Fri Jan 1 '21 Announcement
almost 4 years ago
– Fri, Jan 01, 2021 at 09:22:27 AM
HAPPY NEW YEAR,
We hope you had and still have a joyful and relaxing time with your family and friends. At least as far as the situation allowed it. In Austria we had even restrictions for Christmas and New Year's Eve gatherings. But there is a veeeery good chance the new year will be significantly better than the previous one :) … We guess this gonna be a really nice year - looking forward to it!
After our recent updates backers were asking us for some pictures. Now as we have some new pre-production pcs to show to you, we are happy to comply with your request.
Pre-Production Progress
We are still in an ongoing process regarding pre-production, but we are happy to be in the timeline. Final assembly of the pre-production parts should be finished in January if everything progresses the way it did till now.
Legs
The pre-production of all roughly 30 different leg parts is ready and waits to be assembled. Most of these parts were already made for the earlier pre-production schedule. Since we had some time left, we updated details to make the product as good as possible. We slightly changed the size of the Leg-Ending-Pins (see picture below). Also these parts are prepared for the assembly by now. You can see all the small improvements we have made up till now as compensation for your long waiting time ;) ... Pre-production assembly should start in one of the upcoming two weeks together with the Gearing assembly (see “Gearing” below).
Leg Extension Buttons and Leg Strut Connectors
Leg Ending Stakes and Leg Ending Pins
Legs of Lumapod Go85
Gearing
Now as we have moved all toolings related to the Gearing system to our proven quality supplier, we were checking sample after sample to properly adopt the toolings and the machine settings. We are talking about roughly 20 different parts here. With 3 gearing parts the manufacturer still had to fine-adjust recently, but there is no doubt that also these parts will be perfect very soon. Pre-production assembly for these parts is planned to be finished in two weeks from now together with the Legs.
Extract of all Gearing Parts
Telescope / Slider
The test-assembly was sent to our production manager in China to check the quality and functionality. Our production manager saw slight dimension issues in the case of two parts (out of roughly 55 different parts). These two parts are ok, but not perfect. Basically we are good to go for pre-production assembly. On January 4th our production manager will be at the site of our telescope manufacturer to help do the pre-production assembly. Till then our manufacturer improves the two parts which we want to be remade.
Test Assembly Samples
Some of the inner Telescope parts for pre-production assembly
Ropes
The pre-production of the new rope supplier was tested and the outcome was satisfying. The rope manufacturer just finished the full mass-production batch and our assembly factory will check the quality within the next few days.
Ropes for pre-production and mass-production
Final assembly
As mentioned in the last update, the bottleneck for the final assembly timeline is the finalization of pre-production of the aluminum die casting parts. Now as all of these aluminum parts are manufactured and the quality and functionality is satisfying, we should be safe in this regard.
Timeline
No changes :)
New tool production / testing November till January
Pre-Production Go85 / Go120 Will be done in the course of the tool testing
Chinese New Year February
Mass-Production January to March
This is still an estimated timeline. Once pre-production is finished, we can be more certain about the timeline. Some backers complain about the delays, and we’re deeply sorry it’s taking so long - longer than we personally ever imagined. This is also a big challenge for our team, but we don’t give up and we are confident we are getting close to the finish line now.
We sincerely thank you for your patience and support!
FAQs
We decided to copy the FAQs from the last update in this update again, since the same questions are asked over and over again :)
How can I change my address or payment data?
You can change your address or payment data directly in your backerkit account. Log in here: https://www.backerkit.com/backer_accounts/sign_in
Alternatively, just drop us a message and we will send a direct access link.
Refund
For all who ask for a refund, please be aware of the fact that you agreed that you would prefinance this project by buying your Lumapod in advance. After a certain point - when the refund period is over - you are part of this project according to the rules of Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We are on a good way to fulfill our promise despite all the obstacles along the way and all that is going on in the world right now. But in order to remain a stable business partner, even though unexpected further difficulties could come along with the manufacturing process or the virus, we need to state that any other refund would put us more in the risk of having problems in the long run. Therefore refunds would be unfair to all other 4,600 backers. In the interest of all we will not put the majority at a higher risk just for some single persons, at least until we have more clarity about the further global developments. We thank you for your understanding.
Can I buy add-ons without a Lumapod?
Unfortunately this is not possible, as this does not work out with the pricing systems on Indiegogo. But you will certainly be able to order the add-ons later, once we are on the regular market.
Thank you guys! We love you! Stay healthy!
- The Lumapod Team
Wed Dec 2 '20 Announcement
almost 4 years ago
– Wed, Dec 02, 2020 at 01:33:46 AM
Dear Backers,
After a rather unfortunate update at the end of October we can now sleep better again. What really counts now is a successful pre-production to finally start series production. Our manufacturers are working on that and despite little throwbacks, foremost with satisfying progress.
