Mon Dec 19 '16 Announcement
over 9 years ago
– Mon, Dec 19, 2016 at 07:08:44 PM
Manufacturing update #2
Dear Wynd community,
Happy holidays to the Wynd backers around the world! We just got back a week ago from the factory, and have been hard at work making progress toward manufacturing your Wynd devices. We have a few updates to share with everyone.
In our last manufacturing update, we mentioned that we need to push manufacturing by a month to January in order to fix bugs on our electrical circuits. The good news is that these issues are fixed. However, we regret to inform everyone that we will have to delay shipment until April.
Devices coming off of a 50-unit production run 3 weeks ago.
The main reason for this delay is due to the need to upgrade our purifier’s microcontroller chip (MCU) in order to support two core features: 1) proper functioning of three-way Bluetooth communications among the Purifier, Tracker, and your mobile devices, and 2) over-the-air updates. While the upgraded MCU needed is completely compatible with our existing design, the supply of these chips is new and they were only recently made available. Our electrical engineering team and technical advisors recommend more time for testing and code development to fully assimilate our existing code onto the new chip.
We know how many of you are eagerly waiting for Wynd (including many who wanted it for the holidays). It was a difficult decision for us to delay the shipment. We held a long internal debate, and many backers have reached out to us who want to get Wynd quickly: some want to give Wynd as a gift, alleviate chronic asthma, or stop symptoms of winter air pollution. We hate that we have to delay shipment, but we know that a sub-optimal product would be worse for everyone in the long run. Our team will be working through the holidays to make progress and will keep you informed along the way.
We know it won’t make up for the delay but we would like to extend our free extra filter gift to all Indiegogo InDemand backers who back the Wynd campaign before the end of 2016.
We can’t thank you enough for supporting our journey. Please don’t hesitate to ask us any questions or give feedback.
Sincerely,
The Wynd team
PS: Here are some pictures from our last factory visit:
Wynd team members Eric (hardware engineer) and Celia (supply-chain) inspecting Wynd's plastic middle ring on the manufacturing floor.
Plastic enclosures ready for assembly.
Electrical boards ready to be assembled into Wynd purifier. These boards contain the “brain” (microcontroller unit) of the purifier.
Mon Oct 31 '16 Announcement
over 9 years ago
– Mon, Oct 31, 2016 at 03:52:01 PM
Manufacturing update
We have a few manufacturing updates to share—both good and bad. The good news is that we entered a key phase of manufacturing where we constructed 50 fully-assembled units at the factory. The bad news is that due to some manufacturing revisions needed (specifically around purifier electronics), we may have a delay of a month, which will take us into January manufacturing and shipping instead of December. We are truly sorry about this delay and want to explain to you why we think it’s necessary and will result in a better product experience for everyone.
During the past month, we’ve entered into a key manufacturing phase where we start producing small batches of units at the factory in an assembly line for the first time. We created steel tooling needed to create all of the 25 independent plastic parts, and we’re on our third revision of the tooling to improve mechanics and assembly. Three weeks ago we manufactured 50 fully-assembled units in a trial run so that we can test the quality of the mechanical and electrical components of Wynd.
The important output of this phase is to inspect fully assembled, mass-manufacturable devices for quality and performance. This phase is different from making working prototypes because we need to manufacture and assemble repeatable, standardized, high-quality Wynd units. Every process—from plastic injection molding to electronics, quality checks, and packaging—needs to be done right to deliver the best product experience to you. While the mechanical and software engineering side of things is going well, the electrical engineering is behind since we have discovered some (fixable) issues in the electronics of the purifiers that we would like to take some time to refine.
Some of the components need to be refined. In about 20% of the units we are seeing stability issues (with turning the control ring and the top light ring). We’ve already determined the right fix for these issues. None of these issues concern major functions like purification or pose a safety issue, but getting them right will deliver the high quality user experience you deserve.
Since there is a shipping delay of one month, we're going to give our Indiegogo backers a free filter (this applies to those who backed before this update).
Our team is incredibly grateful for your continued support and patience. Please stay tuned for continued updates and don’t hesitate to reach out to us with questions or feedback.
