Makerslide at Inventables.

General questions and comments.

Re: Makerslide at Inventables.

Postby zkaplan » Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:43 am

Hi Guys,

I'm Zach Kaplan, the founder of Inventables and the guy that has been working with Bart on bringing the MakerSlide to market. I am sorry the process has been a bit confusing and I'd like to attempt to answer some of the questions posted on this thread. My goal is to be able to get to the point where MakerSlide is in stock and available in our store on a consistent basis. The reason we chose to offer it first with a pre-order system was because of the relatively high up front investment required to manufacture the product. These initial commitments made it possible for us to reach the minimum order requirements from the factory.

The reason we turned off the ordering is we want to make sure we can get this right on a consistent basis. This high minimum order long lead time product is new for us and we're trying to go through the entire process once and not rushing into it. For most if not all the other products we carry they have relatively low minimum order quantities or if the quantities are high the total dollar investment is relatively low.

The kinds of issues that we are working through right now include:
1. Material handling requirements for our fulfillment staff. Handling one or two pieces of MakerSlide is one thing but some orders have 10 or more pieces. We need to establish a procedure so nobody gets hurt on the job. Also unloading multiple pallets from the delivery truck is going to require some different tools than we currently have and use.

2. Figuring out the difference between the lead times the factory quotes and the actual delivery time. We don't want to get into a situation where folks are depending on us and the shipment from the factory is delayed.

3. Figuring out the best place and method to store MakerSlide in our warehouse. We currently use two different kinds of shelving systems and neither are suitable for MakerSlide due to it's size and shape. We are looking into some different racking systems and clearing some space where we can store inventory.

My intention is to eventually get to a point where we can stock without requiring pre-orders. Right now we are carefully walking through the details of how to handle ongoing fulfillment and I didn't want to over promise on the page where we sell it.

If folks have further questions, please feel free to post them here or email us directly at help at inventables dot com
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Re: Makerslide at Inventables.

Postby Halfdead » Mon Apr 30, 2012 6:47 am

Does Inventables have any plans to carry Misumi brackets and T nuts? It seems there's quite a few pieces missing for a complete build.
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Re: Makerslide at Inventables.

Postby zkaplan » Wed May 02, 2012 10:42 pm

Yes, Inventables plans to carry all the accessories needed for MakerSlide.
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Re: Makerslide at Inventables.

Postby sports.racer » Tue May 22, 2012 11:44 pm

Is there an ETA on Makerslide and shipping?
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Re: Makerslide at Inventables.

Postby Halfdead » Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:06 am

zkaplan wrote:Yes, Inventables plans to carry all the accessories needed for MakerSlide.

Any ETA on when these will be available?
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Re: Makerslide at Inventables.

Postby zkaplan » Tue Sep 11, 2012 5:51 am

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Re: Makerslide at Inventables.

Postby REdington » Fri Sep 14, 2012 4:41 am

Got to give some KUDOS to Inventables.
Over Labor day weekend, I ordered 5 pcs of the 1800mm makerslide and some hardware.
It was shipped Tuesday September 4 and was delivered the 6th by UPS.
Today I called and talked to Phil about getting some hardcoated makerslide like Bart has been testing for a router that my son want me to build for him. Phil took the time to call and talk to Bart and found where he had his hardcoat done. About a hour later I had got a e-mail from Phil with the info of who Bart had used and he also found a website of a local place that does the hardcoat.

Thanks Phil and Inventables team

Rodney
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