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Foreign-owned, foreign-managed factory (Sofeast group) with English-speaking staff in every department
Dongguan · Chang'anDMG 5-axis and rows of 3-axis CNC in a 5,000 m² Chang'an base
Dongguan · Chang'anSister PCB and PCBA factories in the same Fuyong industrial park
Shenzhen · Bao'anSwiss-listed Cicor Group's EMS plant in Dongguan
Dongguan · Dongguan (other town)Proprietary zinc multi-slide die casting, invented in 1936
Dongguan · DalangMulti-cavity pen molds and two-shot keycap molds
Dongguan · Chang'anOEM build-to-print and ODM pack design with custom BMS
Shenzhen · LonggangSilver contacts and electrical contact assemblies, riveted or welded in the mold
Dongguan · FenggangSino-British founders (CEO Vader Yu and James Murphy) and English-speaking project managers
Shenzhen · Bao'anFive-axis machining, including a new 800 mm-travel five-axis centre
Shenzhen · Bao'anCustom screws and fasteners at scale: 120 screw machines, about 1.2 million pieces a day
Shenzhen · LonghuaAutomotive stamping dies since 2004 (chassis, body, door, seat, sunroof)
Shenzhen · Bao'an
01Basics · 10 minThe 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.
02Basics · 9 minHow anodizing works, why it looks and wears the way it does, the difference between Type II and hard anodizing, and how to order anodized parts in Shenzhen. Written for first-timers.
03Basics · 11 minHow CNC machining works, what it's good (and not good) for, what it costs, and how to get CNC parts made in Shenzhen. Written for first-timers.
04Basics · 10 minHow die casting works, which metals it uses, what it's good and bad at, what drives the cost, and how to get die-cast parts made in Shenzhen and Dongguan. Written for first-timers.
05Basics · 10 minHow injection molding works, why it makes plastic parts so cheap at volume, what the catch is, and when your product is ready for it.
06Basics · 10 minHow flat metal sheets are cut, bent and joined into brackets, chassis and enclosures, which materials to use, what it costs, and how to get sheet metal parts made in Shenzhen. Written for first-timers.
07Choosing · 6 minWhat "axes" means on a CNC machine, when 5-axis machining is worth paying for, and how to tell from your design which one a shop will use.
08Choosing · 8 minThree common ways to finish a part, compared in plain words. What each one is, which materials it works on, how it looks and wears, and how to choose for your product.
09Choosing · 7 minWhen should a metal part be CNC machined, and when is it worth paying for a die-casting tool? A plain-English comparison of cost, quantity, quality and finish, with a simple break-even method.
10Working in China · 10 minA 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.
11Choosing · 8 minWhat 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.
12Working in China · 9 minWhat 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.
13Basics · 10 minWhy 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.
14Working in China · 10 minWhat 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.
15Community · 6 minGuided multi-day tours that take founders into Shenzhen factories and suppliers: who runs them, what they include, and 2026 dates.