“No hardware plan survives contact with a factory.”
That was the message from Cyril Ebersweiler, one of the speakers at a standing-room-only workshop on the first day of MakerCon.
The workshop was titled, “Advanced Manufacturing: Partnering to Get it Made.” Ebersweiler is the founder of the hardware accelerator HAXLR8R that’s based in Shenzhen and the Bay Area.
Ebersweiler said that Shenzhen has changed a great deal since he first went there 18 years ago. Back then the attraction was mostly low labor. Today manufacturers who flock there are seeking a process that’s fast and efficient.
The quality of Shenzhen’s product has also improved dramatically, Ebersweiler said. Apple’s influence on the city has been significant in that regard.
Ebersweiler’s advice to the workshop was to make a priority out of finding the right factory, and working with it.
“The reality is that every factory has its specialty,” he said. “The key is to find the right factory, and leverage that knowledge.”
“It used to be made in Shenzhen,” Ebersweiler concluded. “Now it is designed with Shenzhen.”
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