East West Manufacturing Blog

It's a question for the ages...What's the difference between a Permanent Split Capacitor (PSC) motor and an Electronically Commutated Motor, also known as an EC Motor or ECM?

(Okay, maybe not a question for the ages, but it's an important question.)

Overseas manufacturing is challenging enough. Distance, time zones, language barrier, cultural differences. We might as well tack on one more thing to the list: forecasting.

The product design and development process is a fascinating one, marrying creativity with the disciplines of math, science, engineering and marketing. Transforming an idea into a marketable product doesn’t just happen.

We can do a lot of things but giving people “ballpark” estimates of how much it would cost to make their product without knowing any of the details isn’t one of them. And yet, you might be surprised to learn how often we’re asked to do that very thing.

You make a product in China. You went it alone. You found someone on the internet and they promised they could manufacture your product to your standards in the time required for the lowest price. 

Unfortunately, they also made an absolute hash of it.

Third party testing and certification is one of the most important and expensive decisions you'll make in the product development process. Certification marks — whether UL, ETL or some other entity — demonstrate that the testing facility has tested samples of the product and found that it met that entities' requirements. The mark guarantees the...

There are few moments as thrilling as when you receive the first samples of your product. And while you might think "Whew! At last!" it’s really just the beginning.

Sourcing. Procurement. Purchasing. Whatever you call it, the person doing it is probably one of the unsung heroes of manufacturing and new product development. 

Our engineers work with a lot of Gerber files. You probably know what that means, but just in case you don’t, Gerber is the file format for submitting printed circuit board (PCB) file designs to a PCB manufacturer. When you’re developing a product that includes electronics, you will have to supply Gerber files along with all your other product...

You’ve found your contract manufacturer! YAY!

But that manufacturer is only as good as its weakest link. It’s up to you to know all about the companies supplying your manufacturer. It’s time for supplier evaluations, and we've got a list of questions for a supplier evaluation checklist.