It is with much excitement and a healthy dose of humility
that we give this product update.
First off, manufacturing has proven to be much more
challenging than we had thought and intended. We have been working around the
clock trying to iron out issues such as weight, surface distortions,
manufacturing speed, product defects, coloring issues, solidity, as well as
overall function of form. To that end, the 3D printer has shown us many of
those mistakes up close and personal.
Second off, timing will have to be pushed back a minimum of
2 months (we’ll get to the why in a second) leaving us with backer fulfillment
looking at approximately mid-July at the earliest.
Third off, while struggling with the 3D printer and having
between zero success and valuable lessons learned, we’ve been researching new
techniques for produce the dice better, faster, and with much less chance of
defects to the finished product. And while doing so we’ve found a fantastic
place which is on track to complete the dice within the next 2 months. There
are substantial benefits to the zig we’ve made regarding color, defects,
scalability, and most importantly, solidity/density. Prior to utilizing our
manufacturer, we were only finding manufacturing companies who would make the
dice in 2 hollow pieces leaving it necessary to fill by sand and seal to achieve
the desired density. As you can guess this wasn’t something we particularly
wanted as a solid chunk should be attainable. After a great deal of searching
we were able to find just that and are well on the way to getting initial
samples within the next two work weeks, and moving to final production upon
successful samples.
Forth off, an update on the dice. The 3D printer continues
to give us troubles though we are creating multiple models and our lead
engineer is working with outside sources to help streamline in the hopes we can
successfully complete the dice via 3D printing and get them to you as soon as
possible. This avenue would again require filler (sand) to be added as the dice
are very very light weight wise even making them entirely solid on the printer.
But we are working on it. If we can get a solid prototype completed with no
problems then y’all will be the first to know. While we continue to work on
that, our manufacturer is working on completing the samples, which, as of
today, should be done within the next 10 days. After the samples are verified
we get to move to full production and get these dice complete and in your
hands. It requires building more molds and patience, but our manufacturer
assures us that it can be done in approximately 60 days from where we are now.
Fifth off, we’re working on a way to compensate y’all for
the delay and would love your input on ideas on how to do that. Please email
maxstatshelp@gmail.com or private
message on Kickstarter for all ideas as recompense for our bumbling as first
time inventors making every mistake in the book.
Sixth off, a zag we’ve recently completed seems like it will
also help. We recently purchased a pad printer which will be used to help
streamline the numbering and avoid a lot of the problems we have run into via
3D printing. This system is brand new to us and we are working as hard as we
can to understand the required steps and make them happen effectively and
efficiently.
Seventh off, MTG Cat (Bitey) has been as helpful as we
imagined. Frequently surveying our mistakes with a level of aloofness and
supreme disregard never before seen. Her contributions include rubbing our legs
while we pull out our hair, and either motivational purrs/mewling or attempts
to draw our attention from our tasks. We aren’t quite sure yet.
As soon as the samples are done, expect another update. We
are sorry this update has been so late, but until we hammered down a reasonable
timeline, or had product in hand, we held off. What we didn’t know nor even
fathom was the difficulty producing a lot of a certain part via 3D printer, and
every time we submitted the file to the printer, we thought we had fixed the
problems and were going to end up with a functional product. Optimism finally
gave way to reality. Sorry about the delay.
Sincerely,
Max Stat Gaming Team
