Fri Jan 15 '21 Announcement
about 5 years ago
– Fri, Jan 15, 2021 at 11:14:12 PM
Hey Backers!!!
Happy 2021!!!! Hope you ushered in the New Year safe and healthy!
Last December's update, the mentioned “lockdown” was placed in effect on the 23rd of December… we were so relieved that our team was allowed to come to the office and work as normal… 2 weeks in, and now we are again in total strict lock-down in Israel.
But hey… the team is intact… morale is up, and after 2020? We are definitely ready for 2021!!!
Where are we now?
In our last update, we shared with you the successful progress and engagement with the factory in China, the plans and the starting phase of the tooling design. The design process brought up new various engineering challenges, with multiple back and forth iterations between the factory and our engineering team until we solved everything to perfection - and we are happy to share with you that we’ve finished the tooling design, and released it to production! So now we just need to wait patiently until these metal monsters will be ready for their initial run… the super exciting first plastic injection!
We are doing huge efforts to expedite the process and get at least some of them before the CNY (Chinese New Year) in Feb – about 4 weeks when Chinese factories are practically closed.
In terms of our timeline, we are nicely on track and will keep you updated with any progress or change. As previously mentioned, we are eyeing shipping your GoDice by the end of June this year!
In the meantime…
(while waiting for the first plastic samples)
Our SW team keeps working on the development of the application and games. We took advantage of the COVID delays to improve the app’s UX and UI, and overall improve the user experience, look and feel. We will share more in future updates.
Our HW team also is making nice progress. We just received the first PCB samples (of the final design) from the factory, which shall keep us busy with the “bring up” of the samples, activation of the overall features and performance measurements (current consumptions, battery life etc.). The new lockdown is not very helpful, without access to our lab, but we had great progress so far, and hope it will not get into the critical path of the project.
We are on the move!
At this point in time, the team has already mastered our “New Normal.” We are able to make good progress, and every progress we see is just keeping our spirits higher and higher! We can’t wait to have the cool design of GoDice in our hands. The excitement keeps building with every achievement we make.
We could not accomplish what we are accomplishing now without your continuous support and your amazing understanding. You, our Backers, are keeping us going!!!!
Stay safe and healthy and happy and until the next update!!!!
Cheers!
GoDice Team
****past updates****
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Hey Backers!!!
How are you all doing? I hope you are all fine and healthy!
On our November update, we’ve given you updates closer to home, with the mention of the team slowly getting back into the groove of things, our “new normal”. Now, while composing this update, word on the street is that the whole country will have another lockdown. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it will be lighter as to not disrupt the “normal” we’ve come to know.
The whole pandemic situation is keeping us (the whole world, for that matter) on a roller coaster ride, but in spite of that we were able to make great progress with the project, and we are very excited to share with you the exciting news.
GoDice Starts Production!
As mentioned in the last updates, our main focus and efforts during the last couple of months were to find the right manufacturing partner in China that would be able to deliver our complex product with the highest quality, and in time. With the global COVID's limitations, this task became almost impossible, and required extra effort and time… and we are so happy to update that we've successfully engaged with a great partner, and FINALLY, GoDice gets to its next exciting phase of production!
Together with the factory, we worked on a detailed plan and timeline of the project, which we are happy to transparently share with you. First, please let us explain the product manufacturing process (from the current phase of a fully functional prototype, which is DFM ready, to mass production). Producing a physical product is complex and challenging, it includes endless tasks from multiple disciplines including sourcing, electronic, plastic, assembly, quality, tests, packaging, regulations and so much more. Luckily, we are well familiar with the entire process by now, thanks to our experience with GoCube and Rubik's Connected. In general, the project's critical path, and the most demanding one is the plastic molds’ design and production. The process takes about one month for designing the injection molds, followed by 3-4 months for the molds (tooling) production, and then a couple of months for the actual mass production. Overall, 7-8 months till the big day of boxing and shipping GoDice to their new homes ?. The other tasks of electronic, FW, app, packaging, regulation, etc., are planned to be done in parallel, and we will share with you more details once we get there.
