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Comment by pedalpete | Hacker News Reader

Assembly in the US is expensive, and what is the benefit to the end user?

We're looking at manufacturing hardware, and considering Mexico for assembly (if anyone has experience with this, please let me know).

Our initial thinking is

1) lower cost than the US 2) geographically closer 2a) lower environmental footprint in shipping 2b) quicker time from assembly to customer 2c) easier to visit the factories, solve problems, manage the relationship 3) the obvious geopolitical/tax/duty implications

I wonder if Purism would have as much impact with Made in the USA, as they would with Made in North America? Or even Made in The Americas - if there are other countries outside of Mexico and Canada that have the requisite manufacturing capabilities.

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I’ve routinely had pallets of servers messed with while in Mexican customs lockup; RAM and drives were replaced. Badly.

Until that sort of thing is fixed, it’s not helpful for manufacturing trustworthy devices.

Could you tells us more about that experience? It's intriguing.

In our current climate more so than just the supply chain oversight that some customers will want and the other customers that will pay a premium to support an alternative to Google/Apple, also unless you are a massive corporation, you are at the back of the line for procurement of components and assembly. The big folks are feeling it too. Localized supply chain is critical to making sure we can have nice things going forward. Some people are willing to put the money up.

Mexico is a very solid place to look. In fact I think over the next five years our partnership with Mexico for manufacturing is going to explode. They have the people and facilities to do the work and are our neighbors.

Purism though, with what they are doing. Like OP at the top of the thread said, is making a statement, and a powerful one, by doing what they are doing and it's part of their mission because they are making phones and people, correctly, have a lot of anxiety about their current ad slabs.

I think your reasoning for Mexico manufacture is on point and you'll really see rewards establishing that production relationship.

If you don't mind me asking, what are you building? Your username says to me guitar pedals. Link?

We're building an EEG headband that improves the efficiency of deep sleep (https://soundmind.co)

Pedal handle is like bike, not guitar, though I recently started playing guitar. I've never heard somebody suggest a guitar, I usually have people ask "why are you nicknamed after a flower" (PetalPete) :)

That is absolutely fascinating. I've spent over a decade doing R&D for computer interface. I've played with EEG off and on. I've done a lot with myoelectrics. I spend a lot of time trying to find color, light, sound, and rhythm that sum up stressful light up rectangles into a more human mode.

I'm super curious about your manufacturing journey and your product. No pressure on response turnover or really any larger goal, but would you mind if I email you some time? I think we might have some overlaps that make for enriching conversation.

Yeah for sure. pete @ you know the rest.

I'm not sure about what you mean about "sum[ming] up stressful light up rectangles into a more human mode".

Love to hear of people doing interesting things in the BCI space.

conservation of energy and enjoying a public forum with poetry and prose. I'll hit you up and show you what I mean. And also it'll be weird because alternative interface it's hard to point at something and say, "It's like that" right? All we know is glowing rectangle. Just know that nearly religiously, I'm not trying to big time you or being cryptic or contrarian. I've got a goal. I do love talking to folks who got it enough to tell me "I have no idea what your talking about" or "this sounds stupid".

I dunno. I turn 40 next month. I'm kind of sorting out what that means. What you see is what you get with me. Test it. But yeah man. I will hit you up.

On a related but adjacent note, I've got massive respect for independent hardware manufacturers. I know a lot about what that dream looks like. I have not been able to get where you're at with anything that made the right sense.

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