How to Hire for Contract Manufacturing

mHUB, 10 min read

This lesson is an article published by mHUB.

What you'll get

A guide from mHUB, a Chicago hardware incubator that sells memberships, to choosing a contract manufacturer: the questions to settle first about budget, process and volume, how to vet shops and what to send them (a drawing, a CAD file and tolerances), why to ask for quotes at more than one quantity, and how tooling and a first test batch fit in. It is written for funded hardware startups, so its timelines and its assumption that you will have raised money for tooling may not fit a small maker, but its list of what to send and ask works at any size.

Do this week

Build a one-page quote request for one part or product, with a drawing, the material, tolerances on the critical features and the quantities you want priced, and send it to two or three shops, including at least one in North Carolina.