Pre-Production Progress
It’s a rocky road to bring all parts of all our suppliers together to finally make the planned 200 pieces pre-production. Here the current facts:
Telescope / Slider
The pre production quantity of telescopes and sliders is in production.
Legs
The pre production of all leg parts are ready and wait to be assembled.
Head / Gearing
As we have written in our last update, the tools for Head / Gearing have been moved to our other supplier (This supplier has already proven good quality). One of the tools couldn’t be used and had to be revised but all parts for pre production should be ready in December. Hence the timeline scenario of the last update applies. There is a realistic chance we can be even faster.
Final assembly
As soon as the mentioned sub-assemblies are ready, we will start final assembly. The bottleneck here is the finalization of pre production of the aluminum die casting parts. In this context some tooling improvements are in progress. But after our assessment with our manufacturing manager, we can still achieve the timeline below.
For most tools we are progressing according to our plan. The tools have been improved and tested. Partly needed a further improvement, but the parts should be ready for pre-production assembly in roughly 2 weeks from now.
Base plate
We revised the base plate, the part, which connects the head with the telescope, which formerly sometimes broke when more force was applied. It has been tested with a very satisfying outcome and is now approved for series production.
Ropes
As mentioned in the September Update, we found a more efficient solution for the rope. With our first rope supplier we had the risk of having delays due to inconsistent quality. Therefore we did a row of different tests (elasticity, plasticity, breaking load, cut resistance, water repellency) with different ropes and ordered the first 800 meters for pre-production at the best supplier we found. It has already been delivered to our partner and samples are on their way to us for comparison with the reference sample.
Personal attendance in China
As we mentioned in the previous updates, we do everything possible to push this to a satisfying result for everybody. Therefore, we were intensively working on an invitation from the Chinese Government to be capable of entering China. After 3 month of running to several authorities from Cologne to Vienna, confirming and authenticating required documents, we were counting with an invitation from the Chinese government. Now as the virus situation in Europe has become worse again, the Chinese government has made the entry regulations as strict as they were back in summer this year.
This means we currently can not be at the factories personally for pre-production assembly. Fortunately, we have our production manager Ivan at site. After months of representing us and checking parts again and again, we already count him as a team member and he is now very well capable of supervising the production for us.
Timeline
For the timeline we considered two scenarios in the last update. One without new tooling and one with new tooling. Meanwhile - as you read above - we know that a new tool was necessary.
New tool production / testing November till January
Pre-Production Go85 / Go120 Will be done in the course of the tool testing
Chinese New Year February
Mass-Production January to March
This is still an estimated timeline. Once pre-production is finished, we can be more certain about the timeline. Some backers complain about the delays, and we’re deeply sorry it’s taking so long - longer than we personally ever imagined. This is also a big challenge for our team, but we don’t give up and are confident we are getting close to the finish line now.
To all of the backers out there, thank you so much for your patience and support!
FAQs
We decided to copy the FAQs from the last update in this update again, since the same questions are asked over and over again :)
How can I change my address or payment data?
You can change your address or payment data directly in your backerkit account. Log in here: https://www.backerkit.com/backer_accounts/sign_in
Alternatively, just drop us a message and we will send a direct access link.
Refund
For all who ask for a refund, please be aware of the fact that you agreed that you would prefinance this project by buying your Lumapod in advance. After a certain point - when the refund period is over - you are part of this project according to the rules of Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We are on a good way to fulfill our promise despite all the obstacles along the way and all that is going on in the world right now. But in order to remain a stable business partner, even though unexpected further difficulties could come along with the manufacturing process or the virus, we need to state that any other refund would put us more in the risk of having problems in the long run. Therefore refunds would be unfair to all other 4,600 backers. In the interest of all we will not put the majority at a higher risk just for some single persons, at least until we have more clarity about the further global developments. We thank you for your understanding.
Can I buy add-ons without a Lumapod?
Unfortunately this is not possible, as this does not work out with the pricing systems on Indiegogo. But you will certainly be able to order the add-ons later, once we are on the regular market.
Thank you guys! We love you! Stay healthy!
- The Lumapod Team
Sun Nov 1 '20 Announcement
almost 4 years ago
– Sun, Nov 01, 2020 at 12:39:30 AM
Dear Backers,
We are veeery thankful for your support with this project. It would not have been possible to turn this product into reality without your support. We thank and appreciate all of you, regardless of what you write in the comments. But this being said, once again: We are bringing a tripod to life, which has never been there before. Not even similar. This tripod consists of far more than 100 parts produced in more than 20 different factories. You can certainly guess that this is not comparable to many of the other crowdfunding campaigns out there.
