I am going to choose a new supplier for MakerSlide tomorrow, after I have a final conversation with those on my short list.  I received all the quotes I had been waiting for, and they confirmed that they could extrude 6005 aluminium alloy.  6005 is mechanically identical to the 6105 alloy used by Bart Dring in the US, but more easily available in Europe.  It is stronger than the 6063 alloy commonly used for extrusion.  The old supplier used 6060, which is somewhere between 6063 and 6005 in strength.  6005 costs only pennies more than 6060 and 6063, but is harder to extrude, which is why not all mills can use it for the MakerSlide profile.

Before we got the last batch from our current supplier a few months ago, I spoke to them and told them about the quality issues we were seeing.  Besides the largely cosmetic issue of improperly rinsed holes, which caused them to fill with white gunk, a lot of the rail had dents, scratches and other small defects that made it unusable.  The supplier assured me that they would change their procedures and packaging methods, and that they’d make it so that the profile got to me undamaged.

In short, they didn’t.  The only improvement was that they rinsed the rail a little better: “only” about a quarter of it had white gunk, down from two-thirds.  The amount of damage from handling seemed to have stayed the same, or maybe even increased somewhat.  One third to one half of that batch was rejects, with the longer lengths being even worse (two-thirds bad in the 2 m lengths).  This meant there wasn’t enough good MakerSlide for the planned eShapeOko kits, and by the time I realized the extent of the problem, there wasn’t any left to tide us over until the next batch arrived.

The supplier then refused to accept another order.  They didn’t do it overtly, though: they simply stopped responding to email, set up and then cancelled meetings to talk about quality issues, said they would call back and never did, and so on.  Only many weeks later someone mentioned that they were reluctant to take another order because they weren’t confident they could meet our quality standards.  That was when I began looking for other potential suppliers, but I still hoped I would be able to order one last batch from them, to have something to offer, even if I had to carefully examine each length and dispose of half of it.

However, they kept dragging their feet, so I’ve given up on them.  I’m going to have to write off the cost of their extrusion die.

I now have several quotes from potential suppliers, and I have narrowed it down to a few that I like (not the lowest quotes).  I still need to get an updated quote from one of them and answers to a few more questions before I decide, but it looks like I will be able to get the ball rolling on a new die and a new batch of MakerSlide early next week.

All the potential new suppliers have several advantages over the existing one, which I’ll explain in anther blog post one of these days.

Unfortunately, with a new die needed and most extrusion mills being closed over the entire Christmas and New Year period, it will take at least two months before we’ll see the new MakerSlide.  I’m planning to make good use of this time:

• Offer eShapeOko kits for sale without the rail (there has been some interest, especially from people who got their rail in Harry’s Ulule campaign).
• Make improvements to the eShapeOko design.  Nothing spectacular — it already has many of the features of the upcoming Shapeoko 2.  The most notable exceptions are the really thick motor plates, and the inverted Z axis. Both have advantages as well as drawbacks.  In particular, the eShapeOko benefits much less from an inverted Z axis, so I’m still undecided on whether to adopt that or not.
• Upgrade the stock management system, with the goal of being able to offer a “complete kit”: the mechanical kit plus motors, drivers, controller, power supply, cable, connectors, spindle, starter endmills, tools, and so on — everything needed to build and use the machine in one box (ideally with no soldering required).

I have been in a car accident (a driver ran a red light and smashed into my car).  I have a concussion and I am a little worse for wear, but I should be OK in a couple of days.

There are about a dozen orders which are going to be delayed a few days because of this.

The fox spent a good few minutes in our garden.  It walked around a bit, pooped, then sat down for a minute or so, scratched (very much like a dog), jumped on the garden wall (very much like a cat), and went away.

I have just discovered that I have a couple dozen unread email messages that got misfiled (into a folder with offers from Lidl and Aldi). Several are support questions, requests for information and custom orders. I think this was the little helper’s doing. I’ll get to them as soon as I can.

