11–20 of 32 posts
Yes, this has been here before. Back then I replied that, when confronted with the same problem, I simply took a hacksaw to a DB-25 and had a working connector within a minute. Not as fancy, maybe, but just as functional...
It's embarrassing that it's easier to get things made in China than in the US. I had some 5/16" paper tape manufactured for use in antique Teletype machines. I tried several US paper tape manufacturers. One quoted me $10 a roll, but made a good roll. One sent me a roll with rough edges that jammed in the machine. Most were uninterested, even for a large order. The US companies were really hard to communicate with, to…
All the large orders would go the China anyway and nobody can "keep the lights on" with just a small order flow like yours. I remember around 2000 when SV was still full of machine shops that would do prototype and volume manufacturing of parts. Slowly they got moved to Texas and then overseas. Initially the volume manufacturing got moved elsewhere but these shops can't subsist on just prototype volumes alone. Then i…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have been in physical product development and manufacturing for three decades. Doing business with US manufacturers has become more and more difficult over time. What you describe here is very true and only the tip of the iceberg. I have, for example, sent out 50 requests for quotes for machined components only to be utterly ignored by most of the shops I contacted. The same exercise with China results in an almost…
> Doing business with US manufacturers has become more and more difficult over time. Any thoughts on why?
US manufactures were the first to automate, so many of them are with 1st/2nd generation gear that is designed for high throughput operation and not around setup time. These machines can take several hours to change what they make.
Also, manufactures have become jaded with new customers as they are constantly asking for them to move mountains for overseas pricing. Manufactures typically have a big enough collection of frequent customers that they can use bad first customer support as a means to filter out people who will go overseas anyways after they hear the quote the manufacturer spent a fair amount of time on. If a customer is willing to pass the gauntlet of trying to contact you, they are much less likely to disappear after you give them a quote.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
All the large orders would go the China anyway and nobody can "keep the lights on" with just a small order flow like yours. I remember around 2000 when SV was still full of machine shops that would do prototype and volume manufacturing of parts. Slowly they got moved to Texas and then overseas. Initially the volume manufacturing got moved elsewhere but these shops can't subsist on just prototype volumes alone. Then i…
I may be totally wrong, but isn't there some pressure in the other direction because of the prototype turnaround times with overseas manufacturing? I've read articles about people claiming they were able to iterate much faster using domestic prototyping.
So what’s the follow up? Is OP still happy with their parts? Are they available for purchase at 1/10th the price on AliExpress now? Did they recoup their investment?
So what’s the follow up? Is OP still happy with their parts? Are they available for purchase at 1/10th the price on AliExpress now? Did they recoup their investment?
I don't find any DB-19 connectors on Aliexpress or Alibaba. eBay has them for either ~$20 or ~$5.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I may be totally wrong, but isn't there some pressure in the other direction because of the prototype turnaround times with overseas manufacturing? I've read articles about people claiming they were able to iterate much faster using domestic prototyping.
Maybe for 1-3 days turnaround local is better but it you can wait a week, the overseas prototyping can save you a lot of money. You have to deal with the communications gap but you can hire people locally to bridge that gap.
- "You have to speak with the sales rep for your area for that, and he's out until next week".
- "We don't make that any more." "Then why is it on your web site?"
- "The order form on your web site doesn't work".
- "Live chat is not available at this time".
- "Your call is very important to us. Please leave a message."
Companies in China seem to rely on email, and they answer emails. (I wonder if perhaps spam is less of a problem in China, because the government is very hostile to mass communications from anonymous parties.)