Some even think that the timelines should be binding. It is not possible. Once we have the Lumapods in stock after quality control, we can name binding timelines. You can rest assured that we are still fully motivated, we are still fully committed and we are doing literally everything that can be done to turn this into a really nice result for everybody. The timeline is our second priority.
Pre-Production Progress
Now to the uncomfortable part of this update. Our main supplier brought us to a point where we had to accept that he is not capable of producing the parts of the gearing mechanism precisely enough.
As a consequence we relocated a whole set of tooling to another manufacturer of ours who is very well capable of producing these parts. We did this in good mutual coordination and cooperation, as our main supplier showed strong commitment to this project in general. We saw this as a win-win-solution for all parties. Our other supplier received the toolings one week ago and is doing test trials at the moment. After that, some improvements of the toolings will be done, in order to have perfect parts in the end. 
Some of the relocated tools
To be quick in such a situation, we always had a plan B and C available from the beginning on. We prepared everything in the background so that a relocation of tools can go as smoothly as possible in case it is necessary. As it seems now we do not even have to produce new toolings as the other manufacturer can re-use them after some adaptations.
It is very sad for us to share such an update, since we are working very hard on this project for years. We never thought, this project would cost us so much effort and time. Anyway, we keep up delivering what we promised.
Rope attachment
As we had more time we improved the rope attachment - mentioned in the previous update - even further. We reduced it by two parts. The positive side effect is, that the ropes will - in normal use - last forever ;)
Base plate
In our tests we found out that the recently improved version of the base plate can crack with some more-then-usual force. We do not assume that the user is breaking the Lumapod on purpose, but we thought we have room for improvement here. Therefore we substitute a plastic nose with a metal nose. It will not affect the weight, as this will be achieved by a small overmolding part.
Timeline
For the timeline we still need to consider two scenarios. One (more likely scenario) where all toolings work just fine and we do not have to make new toolings. The other scenario requires the production of new tools.
Successful re-use of the toolings
Pre-Production Go85 / Go120 November / December
Mass-Production December till February
QC / Start of Shipping February / March
New toolings required
New tool production / testing November till January
Pre-Production Go85 / Go120 Well be done in the course of the tool testing
Chinese New Year February
Mass-Production January to March
QC / Start of Shipping March / April
FAQs
We decided to copy the FAQs from the last update in this update again, since the same questions are asked over and over again :)
How can I change my address or payment data?
You can change your address or payment data directly in your backerkit account. Log in here: https://www.backerkit.com/backer_accounts/sign_in
Alternatively, just drop us a message and we will send a direct access link.
Refund
For all who ask for a refund, please be aware of the fact that you agreed that you would prefinance this project by buying your Lumapod in advance. After a certain point - when the refund period is over - you are part of this project according to the rules of Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We are on a good way to fulfill our promise despite all the obstacles along the way and all that is going on in the world right now. But in order to remain a stable business partner, even though unexpected further difficulties could come along with the manufacturing process or the virus, we need to state that any other refund would put us more in the risk of having problems in the long run. Therefore refunds would be unfair to all other 4,600 backers. In the interest of all we will not put the majority at a higher risk just for some single persons, at least until we have more clarity about the further global developments. We thank you for your understanding.
Can I buy add-ons without a Lumapod?
Unfortunately this is not possible, as this does not work out with the pricing systems on Indiegogo. But you will certainly be able to order the add-ons later, once we are on the regular market.
Thank you guys! We love you! Stay healthy!
- The Lumapod Team
Thu Oct 1 '20 Announcement
about 4 years ago
– Thu, Oct 01, 2020 at 09:10:14 AM
Dear Backers,
In short, we inform you about the overall quality of the material production and the current status of the assembly. That is basically what kept us busy this month :)
Pre-Production Progress
All sub-supplied parts are of good quality according to the assessment of our manufacturing manager. The parts of the main supplier are a little worrying in terms of accuracy and appearance. Our main supplier had to re-produce some of the parts, which cost us two weeks and caused us some nerves. Samples of all the latest pre-production parts are on their way to us.
After the Chinese holiday as part of the Chinese autumn festival, which is starting Oct 1st, our manufacturing manager will see the first sub-assemblies for checking the quality and function. What you see in the following picture shows the sub-assembly where the magic of the tensioning mechanism happens. Therefore the most sensible part in terms of accuracy as well as for assembly. This head housing sub-assembly alone consists of 27 parts.
Head Housing Assembly
The following telescope consists of 48 parts.
Telescope Assembly
Pre-production herewith will be finished by the end of next week. We hope that we can then receive the first pre-production samples in our office. We really can’t wait for that :)
Rope attachment
The tooling of the new rope attachment - mentioned in the previous updates - is ordered and in production. This part will be made by one of our best quality suppliers. This makes sure, we do not have to worry about this part anymore ;)
Rope
We took the time to find another supplier for the ropes. Basically the rope we use now is ok, but we are in the risk of delays, as we already had to reject the ropes twice, before the quality was matching the reference samples. Therefore finding an alternative supplier was on our todo list. The next few days we will redo tensioning tests and breaking load tests with samples from new suppliers.