[|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||] Orders shipped

Phew.  Now, I can rela—— [head hits keyboard] Z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z

[|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||] Orders shipped

[|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||] Complete orders boxed

I had sized this batch of MakerSlide and eShapeOko kits to last enough to allow us to get the next batch seamlessly.  That would have worked, but lots of MakerSlide came damaged from the factory.  Part of it was from insufficient packaging and daft arrangement on the pallet, but a lot of the damage seems to have happened between extrusion and anodizing, or during maneuvering in the factory.  For some lengths, more than 50% of the rail had at least one dent, ding or scratch that made it unusable; some lengths were better, but still 30% rejects.

At some point, I realized more rail was damaged than I had initially estimated, and I wasn’t sure whether the stock would cover the open orders anymore. I had to stop accepting new orders. The factory agreed to take back the damaged MakerSlide (or at least that’s my understanding of the conversations I’ve had), so most likely I won’t be out of pocket on that, but I still need to unwrap all of it and check it, then pack the bad ones and get the factory to pick them up. I checked all the 2000 mm, 1400 mm, 1000 mm, 500 mm, most of 750 mm and 250 mm, and some of the 375 mm. I haven’t checked the hardcoat anodized MakerSlide yet. I have to check all of it this week, so that I can place another order. It usually takes the factory 4-5 weeks to schedule, extrude, cut, anodize, wrap, re-cut, pack and deliver a batch of MakerSlide.

I have a few 1 m lengths left, nothing longer, very few 750 mm, and no 500 mm. In theory, I could cut down longer pieces (e.g. ones with damage near one end) to make a few more eShapeOko kits. I had to do just that to put together some of the kits that called for 500 mm rail. I try to avoid cutting, though, because it’s messy, time-consuming, and my cuts are not as good as the factory cuts. Once I’ve finished counting the MakerSlide, I’ll decide what to do with the meagre remaining stock. I’ll probably put the 1 m lengths and the hardcoat anodized lengths back in the shop.

Packing a kit takes way too much time. I’m trying to improve it so that it goes quicker, and more of it can be done by my other (generally better, but physically weaker) half. We got the small part counting and bagging pretty much under control, but we’re still struggling with the rail and outer packaging for larger kits. One problem with custom-made boxes is that it takes large, and I mean large, orders to get the prices down to a reasonable level. That means I can’t afford to have a different box size for each kit size, so I have to do with one or two sizes and pad, cut, or telescope. Telescoping boxes sound ideal, and they would be if the kit consisted of rail only, but with the other bits and motors plates, it’s actually more work than other methods. There’s the additional complication that some people order a lot of stuff along with their kit, some order just the kit, so the box needs to have some spare capacity. I have plenty of boxes for standard 375 mm × 500 mm kits (remember, large orders) but I need a solution for the longer kits, ideally one that lets us pack the small bits separately, but offers good protection for the rail without additional foam, bubblewrap, or corrugated cardboard wrap (which take time to apply). High-end solutions, such as boxes with custom foam inserts, are very expensive, so they’re right out. Custom cardboard inserts would be more reasonable, if it weren’t for the MOQ in the thousands. I have a possible solution, but I need to run it by the box manufacturer to check whether it makes sense financially too.

This lot has been a sobering experience. Lots of things went wrong, and we were unprepared to deal with most of them. They caused extremely annoying and embarrassing delays. I am very sorry for keeping so many people waiting for their kits for so long. It’s hard to imagine how stressful this is, knowing that so many people are anxious to start playing with their machine, or angry for the outrageous delay.

Thank you so much for your patience, support and understanding.

The tl;dr version:

• We’re ordering MakerSlide from the factory next week, takes a month.
• There may or may not be a few eShapeOko kits available in the meantime. Most likely not, expect decision next week.
• A few 1 m lengths of MakerSlide may make it to the shop next week.
• Sorry for the huge delays, and momentary lack of availability.

We’ll finish packing all remaining kits tonight and book them for collection by the couriers tomorrow.  You should receive confirmation emails and tracking numbers by tomorrow night.