Yesterday I spent the day at the factory where the electronics are being manufactured, and where final assembly is taking place. In my last update I said that final assembly should have been taking place last week. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have unfortunately prevented that so far, with the metalwork currently sitting in a warehouse in Southampton Docks waiting for customs clearance. However the time isn't being wasted, and most of the rest of the parts are now complete.
The photo at the top of this update is of the main control boards, taken after the surface mount process is complete. These are now in conventional assembly, where the through-hole parts are being soldered.
These are some of the luminaire boards, ready for the LEDs and reflectors to be fitted.
The plastic enclosure parts have now finally arrived, meaning it is only the metalwork that is delaying assembly. Here is one of the crates that spent three weeks on the container ship Hyundai Victory, making its leisurely way from Hong Kong via Singapore, Colombo and the Suez Canal.
The big question everyone will be asking is when will these be actually shipping. That is still in the hands of HMRC, but I'm assured that the metalwork is likely to clear customs in the next couple of days. I've already paid the taxes and duties, so it should be a formality. This is the first time I've handled sea freight, and it's a lot harder than I'd hoped! I have a truck with a Hiab standing by to collect them and whisk them off to the factory for assembly. From that point it will be four to five days before the first units ship. It's looking now like that these will be boxed and ready towards the end of next week. I will be sending the Kickstarter rewards out first, with pre-orders follow in approximately the order in which they were placed. Once again I'm very sorry for the delays, but should have them in your hands very soon.