Hey all, I hope this is the right place to discuss -
Over the last two-ish years, I've been working on a disc golf accessory. The product works and has received fairly positive feedback - however I'm in this weird middle ground where I'm printing, programming, packaging, and shipping each one (the only thing automated right now is PCBA from pcbway).
I realize this is an incredibly broad question but does anyone have advice on how I should start automating this process? Below are my most-recent thoughts:
1. Have Digikey program the boards going forward - brings my chip cost from ~ 33 cents each to ~ $1 each.
2. Stop 3D printing my own cases - order them from somewhere else - brings the cost up from ~ 5 cents per case to ~ 50 cents per case. Or, alternatively, sink $5k into injection molding and start making them for pennies.
3. Find a "Contract Manufacturer" that'll accept the completed boards, solder in the battery (PCBWay won't touch a CR2016 with pins), put the device into the 3d printed enclosure, acetone weld them together, and finally, put them into their final packaging.
4. (Future-State) Send the completed products directly to a warehouse for shipping (or Amazon fulfillment).
Again, hugely sorry for how broad these questions are - I'm a simple tinkerer who works a 9-5 doing software dev and I realize the above questions are probably something I need to pay someone to answer.
Side note: I'd love to demo the product during a Monthly meeting!