Update #19 - Back to Work Soon!
almost 4 years ago – Sun, May 31, 2020 at 03:42:37 PM

Hello everyone!

We are glad to announce that Chicago will begin gradually reopening in June. Although the reopening is limited, we think we may be able to slowly get back to work starting on June 8th and build towards final delivery by the end of the month. For now, we are reaching back out to our distribution network and coordinating final testing and packaging. We are very excited to be this close to getting you your RODAs. 

We will continue to monitor the situation, and in the case that Chicago reverts to closing we will keep you updated. Expect some new updates soon with pictures and video of our final units being tested, packaged and shipped to you. 

Thanks again for all your patience and support,

Jose & Team

Update #18 - Stay-at-Home Order Extended
about 4 years ago – Sun, Apr 26, 2020 at 03:40:52 PM

Hello All, 

The Governor of Illinois is extending the stay at home order until at least May 30th. That means that non-essential businesses will remain closed. That leaves us in the same situation as we were in our last update, unable to complete delivery.

We understand that the order is meant to protect all of us and thank you for all your patience and understanding. We are monitoring the situation as we know you all are as well, we are hoping to be able to deliver later in the summer. We will keep you informed if anything changes.

Thanks again for you support,

Jose & Team

Update #17 - Shelter from Home
about 4 years ago – Fri, Apr 03, 2020 at 12:00:50 AM

Hi All, we wanted to let you know that Chicago has been under 'Shelter from Home' orders for over a week  now. What that means is that all non-essential businesses are closed, as well as many public parks and spaces. This did not come as a surprise at all but unfortunately there is little we can do to get you your units until we can resume normal business operations. 

We are still doing what work we can remotely, planning out the RODA product roadmap for after kickstarter, as well as exploring new products we are considering crowdfunding in the future. 

We hope you are staying healthy, we'll keep you updated as time progresses and let you know as soon as we can get back to work.

Thanks again for backing us,

Jose & Team

Update #16 - Shipping Timeline Update
about 4 years ago – Thu, Mar 12, 2020 at 04:12:44 PM

Hello Everyone, 

We've heard feedback from several of you that you'd like more regular updates, even when there aren't many nice pictures or videos to show. We're putting out this small update to let you know the latest status and will plan to update you every two weeks from now until final delivery. 

If you've read our replies to some of the comments on the project you'll know that we've had a three week delay because the coronavirus affected some of our suppliers, resulting in some late deliveries for some off-the-shelf components we use, but our manufacturer now has every component they need in hand. Shipping is now scheduled for mid-April instead of end of March as we had previously estimated. We know that another delay can be a source of frustration for our backers but we're very near the finish line now. 

That said, our manufacturer has finished the 'Design Validation Units', which are the set of units that are manufactured using 100% production equipment, molds, assembly jigs, etc. This was the final step in the lead up to mass production, and now manufacturing can proceed full speed. This stage is very exciting for us, we're having several hundred extra units manufactured on top of the kickstarter units and after we fulfill the kickstarter orders we'll explore selling on other channels.

Since the bulk of the work is being done by our manufacturer until we receive the units for final assembly, packaging, and shipping, we've found we've had some time on our hands. We've been using that time to get started working on our next project. We're very excited to grow our product line and take advantage of everything we learned on our first project. We'll be announcing that product to you before anyone else, it's a bit different but we think you'll love what we've come up with. 

Thanks for backing us and stay safe, 

Jose & Team

Update #15 - Mass Manufacturing
over 4 years ago – Mon, Jan 27, 2020 at 11:51:45 PM

Hello Everyone! We want to update you all on the status of your orders.  

As you may have seen from our last updates, we shipped the first wave of RODAs last month and have been tracking all your comments and messages. A handful of units had issues reported by our backers. We have since issued a return for all of those units to determine what the root cause may have been and will be sending those backers a free replacement unit. We want to apologize to those affected and want you to know that we are working to get you your new RODAs.

Shipping

We will be shipping out every remaining kickstarter RODA this March. We know this is already several months later than we had originally planned for but we promise you that the end product you receive will be all the better for it. We want RODA to last a lifetime, so we hope these last two months will just be a blip compared to how long you'll enjoy your gyroscope. 

The reason for the delay has been issues with our manufacturing process. To help remedy this situation, we are now partnering with a large contract manufacturer capable of producing the units far faster than we can, with fewer defects. The delay since the last update has been due to us narrowing down the list of potential partners and getting samples made. As of our latest estimate, the manufacturer we are partnering with can produce 1000 RODAs in just 20 days! We'll be sending out some videos of some of the mass manufacturing in our next update. We have received the first prototypes from the manufacturer and we are blown away by the results. We are putting the finishing touches on the engineering drawings and tolerances as well as the manufacturing contract in preparation for the mass manufacturing, we included images of the first prototypes below.

Design Updates

Based on some feedback from our first backers as well as from our new manufacturers, we're adding a handful of changes to all future units. Below are some of the highlights as well as pictures and video!

1) We've made the base, housing, and spinners 30% wider so RODA is now more stable while spinning on the kinetic base and is easier to hold by the side spinners.

2) The Brass wheel now uses a different passivation process which is easier to do en masse, and provides a more consistent and vibrant finish that looks absolutely stunning in person.

3) Our manufacturer will now use bead blasting instead of a tumble process for the anodized aluminum components, which will result in a more consistent surface finish that can be achieved faster than tumbling.

4) The 'RODA GYRO' lettering is now done by laser etching instead of machine engraving, which results in a crisper and easier to read font that will never rub or scratch out. 

5) We have changed the design of the bottom pin so that it has a smooth rounded surface, which results in a smoother spin than the original design with the pen cutout on the bottom. We have left a pen cutout at the top so you can still balance your unit that way. 

Here's what the RODA v2 looks like in action, the spin is so smooth the wheel sometimes appears to not be spinning at all! 

Every unit will undergo final inspection and packaging by our team before being handed over to our delivery company. The final shipping dates will be narrowed down in February, we will update you when we coordinate a pick up date with our shipping company. 

BackerKit

There are still about 70 backers who have not provided their address in the backerkit survey. If you have lost the original survey, you can get access here: https://the-roda-gyroscope.backerkit.com/ 

We are just two months away from completing every kickstarter order. We are very excited to continue along this journey and see what's next for RODA. We will also be taking all the invaluable knowledge we've gained from this campaign and use it for some future projects we want to share with you later this year!

Thanks so much for your support,

Jose & Team