Taiwan is known for its history and talents of rich industrial export, and has always been a great place for makers and startups to realize their ideas. Industrial designers, mechanical molding studios, cable harness factories, and 3D printing spaces are easily accessible in many places. Some startups have a hard time finding manufacturers to partner with because they are not familiar with these industries. Therefore the Resource Streaming Forum was held at Innosquare on October 19, to be the matchmaker of manufacturers and startups. It aimed to turn every maker’s ideas into reality, and find the best manufacturing service for him.
The experts behind makers, the industrial production team
“The design draft of the mold and all its records must be kept, because you will need them during modification and handover after the mold trial.” General Manager Jinwen Wu (吳錦文) at Great Mold Industries shared some of his tips on molding. He also reminded the makers that every time they develop a new mold, the mold mechanic has to set the tolerance, and the usage limit. It is especially important to pay attention to the difference between plastic mold and metal mold. You have to create budget on the material and the quality beforehand.
Jinwen Wu also said that besides making molds for components or small and medium-sized home appliances, Great Mold Industries also provides 3D printing services, small-scale productions and customized orders that most manufacturers don’t accept, and even consulting services during molding. This saves a lot of resources and time for startups. According to Wu, these unique services come from years of experience and technology. They are meant to help makers enter the market.
During the early molding period, most makers have the immediate need of dealing with the circuits and pipelines for the production. This is where First Creation Industry comes in. Their sales manager Dongjie Zhou (周東杰) explained to us the entire PCB production process, and also introduced the equipment and the professional quality assurance of their company. They uphold the ISO/TS quality standard once the contract is signed, and all the way through purchase quality control, process management, shipment quality control, and yield assessment and analysis, to make sure that all startups and makers have nothing to worry about in their circuit layouts.
There are professional consultants for PCBs, and therefore keeping the battery life consistent is an important job as well. Popular among companies domestic and abroad, JS Power has 11 years of experience in the research of battery modules, and a strict quality assurance system. General Manager Yufen Weng (翁育芬) said that their newly released STOBA, the material for making high security lithium battery, is not only high quality but also explosion proof. It is safe and lasts longer, which is why many domestic companies like Tanker the power bank startup, Sharp Robot, and the first wave of electric scooters, are all using JS Power’s reliable power supply. It is one of the go-to manufacturers for makers and startups who want to enter mass productions.
When startups collaborate with local manufacturers, excellent products are made
Nobody knows how good localized manufacturing is better than the local startups themselves. Steve Yang, the owner of digital music player Pi-AudioTech did all his research collaboration with local manufacturers, and made a player with 6 million dollar quality that can cost dozens of thousands of dollars in some countries. Its audio quality is just as good as some of the branded multi cable players, and it supports the basic MP3 all the way to the latest DSD music and videos, while keeping the quality lossless. The exquisite stainless steel body is the result of Shey Ming Industrial’s modification, which is unlike the fragile acrylic they used before. The new body protects its internals and provides a nice simplistic appearance.
Coincidentally, with over 3 million dollars pledged and almost a thousand supporters on crowdfunding website Zeczec, the Vulcan kitchen temperature control smart plug is another successful case of localized manufacturing. Based on the belief of “a tiny deviation will get you lost in the universe forever,” their industrial designer Chihho Chen was able to deliver high precision in the product. When learning that the Japanese model of the product would be thrown into water to check for bubbles and the amount of space for compression, he still checked on it with the same professional attitude. Under the strict design draft, they collaborated with First Creation Industry on the tedious process of production line negotiation, material selection, testing, and back to production again, to finally able to deliver the high quality product to their sponsors.
Bringing makers and local manufacturers together
Apart from these 2 successful cases of collaboration between local manufacturers and makers or startups, there are still a lot of excellent manufacturers out there. The Maker Partner Exchange Forum aims to not only help creative teams find the right manufacturers, but also increase the visibility of Taiwan’s productive energy and pride.
