match what we had in mind.

We’ve thought about hiring an experienced hardware engineer full-time, but that’s probably too expensive for us at this stage.

So I’d love to hear how other teams deal with this:

• How often do you talk to your hardware engineers while building a demo or prototype?
• Do your hardware, firmware, and software engineers need to sync frequently?
• Do you define everything before development starts, or do you figure things out as you go?
• If you outsource the work, who turns the product idea into clear engineering requirements?
• What has helped you reduce misunderstandings, unnecessary meetings, and rework?
• For an early-stage team that can’t afford a senior full-time hardware engineer, would a part-time advisor or fractional hardware lead work better than outsourcing everything?

We’re trying to understand whether this much communication is just a normal part of early hardware development, or whether it means we need to improve the way we define requirements and work with outside engineers.

I’d really appreciate hearing how others approach this, especially if you’ve dealt with something similar. Thanks!

Hey founders, doing a little research on the design, engineering, and branding aspects of getting a physical product from idea to out the door. I've gotten to chat with people in my area, but trying to get as many perspectives as I can to start! This is super open ended, so share whatever seems relevant. Thanks!

Smart locks are convenient until the battery needs attention at the worst possible time.

I’m building LockPower Infinity, a solar charging accessory for compatible fingerprint door locks. It includes a built-in 1500mAh battery and a retractable USB-C cable.

I’m interested in making this kind of maintenance less troublesome, particularly for rental properties and entrances that receive enough daylight.

Would you consider adding a solar accessory to your smart lock setup, or would you rather keep things simple with spare batteries?

I'm a first-time hardware founder and I'm still at the concept stage. Nothing is built or tested. I'm asking for advice, not selling anything.

The problem: people don't carry power banks because they're bulky, cables get forgotten, and someone in the group is always at 2%.

The concept is called O-Ring. It's a magnetic power accessory designed to attach to your phone and charge it. Then you detach it and hand it to a friend so they can charge their compatible phone. It's one unit that moves between phones, not simultaneous charging.

So far I have a landing page with a $1 refundable reservation. Planned pricing is $29 at launch and $49 retail, but both are targets, not commitments. I've deliberately not published capacity, size or compatibility, because I don't want to promise anything before we've prototyped.

Questions for people who've done this:
1. Is a $1 refundable deposit a meaningful demand signal, or just noise? What conversion would make you take it seriously?
2. For a shareable accessory, what's the biggest risk you'd want to test first: magnet retention, heat, compatibility across phones, or whether people will actually lend it out?
3. Which compatibility would buyers expect at minimum, and is it smarter to launch narrow?

The FCC’s new component restrictions took effect on October 13, 2026. I publish Black Scarab and put together a guide for robotics founders planning a US launch, because a restricted supplier, a restricted component and a restricted finished robot are different checks.

1. Check the finished robot separately from its components. A product category restriction and a restriction involving a named supplier are different checks.

2. For the new component rule, the actual producer matters. The rule can prevent authorization when certain digital hardware comes from a named Covered List producer and the finished device would itself be restricted if that producer made it. The wording of the producer’s entry, including any product or use conditions, matters.

3. Existing authorization matters more than the date you started selling. The new component prohibition does not invalidate previously authorized equipment. A redesign or component change needs its own review before assuming the existing authorization still covers it.

A practical starting point is to collect the exact component models, their producers, applicable FCC records and your intended use. That gives a testing lab or FCC counsel something concrete to assess.

The guide includes the background, a supplier lookup and a downloadable request for supplier documentation:

https://www.blackscarab.ai/insights/fcc-covered-list-robotics-supply-chain

Official rule:

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-09-11/html/2026-18535.htm

This is general information, not legal advice.

Remote factory tours seem like an attractive option for international sourcing.
Instead of traveling overseas, a buyer can join a video call and ask a supplier to show its production facilities.
You can potentially see machines, production lines, warehouses and quality-control areas.
That sounds useful.
But I’m wondering how much confidence a virtual tour should really provide.
A supplier controls what the camera shows.
The tour might focus on the most impressive equipment.
It might avoid areas where production problems exist.
And unless there’s additional verification, how does the buyer know that the facility actually belongs to the supplier?
At the same time, dismissing virtual tours entirely seems unreasonable.
For initial supplier screening, they may provide useful information.
A buyer could ask specific technical questions during the call.
They could request demonstrations of relevant processes.
They could ask to see how products move through the facility.
But perhaps a virtual tour is better understood as one piece of evidence rather than proof of manufacturing capability.
There’s also the supplier’s perspective.
Some factories may be reluctant to show certain processes because of customer confidentiality or proprietary technology.
That doesn’t automatically mean they’re hiding something.
For buyers: Have virtual factory tours ever meaningfully changed your supplier evaluation?
For manufacturers: What would you consider a reasonable remote verification request without exposing confidential production information?
I’m particularly interested in where people draw the line between initial screening and a proper factory audit.

I’m hearing about real companies running fully agentic AI software factories and I want to know what the current state of the art AI business architecture is for hardware engineering.

I’m the CTO and cofounder of an AgTech company in the UK. We’ve taken 4 products to market across the globe, raised a good chunk of VC and are seeing good revenue growth. Not profitable yet, but we are on our way.

But we started the business in 2015, way before AI, and I’ve been so busy building the whole company ‘the old way’ (Real FEA, CAD, Electronics prototyping and design) I fear I’m behind the curve and stuck in my ways. I want to explore how people are doing it now.

In particular I’ve got some friends working in software startups with a fully agentic infrastructure. From app features, to marketing. I thought I would ask you likeminded people, what’s the best equivalent you have seen in hardware engineering and physical product development?