Timeline
Pre-Production Go85 / Go120 August / September / October
Mass-Production October / November
Start of Shipping November
Certainly depending on the final outcome of the pre-production.
FAQs
We decided to copy the FAQs from the last update in this update again, since the same questions are asked over and over again :)
How can I change my address or payment data?
You can change your address or payment data directly in your backerkit account. Log in here: https://www.backerkit.com/backer_accounts/sign_in
Alternatively, just drop us a message and we will send a direct access link.
Refund
For all who ask for a refund, please be aware of the fact that you agreed that you would prefinance this project by buying your Lumapod in advance. After a certain point - when the refund period is over - you are part of this project according to the rules of Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We are on a good way to fulfill our promise despite all the obstacles along the way and all that is going on in the world right now. But in order to remain a stable business partner, even though unexpected further difficulties could come along with the virus, we need to state that any other refund would put us more in the risk of having problems in the long run. Therefore refunds would be unfair to all other 4,600 backers. In the interest of all we will not put the majority at a higher risk just for some single persons, at least until we have more clarity about the further global developments. We thank you for your understanding.
Can I buy add-ons without a Lumapod?
Unfortunately this is not possible, as this does not work out with the pricing systems on Indiegogo. But you will certainly be able to order the add-ons later, once we are on the regular market.
Thank you guys! Take care and stay healthy!
- The Lumapod Team
Mon Aug 31 '20 Announcement
about 4 years ago
– Mon, Aug 31, 2020 at 11:45:14 AM
Dear Backers,
In the recent comments we were asked to share an update more often. We had a discussion about that internally and decided: In order to spend our time in focussing on the project, we will continue to share an update once a month. We have the feeling that the majority of our backers are satisfied with our contribution to the flood of information out there.
Pre-Production Progress
Pre-production is running well so far. It’s a major step to see the first Lumapods being produced in a real manufacturing environment. Please take note that we cannot ship those pre-production units, because these Lumapods have to be tested and may not be perfect yet.
One sub-supplier already finished the leg parts and sent us this picture.
The majority of the sub-supplied parts (mostly standard parts) are ready to be assembled. Our main manufacturer is producing the first parts this week, so we can share more pictures in the next update.
We are very excited to see how the assembly goes. Our manufacturer made its assessment beforehand the pre-production and decided to do pre-production for both Go85 and Go120 at the same time. This is very fortunate for our timeline, especially because we hate to post a new delay every month. But please let us not forget, that the complexity of Lumapod is incomparably higher than of other tripods so far. This product is new for our manufacturer (and for any other manufacturer). Therefore we cannot guarantee any timeline yet. Anyway we keep sticking to our internal policy - time comes after quality. We think this is clearly in the interests of the majority of backers.
Our manufacturing manager got a very good feel for Lumapod in the meantime and will strongly support us in keeping up with our current timeline.
Rope
In the recent updates we mentioned that the overmolding process of the ropes does not bring the same results anymore then in the first sampling round. Therefore we started to solve this problem with various different solution approaches.
We have decided for one solution, which proved to be the most promising one. We made dozens of 3D printed plastic crimping parts and developed this solution to the desired result. In our tensioning tests we reached more breaking load then we actually require :)
Timeline
Pre-Production Go85 / Go120 August
Mass-Production October / November
Start of Shipping November
This is still an estimation, but we think now the timeline is getting more and more concrete.
FAQs
We decided to copy the FAQs from the last update in this update again, since the same questions are asked over and over again :)
How can I change my address or payment data?
You can change your address or payment data directly in your backerkit account. Log in here: https://www.backerkit.com/backer_accounts/sign_in
Alternatively, just drop us a message and we will send a direct access link.
Refund
For all who ask for a refund, please be aware of the fact that you agreed that you would prefinance this project by buying your Lumapod in advance. After a certain point - when the refund period is over - you are part of this project according to the rules of Kickstarter and Indiegogo. We are on a good way to fulfill our promise despite all the obstacles along the way and all that is going on in the world right now. But in order to remain a stable business partner, even though unexpected further difficulties could come along with the virus, we need to state, that any other refund would put us more in the risk of having problems in the long run. Therefore refunds would be unfair to all other 4,600 backers. In the interest of all we will not put the majority at a higher risk just for some single persons, at least until we have more clarity about the further global developments. We thank you for your understanding.
Can I buy add-ons without a Lumapod?
Unfortunately this is not possible, as this does not work out with the pricing systems on Indiegogo. But you will certainly be able to order the add-ons later, once we are on the regular market.
Thank you guys! Take care and stay healthy!
- The Lumapod Team