The above plan finally got solid timelines, with ongoing execution already. The tooling design has started, and if we don't face new global surprises, we expect to have the first production samples in April, and to conclude the mass production (start shipping) by the end of June next year!
Creating the mold is not a simple task. To give you an idea of the complexity, have a look at our GoCube mold below. A bulky (tons) of metal, with very fine accurate cavities inside. These molds are then placed onto a molding machine.
Patience is a Virtue
Yes, the project is delayed (the COVID changed EVERYTHING that was planned), BUT alive and kicking! With every progress on the project, the team’s enthusiasm just keeps growing! Despite the delays, we now have a more detailed timeline for launch and shipment, and we'll continue sharing updates with you.
We thank each and every one of our backers! Your continuous support and kind words mean the world to us. We are not going anywhere, we are here to see this project until the end. The question of the project requiring new funding? This should not be a concern, the only thing we will be asking from you is your shipping address when we send the Backerkit Survey.
We are super excited, for good reasons! We can’t wait to get the dice rolling.
Stay safe and healthy and happy!
GoDice Team
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Hey Backers!!!
How are you all doing?
A little update closer to home, mid-September, the second wave hit us hard, with a record high of nearly 7,000 new cases in one day. The new cases caused us to have the world's highest rates of coronavirus per capita forcing the government to declare a new lockdown that lasted almost the whole month of October.
The decision managed to control the spread and after our almost month-long lockdown, we are now getting back into the rhythm of our “new normal”. We got back to our office, the lab has finally opened after following strict local guidance, and we are catching up on the backlogs.
Having said that, we were able to make nice progress in the project. Working closely (from home) with several factories to get to the next phase…
We Are Ready For Production!
As you know, from the last couple of updates, we’ve completed most of the mechanical and electronic design work of the product (including the dice, the charger and the DnD shells), and our main focus these days is on closing with the right manufacturing partner, to start the mass production. Since GoDice is a complex project that involves multiple parts, cutting edge electronics and tight mechanical integration, the product’s learning and quotation process on the factories' side was not simple, and required some time. After long consideration, we are happy to update that we are in the very final stages with one of them! We're hoping to start the next phase of our project, the mass production, in the next couple of weeks.
From the software (app) perspective, we are making great progress. Our team keeps working on developing the games and features that we presented in the campaign, constantly looking for ways to improve the overall product and experience. We will dedicate a special post for that in one of our next updates.
We will see this through…
Despite the delay we are experiencing right now, we would like to continuously assure you that we are dedicated to seeing this project through. Challenges only drive us to work harder, and your continuous support and love are very, very much appreciated!!!
Stay safe and healthy everyone!!!
The GoDice Team
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Hey Backers,
How are you all doing? We hope everyone is safe and healthy!
Our GoCube Updates...
On the last update, we’ve mentioned that we’ve finalized the design of the DnD shells and have shared some digital images of the final design. Finalizing this design has been quite challenging due to the individual components that were needed to create a shell that becomes one with the die when used.
Some of you asked to get more details about the solution, so here you are ?.
The final design includes a mix of materials to overcome the discussed challenges (from the last update). We designed a solid plastic on the outside (the yellow areas) to get a natural dice rolling behavioral, and an internal elastic dice compartment (dark color) to hold the dice tight and enable comfort insert/pull of it (and avoid scratches).
Then we made these special halves shapes and added tiny magnets to hold the two halves together despite the "shocks" of throws.
Last, we added mechanical stoppers and marks to make sure you use it correctly (insert the dice and close the two halves in the right directions). All that was done with much care to keep everything balanced around the center of the dice (fair dice with centered COG).
We originally planned to have the DnD shells produced by our current manufacturer, with whom we’ve already established trust and a mutual working relationship with them with GoCube. Now, with the final DnD design we have, our factory may not be able to produce the shells as designed due to cost targets and complexity, and we are in discussions with several factories that will be able to produce the shells with the desired quality.
New outsourcing is far from simple with the current COVID restrictions, but we are making good progress and hope to come up with more news in the next update.
