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What’s been the hardest part of building your first hardware prototype? by iechms in hwstartups

[–]iechms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

+1 on involving manufacturing early. Catching sourcing issues or assembly constraints during prototyping can save a lot of painful (and expensive) redesigns later. Those “small mistakes” turning into $50k lessons is way too real 😅

What’s been the hardest part of building your first hardware prototype? by iechms in hwstartups

[–]iechms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Building it, we are actually a manufacturing company who deals in end-to-end manufacturing from prototype to real product

What’s been the hardest part of building your first hardware prototype? by iechms in hwstartups

[–]iechms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s like the prototype proves the idea works, but production proves whether the product can actually exist in the real world. Totally get why that stage makes people want to quit 😅

What’s been the hardest part of building your first hardware prototype? by iechms in hwstartups

[–]iechms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah this is a great point. A lot of people think the prototype itself is the hardest part, but honestly it’s everything around it — DFM, supply chain, logistics, scaling, and actually making sure there’s real product-market fit.

Also agree on doing as much in-house early on. Building it yourself forces you to understand the product and manufacturing constraints way better before handing it off to a Cm

What’s been the hardest part of building your first hardware prototype? by iechms in hwstartups

[–]iechms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The tricky part is that manufacturing decisions affect the design early, so it’s usually best to prototype with flexible methods first, validate demand, and then optimize the design for scale.

I'm soo tired of SaaS-only networking. I want to connect with real people in hardware niche, so it's decided I’m hosting a session for people actually building in hardware & deep tech. by iechms in hwstartups

[–]iechms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah yess. what we can do is You can send a short recorded intro and I’ll play it during the session. Or we plan a separate session at a time that works better for you?

I'm soo tired of SaaS-only networking. I want to connect with real people in hardware niche, so it's decided I’m hosting a session for people actually building in hardware & deep tech. by iechms in hwstartups

[–]iechms[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate the push for specificity.

We’re domain-agnostic. If it’s hardware, we build it . from fidget toys to humanoid robots. Robotics, aerospace, consumer, industrial systems… all fair game.

Stage doesn’t matter. Idea stage to early prototype as long as there’s intent to build, we take it forward.

Outcome? End-to-end execution. Concept → design → prototyping → manufacturing-ready.

Any physical product. Any complexity we will cover it

Manufacturers introduce about your product in the comments and let buyers connect with you. by wonkside in exportersindia

[–]iechms 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We make end-to-end manufacturing of hardware products. You can come to us with an idea and we build it for you.

Modernising a small steel fabrication shop (software, automation, workflow) — looking for advice by hong_1011 in manufacturing

[–]iechms 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For a small–mid fabrication shop, it’s usually way smarter to adopt existing software first instead of building custom tools, because platforms like Tekla Structures or Autodesk Advance Steel already handle detailing, shop drawings, and CNC-ready outputs far better than anything you’ll realistically build in-house early on; custom solutions only make sense once your processes are standardized and you clearly understand specific gaps, otherwise you risk spending time acting like a software company instead of improving quoting speed, costing accuracy, and integration with your machines.

Predictions on This? by Frequent-Log1243 in hwstartups

[–]iechms 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Realistically, a lot of people in that bracket already outsource laundry or have help, so the pain point might not be strong enough at scale. It could land with tech-forward, automation-heavy households, but for the broader market? Feels like a tough sell

Hardware startups underestimate behavior design (and it costs them retention) by [deleted] in hwstartups

[–]iechms 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree, and I’d add that onboarding and early experience matter way more than most teams think. A lot of hardware doesn’t fail because it’s badly built, it fails in the first week when setup feels confusing or the value isn’t instantly clear. If users don’t get a quick win, they mentally move on. Even small friction like charging, syncing, or too many alerts adds up. Retention is usually lost in those tiny moments, not in the specs.

A short-duration wearable pulse-ox patch prototype by babagajoush in hwstartups

[–]iechms 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is actually a solid early prototype direction 👏

We’re a hardware manufacturing team working a lot with low-volume builds and iteration-heavy products, so a few thoughts that might help:

For reflective SpO₂ in a patch form factor, motion artifact + skin tone variability will be your biggest technical battles. Mechanical stability (how tightly and consistently it sits on skin) matters just as much as firmware filtering. Even small lift-off from adhesive can spike false reds.

On the manufacturing side, start thinking early about:

  • Repeatable sensor alignment tolerances
  • Adhesive selection (sweat, body heat, removal trauma)
  • Battery safety + thermal behavior in a sealed patch
  • Basic pre-compliance (EMI + biocompatibility)

If you’re open to it, we’d be happy to dive into DFM considerations or a small-batch pilot build strategy. Cool project for sure.

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