We see it coming, slowly
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Jul 28, 2021 at 04:19:20 AM

Hey guys!

Just a quick update from us: we're here and waiting for our container to arrive at us! :)

We have everything prepared and set up to start assembling and shipping just a few days after we receive the container.

In fact, we keep making the process more and more optimized each day to a point that we’re now really skilled jig makers!

We miss two very important Kinetic Driver components and without them, we just can’t start!

Logistics is totally out of our control and as you sure know it’s a REALL MESS GLOBALLY at the moment.

Thank you again for your support and patience, and do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions. :)

-Giaco

Kinetic Driver Panic Mode
almost 3 years ago – Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 06:53:10 PM

Hey there, fellow Backers!

Our panic days have come to an end and here’s why!

Here’s a recap:

• The container coming from abroad (with our bits and ceramic bearings) has been “parked” for almost 47 days. We still don’t know the reason but what we finally know now is that has been unlocked and it’s finally ready to set off!
• Now it looks like that the container will be leaving by the end of this week, and will take about 40 days to get here. We’ve every other part ready, including the jigs needed to assemble the ceramic bearings, so once we’ll receive the missing parts we will start assembling and shipping hundreds of Kinetic Driver per day.
• If you are not willing to wait anymore we can refund your pledge. Just contact us at [email protected] - that is the ONLY way to contact us. We’ll make less than a thousand units in addition to the ones already sold and we know they’ll go away in no time as soon as supporters start receiving them and show them to friends.
• Do you want to change your pledge? You can do so from Backerkit or contact us at [email protected] 

As always, thank you for your support and patience!

- Giaco

FUN FACT: Hundreds of you will not read any of this update and will write to our customer care really angry words! It’s ok… ;)

Getting really close
almost 3 years ago – Fri, May 07, 2021 at 09:56:56 PM

Hey guys,
here’s the update, I know we should do more updates but we’d rather give news when we have a good amount of information to provide. We noticed two things. Most people don’t read the updates and they just send requests via email, if we fragment our updates into too many parts even fewer people would keep track of what’s happening. And, at each update (we can’t figure out why) the email requests increase, and reply to all of them is a huge time-burning experience that we cannot afford at this stage.

What we have:

• 2000 Kinetic Drivers 75% assembled
• 1500 “barrels” dark chromed (and awesome)
• 3500 brass “barrels” polished
• All the cases from Portugal
• All the rest of the parts machined but untreated

What we are still waiting for:

• All the finishes and treating done
• All the rest of the assembly
• 11000 ceramic bearings (soon)
• 360000 precision bits (soon)
• 15000 external packages (very soon)
• Manually put all the bits in the case (when we get them)

Besides daily delays from all the manufacturers (normally covid related), we are very happy with the results.

We are confident that we’ll have everything in the next 4 weeks and we’ll start shipping from 500 to 700 Kinetic Driver(s) per week.

As always, a massive thank you for your support and patience!

Giaco

We’re not wasting any waking minute.
about 3 years ago – Tue, Mar 16, 2021 at 12:54:31 AM

Hey all!

Here we are again with a new update about the Kinetic Driver. :)

We can’t stop thanking all of our campaign backers and pre-order supporters: We hope that our care for every single detail of the Kinetic Driver will pay for your patience and waiting. 

This won’t be a long update - but since many of you asked for a “ping” from us, we delivered! :)

What to Expect?

We left you hanging with a couple of issues: The cork case and the HEX socket hole.
We finally had the mold fixed by the external company we hired and the production of the cork cases has begun. This will take a while: we visited a few manufacturers and we didn’t just go for the largest one but the one that could give us the best quality and attention to details possible. We are really satisfied with the results and cork is one of our favorite materials now. Cork properties are just perfect for this application and we’re sure you’ll love it too.

We received many feedback and suggestions about the hex hole manufacturing process. We can assure you that we managed to go through all the options and have chosen the best compromise between fit and compatibility with the bits on the market. Unfortunately, all bits manufacturer have their own tolerance and we need to think about that compromising the least possible the fit.

Will you be able to keep the “end of April” date to start fulfilling? 

