Guides · 15 guides
Contract manufacturing / box build guides
01Basics · 12 minEVT, DVT, PVT explained
The three test builds between a working prototype and mass production, explained for first-time founders. What each build is for, roughly how many units you make, and what usually goes wrong.
02Basics · 10 minHow custom packaging is made: from dieline to finished box
The custom packaging process explained for hardware founders doing their first retail box. Box structures, printing, finishes, inserts, samples, MOQs and lead times, plus the Chinese words factories use.
03Design · 9 minDFA and DFT: design for assembly and design for test, explained
How to design a product that's quick to put together and easy to test on a production line. The core design-for-assembly rules, what design for test means for circuit boards and finished products, and how Shenzhen factories use test fixtures.
04Design · 9 minEngineering change orders (ECOs) and design freeze, explained
What design freeze means, why late changes are so expensive in hardware, and how engineering change requests, orders and notices (ECR, ECO, ECN) keep you and your factory on the same version.
05Cost · 10 minHow much does it cost to develop a hardware product?
The cost buckets of developing and manufacturing a hardware product, explained for first-timers. Design, prototypes, tooling, certification and the first production order, with typical ranges where they're widely published, plus the costs people forget.
06Basics · 9 minHow long does it take to develop a hardware product?
A realistic timeline for bringing a hardware product to market, stage by stage, for first-time founders. Where the time actually goes, what slows projects down in Shenzhen, and how to save weeks.
07Working in China · 10 minHow to choose a factory in China
A step-by-step, neutral guide for first-time hardware teams. How to find suppliers, tell factories from trading companies, check what you can, compare quotes, and start small.
08Choosing · 8 minHow to write an RFQ
What a request for quotation (RFQ) is, what to put in it, and how to write one that gets clear, comparable quotes from Shenzhen suppliers. With a checklist you can copy.
09Working in China · 9 minIncoterms for first-timers: EXW, FOB, DDP and more
What Incoterms are, what EXW, FCA, FOB, CIF, DAP and DDP mean in plain words, who pays for what and who carries the risk, and which terms first-time importers from Shenzhen commonly use.
10Working in China · 8 minNNN agreements explained
What an NNN agreement is, how it differs from a standard NDA, why it's commonly recommended when working with Chinese manufacturers, and what it can and can't do. Plain-English background, not legal advice.
11Basics · 11 minProduct development stages: how to make a physical product from idea to finished product
The stages of making a physical product, from first sketch to boxes on a ship, explained for first-timers. What happens at each stage, why it matters, what you get out of it, and who in Shenzhen helps.
12Basics · 10 minPrototype to production: what changes when you scale from 10 units to 1,000
Why a product that works as 10 prototypes can fail at 1,000 units, what changes in parts, people, testing, documents and cash as you scale, and the steps between a working prototype and your first production run in Shenzhen.
13Working in China · 10 minQuality inspection explained: pre-shipment checks and AQL
What pre-shipment inspection is, when to inspect, how AQL sampling works in plain words, what an inspector checks, and how to prepare so the report is actually useful. For first-time importers.
14Working in China · 9 minShipping from Shenzhen: sea vs air
Express courier, air freight or sea freight? A plain-English guide to shipping parts and products out of Shenzhen: how each option works, rough transit times, how weight is charged, batteries, and customs.
15Design · 9 minWhat is a bill of materials (BOM)? How to write one
What a BOM is, why factories in China build and quote from it, the columns a good BOM needs, how to structure one for a hardware product, and the mistakes that cause wrong parts and delays.