Demystifying Deep Tech Manufacturing Series

Video Descriptions & Details

Demystifying Deep Tech Manufacturing Series aims to answer how to best support emerging deep tech startups from the perspective of deep tech founders.
A lot of content exists about helping startups form and go from idea to prototype. But what about the critical next stage, going from prototype to production?
Interested in a specific question? See the Video Annotations section below for timestamped links.
Explore and contrast answers between the entrepreneurs using the links below.

Introduction

Andrew Gillies – 0:00
Maria Telleria – 0:00
Sarah Placella – 0:00
Tra Vu – 0:00
Marcus Lehmann – 0:00

Company Description

Andrew Gillies – (Urban Machines) 1:55
Can you describe Dash robotics? Andrew Gillies – 3:56
Maria Telleria – (Canvas) 2:09
Sarah Placella – (Root Applied Science) 2:29
Tra Vu – (Omni Telepresence Robot) 7:23
Company Description: Marcus Lehmann – (Calwave) 2:19

How long has Root Applied Science been active and what other startups have you worked for?
Sarah Placella – 3:20

What are the differences between the construction industry and the toy industry?
Andrew Gillies – 2:26

How do robots contribute to worker safety
Maria Telleria – 4:25

Scaling to Production

What were your biggest challenges going from a lab prototype to production?
Andrew Gillies – 10:02
Maria Telleria – 20:24

Were there any issues you found that required a redesign to manufacture innovative products at scale?
Andrew Gillies – 20:01

How did you complete the transition to large-scale manufacturing?
Andrew Gillies – 15:25

How did you cut electronics costs?
Andrew Gillies – 24:35

Has the complexity of your product made it harder for you to get to market?
Maria Telleria – 4:14

How did you develop to get to your current stage?
Maria Telleria – 9:17

Did any part of going to production take a lot longer than expected?
Maria Telleria – 21:58

How did you scale 3D printing at production requirements?
Tra Vu – 14:24

How does TRL help explain the difference between deep tech development and regular product development?
Marcus Lehmann – 14:26

Other than sourcing, did you run into any further critical bottlenecks scaling to pilot production?
Marcus Lehmann – 17:25

What were the surprises you encountered during pilot development?
Marcus Lehmann – 27:50

Product Design

Can you describe the research for the basis of Dash robots?
Andrew Gillies – 5:43

What were the challenges you faced with power consumption?
Andrew Gillies – 28:20

What challenges did you face with regulatory testing and standards?
Andrew Gillies – 31:00

What are the challenges of working with soft robotics?
Maria Telleria – 6:54

What is an example of the off the shelf technology you adapted
Maria Telleria – 13:39

What was your prototyping process
Sarah Placella – 7:17

What criteria did you use to select your components?
Sarah Placella – 13:10

How do you decided what quality is required
Sarah Placella – 16:03

How did you handle the transition from prototype to demonstration unit when there is no generally accepted system architecture for wave power?
Marcus Lehmann – 3:44

Manufacturing

How did you find your manufacturing partners?
Maria Telleria – 15:48

How do you manufacture your product? What is the breakdown between in-house and contract?
Maria Telleria – 11:36

How were the first units manufactured?
Tra Vu – 10:12

What characteristics did you look for in a manufacturing space?
Tra Vu – 21:34

How did you implement flooring in your manufacturing?
Tra Vu – 23:22

How do you manage variability in a 3D printing farm?
Tra Vu – 26:24

How did you decide to in-source system modules?
Tra Vu – 31:17

How do you balance domestic and international outsourcing?
Marcus Lehmann – 20:04

Advise and Support

How do you engage with experts to help you through the process?
Andrew Gillies – 21:42
Sarah Placella – 17:59
Tra Vu – 36:27
Marcus Lehmann – 23:35

What were the skills you had that helped in the process and what skills did you need to develop?
Maria Telleria – 26:41
Sarah Placella – 19:56
Tra Vu – 2:19

What are some useful platforms and tools you found?
Andrew Gillies – 35:32
Maria Telleria – 28:57
Sarah Placella – 24:06

Supply Chain

How do you deal with supply chain challenges?
Maria Telleria – 18:26

How do you manage the supply chain process?
Tra Vu – 28:09

How did you source components for low-quantity, high-quality production?
Marcus Lehmann – 9:28

Final Words

Andrew Gillies – 38:56
Maria Telleria – 31:39
Sarah Placella – 26:25
Tra Vu – 39:30
Marcus Lehmann – 35:01