Well, we still don’t know yet. The cork cases will be out for delivery around mid-April, and by then we want to create a “buffer” of ready-to-go Kinetic Driver, so we can start fulfilling without interruptions if a hiccup from the assembly and packing chains occurs.
It also looks like a new complete lockdown will be a thing soon, but we’re not wasting one minute to keep up with production.

“I have many other questions/feedback/suggestions, how can I reach you?”

We try to avoid using direct messages or the comment section because it would be a mess to keep track of all the requests and messages. If you need to get in touch with us, the fastest way is to write an email to [email protected], where our support team will help you. 

Again, THANK YOU. We’ll never say that too much!

Here's where we are.
over 3 years ago – Fri, Jan 29, 2021 at 02:56:09 AM

Hey There!

It's time for our monthly update about the Kinetic Driver project status!

If you don't have time to watch the video, you can find a small tl;dr below. ;)

Too Long; didn't watch:

• It looks like you can find copies of our Kinetic Driver on the Internet. Be aware that they use our product name, pictures, videos, and description without our consent (duh!) and we have already taken legal action against them thanks to the new team member Simone. The copied product itself looks... well, it looks like a real Kinetic Driver, at least in its shape. And if you watch it from more than 2 meters away. With lights dimmed.  And blindfolded. The poor materials they've used, together with a huge design defect, make these copies ugly and useless since they broke as soon as you force them to do their job: turning screws. This makes us not so prone to showing the manufacturing steps on our socials and updates, as we want to keep some details of the Kinetic Driver "secret". 
• We are late. We know that and we're very sorry, and we cannot stop thanking all of our backers and supporters for the patience they're having in waiting! We had a couple of challenges while manufacturing the hex hole where the bits go in: we were using a custom rotary broach to create the hex socket shape but after a few hundred Kinetic Driver shafts produced, we noted that there was inconstancy in the hole measures. The broach starts wearing off very soon and needs to be swapped with a new one. So we are now testing a different approach, based on the idea of a "punch press". The first results are really nice and there is 100% consistency between the first and the last units manufactured. We just need to work on the precision of the "punch press" but we found a partner company that has a more precise press that will surely help to keep the concentricity of the whole Kinetic Driver perfect.
•  We have found the best formula for the Dark Chromed: in the early prototypes, the Dark Chroming couldn't attach correctly to the brass part underneath because the polished brass surfaces were too smooth, so we solved that kind of issue by not polishing the brass and now, based on some "torture test", the Dark Chromed surface treatment won't come off.
• We are dealing with the company that makes the Organizer Case (in a fancy, black-colored cork) to correct a couple of defects on the mold used to manufacture the case. We noted that some details were not as designed by us and we asked to fix them, but it requires quite some time to implement the modification because a new dedicated mold will be required.
•  The Covid-thing: It may sound like an excuse, but it is really affecting our manufacturing capabilities, especially because the "Covid excuse" is used a lot by the external partners we have to rely on for the parts not directly manufactured by us or the surface treatments. But hey, there's a huge, worldwide pandemic going on, and we are making all the possible effort to speed up the process as much as we can while staying safe.
• We now expect to be able to start shipping at the end of April 2021, If everything goes in the right direction. We'll keep all you backers and pre-orders supporter updated later on. 

We know that waiting sucks, but we've always preferred to take a little more time and correct any possible defects to deliver the best product we can, and we'll always do. Again, thank you for your patience, support, and for believing in us and our Kinetic Driver!

 About your surveys...

Yes, we still have some pending surveys. Not a big deal since we will start shipping later than expected, but please remember to fill your survey as soon as you can, especially if you are a backer of the Founder's Edition Kinetic Driver since we need your survey answer to know what name you want to be put on the Kinetic Driver box. 

There's a huge "bug" if you use your Apple account to login to Kickstarter, because Apple creates a unique email address for your Kickstarter login purpose, but never forward the email sent to that email address to your inbox, so if you login with Apple credential and have never received our survey email, contact us at [email protected] and we'll send your survey link there.

How can I contact you? I want more information!

We're always available at [email protected] for all your comments, feedback, suggestions and questions. That's the fastest way to communicate with us since we don't monitor any other direct/social messages. 

Thank you!