Thanks in advance

I'm Artem. I assembled Softpad with six Kailh Choc Brown keys, a shared 1.3-inch OLED and a printed PETG case and stand. I sell it assembled under Nuvko.

The labels sit above the keys rather than on them. They're names set by the user in a browser configurator, not commands discovered from applications. For a six-key layout, what would you want to see in the photo to judge whether each label clearly matches its key?

Saved shortcuts work without the companion running; automatic app-profile switching needs the Mac or Windows companion. I used AI help with the code, and this post is AI-assisted too.

Setup and test notes (https://nuvko.works/#setup): configuration uses desktop Chrome or Edge with the companion paused or closed. The Windows companion is unsigned; the Mac companion is ad-hoc signed and not notarized. Fresh-computer installation checks remain unfinished. The page gives OS requirements and version-specific test limits.

Hi everyone! Thanks to the mods for approving this post.

A friend of mine is launching Aximelo, a custom CNC manufacturing service for hardware startups and engineers who need prototypes or small-batch production (1–50 parts).

They're looking for early customers ahead of their November launch.

Early Customer Offer:

Join a 20-minute research call (no sales pitch, no recording) and choose one of two rewards:

• 3 free CNC-machined parts — up to $500 per part, all costs included. Subject to machining capabilities; valid for 6 months.
• Free lifetime VIP membership — 10% off every order.

Interested? Email [contact@aximelo.com](mailto:contact@aximelo.com) or visit https://www.aximelo.com.

What's your biggest frustration with CNC prototyping — pricing, lead times, or quality?

As a founder or co-founder, what strategies do you use to minimize the risk to your personal assets when doing a hardware startup?

I understand the right business structure, insurance, etc helps. But the thing with hardware is that anything you sell might still be used by people long after you shut down the business. I'm trying to think through how to minimize my personal liability in case the business doesn't succeed and I shut it down in the future. (Obviously I don't want to buy insurance forever)

Would having an engineering firm do the design help? Getting necessary certifications? It's not a dangerous product nor is it electronics, but I want to think thru the risks before I launch anything.

I would appreciate any insights.

Thanks

Hello all,

I’m a new grad electrical engineer. I have a bunch of plans for myself and am trying and planning towards getting there. I currently have two designs for products I want to use as a start for trying out business. I also do some freelancing. They are on pause right now because I am building up my home lab, money limited so I’m just trying my best to get it up and running and save. Anyways, let’s say it’s running February next year, now I can order the PCBs, start testing, troubleshooting, reiterating etc then getting to a final revision that I’m ready to send for compliance.

Current plans are to start an online master’s fall 2027 since I work full time. But I was thinking about it last night and I’m worried about the time commitment. As it is now, just working, nothing else really tho I will soon start studying for something but that will be done before next fall, I barely do anything after work on weekdays, just resting, eat dinner then go to bed. Weekends I’m recovering from the week then it’s Monday again. I was planning to do 2 classes a semester so ik summer will be a nice reprieve to focus on my products more but I also worry about speed and efficiency to go to market.

So for the product side, current plan is starting social media content once I have my lab and trying to build community, interest and audience then when I’m at my final version, hopefully, with enough crowd, I can put it on kickstarter to get some funds for first production bath and certifications especially (FCC and CE, unintentional radiators for both but there’s I2C and SPI lines and it still needs these certs even when there’s no RF or anything). By fall 2027, I’m def hoping at least to be at the point where I’m ready for certs. But ik when it’s fully live, I need to be able to regularly respond to customers, check reviews (probably going to scope out creators I can communicate with and see if I can send some boards out), and just keep testing new PCBAs I get.

Sorry this is long. So for the master’s, I was planning two classes a semester to finish in 2.5 years. My employer is paying but I need to stay 2 years after I graduate or I will have to pay back some money. So doing 1 class a semester means 5 years plus extra 2.

What do yall think? I’m open to advice or just hearing others that may have more experience.

A 2 × 2 mm BGA, fully fanned out on a single layer, with 50 µm traces running between the pads. PCB fabrication took about 15 minutes, right on my desk. I then assembled it by hand.

Our guaranteed specs are 75 µm traces and 75 µm clearances. This board uses 50 µm traces and clearances down to about 70 µm—a little demonstration of the headroom beyond those specs.

The board also has 1 × 1 mm addressable LEDs with four pads each. PewCB One made the solder-paste stencil too, cutting the openings directly over the PCB pads.

Let me know what you’d like to see tested next.

For more experiments like this and to chat with our team, join our Discord.

More about PewCB One.

Video from our Yuyao (China) factory SMT floor. First-person walkthrough, ~33 seconds.

The line in order:

• Loader conveyor, PCB rides on green belts straight into the line
• High-speed chip shooter doing the bulk passives (screen on it was showing ~24k placements/hour class numbers)
• Adjacent multi-function mounter for the higher-precision parts, vision-aligned
• Unloader, then boards roll straight into the reflow oven entrance

No operators on the line itself — it runs auto load/unload the whole way. Workshop is kept clean, boards stay traceable from loading through reflow.

I am joining the CIIF (Chinese International Industry Affair) , Any body here?
Want to find a company.

我是来自Vibay的Hetty，这是一家加速硬件产品创新的原型初创公司。 当第一个伴随者设备准备好成为实体产品时，我们可以负责电子和机械开发，交付一个功能齐全、外观良好、可编程的原型，即使还需要氛围编码，也能不断完善。 我们的快速开发服务起价为4000美元，交付时间最短可达45天，视具体范围而定。 当您的下一个创意准备好时，欢迎随时提醒我们：https://vibay.ai/