On the upside, we are making tremendous progress with the firmware, and with the mobile application. The un-planned delay is enabling us to put more effort and time into the app, which will definitely help in bringing you even more content and features when eventually released.
COVID and its Reality…
We know that for some of you, you might say “COVID again?”, but sadly this is our reality and COVID just hit Israel badly again, with the most severe numbers since the pandemic began. We are in a global lockdown for the last couple of weeks, and it is still on-going ☹.
From a business point of view, each passing day without a marketable product means unimaginable losses. Unfortunately, a lot of companies have folded and are folding but we are blessed enough to have a strong first product that is holding us and helping the GoDice project going.
Our team brought GoCube to life, we will bring GoDice to your tables as well. The whole team is currently working remotely but we are keeping our spirits high and are staying committed to this project and to our backers!
Stay safe and healthy everyone!!!
The GoDice team
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GODICE SEPTEMBER UPDATE
Hey Backers!!!
How are you all doing?
We know that a lot of you are anxiously waiting for an update regarding the status of GoDice.
We are getting there…
WHAT’S NEW FROM OUR SIDE
We are very happy to share that we have finalized the DFM (Design for Manufacture) of all the plastic components of GoDice, and as mentioned in our past updates, we started to work on the DnD shells. These apparently simple mechanical shells are actually quite challenging! We need to make sure that the die sits snugly enough within the case to make sure it stays stationary upon rolling (imitating a solid body with natural dice behavior), but not too tight so you could easily insert/pull the die from the shell. On top of that, the two halves of the shell should stay closed upon impact when thrown, but at the same time, it should be designed in a way that it’s easy for you to open it and load the d6 inside. Last but not least, the solutions must take into consideration the balance and internal symmetry of the shells. We are excited to update you that most of the design challenges are behind us, and we are in initial discussions with factories regarding the manufacturing of these tricky components (exploring methods, materials, toolings, processes, etc.).
As per the electronic side, we are happy to share that we are now working on the firmware of the dice, and the basic connectivity and interfaces with the mobile app. As previously mentioned, once ready, we'll send the units for radio and regulation tests (before we release them for mass production). This will also enable us to boost the mobile app development with functional dice in hand.
All in all, we are doing nice progress in all aspects. It does go slower than we initially planned or hoped for, but we see solid progress with the project considering the current local (and global) COVID situation.
CORONA IS STILL HERE :(
The past few months have been challenging to everyone and it has turned everything upside down. Unfortunately, the 2nd wave is still here (and big-time), we are partially back working in the office but it’s not surprising to suddenly get rocked by sudden notice of quarantine orders, disrupting the flow. This is sadly becoming our new normal.
Despite this, we do our best to work with the resources that we have. And the GoDice Team is a dedicated bunch of people and we will not allow anything to stop us from delivering you all the best and quality product.
Stay safe and healthy!!!
GoDice Team
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Hey Friends,
We hope that all of you are safe and sane :)
Here, things are starting to go back to normal, we are still working under some constraints that don’t allow us to go back full time, or with the full team, BUT slowly (and hopefully, safely) we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Any update?
Yes! Overall we are having nice progress in spite of the above. The design team almost finished the DFM (Design For Manufacturing) of the plastic components of GoDice! They are now working to the very last parts (and the most complicated ones), the DnD shells. Once done we'll proceed to the actual mold design.
On the electronic side, the PCB design of the dice also made great progress, and we are happy to update that we finalized the PCB design, successfully produced a small batch of working modules, which enable us to now also work on the firmware (the software code that runs inside the dice). Once ready, we'll send the units for radio and regulation tests (before we release them for mass production). Here's a sneak peek to how it looks from the inside :)
Overall we are very happy with the progress, and looking forward to getting back to normal soon. As always, we love to get your feedback, questions, and special requests :) We are always here for you, and appreciate your patience.
One more thing…
Father’s Day is happening soon. So - Happy Father’s Day to all you cool dads out there! Keep on with the great fatherhood and the amazing spirit!
Till next time,
Stay safe, celebrate well! :)
The GoDice team.
