It's time for another production update! There's a lot to share today, so make sure you read the full update. Here a look at what's inside:
Dice Tray samples reviewed and approved
All production samples are complete
Meteorite and Chain Mail D20s on track
Production quality issue discovered in some dinosaur dice
Let's start with a quick note on that last point. In short, we've run into a manufacturing issue that is affecting some of the dice. We have already implemented a solution, but this has altered our shipping timeline. There are lots more details on the issue and how we're solving it below.
Dice Tray Samples Approved
In good news, we now have samples of the three (3) folding dice trays from the factory. They look great, and we've signed off on the run.
The dice trays were the final sample we were waiting on, so this completes all the accessories for the campaign. This is always an exciting moment in manufacturing, and one we're happy to share today.
Dice Manufacturing Update
On the dice side of production, Meteorite and Chain Mail D20s are on track and look great. However, as noted above, we've run into a quality issue with a small portion of Dinosaur Dice sets.
This problem is fragmentation, little flakes of fossils coming off during the embedment process. This is not unusual when embedding fossils, but some dice are exhibiting a higher-than-average fragmentation rate that exceeds our quality guidelines.
Triceratops D6s with a bit more fragmentation than we like to see...
Given the number of successful test sets we produced without issue, this was a little bit of a surprise. In any event, we've already compensated by quick shipping additional specimens to the factory to make sure we have enough material to complete the production run (plus a little bit more).
Naturally, we'll be taking more time to inspect each set as they are removed from their molds, as well as casting replacements. This means there will be an impact to the shipping timeline.
Right now, our factory estimates the dice will not be ready for shipment to our warehouse in the USA until late October. This is slower than expected—we were planning on them being in our warehouse and ready to fulfill at that point.
Rest assured, we're looking at all options to accelerate the delivery of components and additional production without sacrificing quality. We're also committed to keeping the cost the same.
To be 100% clear: Nothing in this production issue will come at any additional cost to you. We're going to absorb these costs directly.
Next Steps
If you look at the BackerKit timeline, we're supposed to charge cards this week for shipping and add-ons. We'll be hitting the pause button on that until the shipping timeline is solidified. We'll update again as soon as we have a firm ship window for items and then set a new charge date based on that.
If you've made it all the way down here, we'd like to thank you for your patience. Issues like these are never fun, but they are a fact of life in manufacturing. Every project is a totally new experience with its own quirks and hurdles. Crowdfunding gives you an inside look behind the scenes as creators grapple with a myriad of issues. All of us here appreciate your support, and we want to assure you we are all working hard to get these awesome dice out to all of you.