Thank you,
The Wynd team
Wed Sep 14 '16 Announcement
over 9 years ago
– Wed, Sep 14, 2016 at 02:00:06 PM
Backer surveys sent!
Thanks again for everyone's support on Indiegogo over the past couple months. All backer should have received a survey from BackerKit yesterday which will ask for your shipping address, color choice(s), and also offer add-on's. If you haven't filled out your survey yet please do so in the next several weeks so we can get your shipping info right. Let us know if you have any questions.
Onwards with manufacturing: Injection molding, mobile apps, and EVT!
Half the team are traveling to manage the manufacturing side of things, and we've been making significant progress:
Our first steel molds were completed. We've completed 10 molds that are able to injection mold 25 independent plastic parts. These are high quality steel molds that should last over 500K units of production.
We also starting using the molds to make parts, and the first test parts are looking really fantastic. There is still a bit more work to do on surface finishing but we're are happy with the result.
In addition, the electronics are mostly done and we are finalizing the firmware that controls the hardware. Our developers are also working on the app in both iOS and Android.
We have mostly good news on manufacturing but also want to be transparent on areas where we are debugging. One area where there may be a couple week delay is in the final construction of the baby stroller holder. The specific issue we're facing is with the screw, which when turned should clamp the stroller holder onto a baby carriage. We need to strengthen the structure so that it's more tight and holds the Wynd device firmly, and need some slight design tweaks.
In summary, the next steps are to complete the Engineering Validation Test (EVT) stage, where we inspect the full hardware manufactured from the factory on a number of quality and performance-related checks. We will likely find minor bugs that need to be fixed before manufacturing moves onto the next stage, which is the Design Validation Test (DVT). We are looking to have manufacturing start in December and start shipping as soon as units roll off the line and pass quality inspection.
Sharing and get rewards
Help us get the word out about Wynd on IGG, and get rewarded when others pre-order! We have a referral program that's simple - use your IGG account to share Wynd and when others follow the automatic link and pre-order Wynd, both you and the other person get a $10 back! It's that easy :)
...and as always
Thank you for your support!
- Wynd Team
Thu Aug 11 '16 Announcement
over 9 years ago
– Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 06:12:41 PM
Hello backers!
We at Wynd are incredibly grateful for all of your support! The team has been hard at work, and we want to share some updates:
Survey coming soon
For those who have already ordered, expect to receive an email with our BackerKit survey in late August! No need to make an account to fill it out - simply follow the link that we will be sending to you. You’ll be able to choose the color you want for Wynd, add on extra items at the current price point, and verify or update your shipping address.
Referral program - Everyone benefits from the growing community!
Earn $10 back on your pledge + $10 off the referred backer’s pledge!
Just spread word on FB, texting, email, your personal website, etc. using your Unique URL generated by IGG and let the rewards pile up! To do this:
- Log into your IGG account
- Visit the Wynd campaign
- Click on the
button located on the right side of the video: 
- Copy and save your Unique URL
- Share this on social media/email/anywhere you want!
To track your progress:
- Log into IGG
- Look at the upper right of the home page to find your name - click on it
- In the dropdown menu, click “My Contributions”.
- In the menu bar, click “Contributions” to see the # of people referred, the amount of referred purchases, and the correlating $ amount.
At the end of the campaign, you’ll have the option of either getting credit for the purchase of additional devices or accessories, or getting a cash rebate for the earned amount. Feel free to reach out to [email protected] with any questions!
Manufacturing update
We are making final revisions on the electronics:
These are the core electrical components of the Wynd Air Quality Tracker.
Making steel molds that can manufacture hundreds of thousands of parts can start with copper molds—which are carved in the picture below by a CNC (a computer-controlled cutting tool). The copper molds are then used in an Electrical Discharge Machine along with high amounts of current to forge the final steel molds by melting away that steel. This picture shows parts for the purifier’s bottom section being created.
We’re excited about finishing everything up and shipping this to you guys.
Thanks again for your support, and we’ll be in touch again once surveys are about to go out!
- the Wynd team
P.S. Here’s a project we love:
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