LLavigne Labs
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Series

Field Notes from China

We have spent years making hardware in China, and these are the notes we wish we had on day one. They are hard-won and practical: how to find the right supplier, get a straight answer, prototype quickly and keep costs honest. Read them in order, or jump to whatever you are stuck on.

  1. Part 1 · May 28, 2026

    How to vet a factory before you wire a deposit

    A supplier's quote tells you almost nothing about whether they can actually build your product. Here's what I check — in person — before a cent moves.

  2. Part 2 · June 15, 2026

    Why 'yes' doesn't always mean yes

    Most manufacturing disasters I've seen weren't technical — they were communication failures. After 13 years here, this is how I keep 'yes' from becoming a $40,000 surprise.

  3. Part 3 · October 13, 2026

    Fast Prototyping in China: Stop Asking Factories

    Many teams prototype with the wrong supplier, then wonder why the replies dry up by revision three. Here's how fast prototyping in China actually works, and who to ask.

  4. Part 4 · October 14, 2026

    Lowest-cost manufacturing in China: Brian's Law

    The factory with the polished English-speaking sales team is rarely the cheapest place your part can be made. Here's why, and how to find the people who actually make it.

  5. Part 5 · October 15, 2026

    Taobao for Factory Sourcing?

    Taobao looks like a shopping site for phone cases and sneakers. It is also one of the best places to find real factories, including specialised ones. What matters is the supplier, not where you found them.

  6. Part 6 · October 16, 2026

    Fast Injection Molds in China: Tooling in 10 Days

    The standard story says a mold takes 30 days plus revisions. There is another way: 10-day injection molds, cheaper than regular tooling. Here is how they work, what the catch is, and when to use them.

  7. Part 7 · October 17, 2026

    One WeChat history for a dual-boot Windows and Linux PC

    WeChat desktop doesn't sync history between computers, so a dual-boot PC ends up with two histories that drift apart. Here is how I pointed both operating systems at one folder, and what went wrong on the way.

  8. Part 8 · October 18, 2026

    Designing Moldable Parts: A Checklist Before You Send the File

    Most injection molding problems are designed in, long before the mold is cut. A skimmable checklist for walls, ribs, bosses, corners, holes, text and finish, so the file you send is one a shop can actually mold.

  9. Part 9 · October 18, 2026

    Cantilever Snap Fits: Ratios, Not Equations

    Snap fits are some of our favourite features to design. The maths is nice, but a handful of thickness ratios gets you most of the way, and which way the hook faces decides whether the mold is simple or painful.