We caught up with an expert member of HWTrek’s collaborative hardware development ecosystem community, James Murphy, who is Co-Founder and General Manager of Shenzhen-based HLH Prototypes Co., Ltd., to learn more about the company and the solutions they can provide hardware creators to assist in the development of their early stage projects.
Can you tell us the founding story of HLH Prototypes? What inspired you to start it and what’s your vision for it?
HLH was started by a small team focused on delivering value for money, rapid manufacturing services for companies large and small. Our vision is to move forward with the current enlargement plans, adding more services as we go until we become a full solution provider.
What services do you provide? Can you elaborate more about your solutions (Rapid Tooling + Production, Composite & Export Tooling, Rapid Production Low Volume – Injection Molding, CNC, and Rapid Prototyping – CNC Machining, 3D Printing & More)?
We aim to deliver parts and products in rapid lead times and utilize a number of production methods to do this. No matter if you are looking for a rapid prototype, rapid tooling or rapid production we can deliver. We have a massive range of services but it is our culture and approach, with a real focus on quality, speed and customer service that makes us a real solution provider to our customers.
When a customer comes to you for consultation, what is your process of understanding the product? What are the typical questions you ask? What do the creators need to prepare?
It starts with us trying to understand what the customer wants from their project, what their ultimate goals are, we try to look beyond the drawings at what the customer’s customers are looking for. Once we have understood the ultimate intent and we have studied the drawings we might need some more typical information about quantities and materials. We also ask questions designed to help save people time and money when we can. In terms of what creators need to prepare essentially the more the better but we can also work with very little and explore the best way forward together.
What are the typical mistakes you see hardware developers with an early stage project make? Can you give some advice on how to avoid them?
Often people are reluctant to work on multiple prototype iterations of a new product before production. Why? Budget is generally the answer. But often, in the long run, it is cheaper to try several prototype versions out than to wait until you get to market before you investigate other options. This might mean making the same prototype out of different materials or using different manufacturing techniques to make the same product. In the end, the market waits for no one, and time is money but the knowledge from testing multiple early prototypes can be the difference in getting the right product to market faster.
What are the most interesting and innovative projects you have working on recently? What new technologies, innovations were involved?
We work with a variety of industries, from robotics to automotive to wearables and a whole host of other industries. As for specific projects, our observance of IP rights and the NDA’s that we sign with our customers stops us short from openly discussing some of the cooler projects we have worked on, unfortunately.
Recently there has been a new wave of hardware innovation, dubbed the hardware revolution. How do you see China and the rest of the world responding to these changes in the industry? Are there regional differences in reactions to this phenomenon?
We are without a doubt becoming a more connected society and this is reflected in the ‘must have’ products most consumers crave. With the consolidation of retail chains in Europe and North America price and speed to market paired with manufacturing capacity are all needed to serve the largest markets. China is still the best partner to deliver on these 3 demands and is also growing into the largest consumer market for these products. China with its massive investments in training, technology, and infrastructure will continue to be the go-to for quite some time. The regional differences to this phenomenon are not as discernable as they might have been in the past, again the world is growing much more connected and this seems like a global movement.
What changes have you recently witnessed in the industry? How are manufacturers and the supply chain adapting to the whole wave of IoT?
We won’t speak for the whole industry but one way we here at HLH have adapted to the needs of IoT products is increased investment into our ProtoTool (Rapid Tooling) services. Speed to market, proof of concept and version 2.0 of your product are all great reasons to consider rapid tooling services. It is not just the IoT industry that has driven us to invest in increased rapid tooling capabilities. Just about any industry that sells a product to a retail consumer has seen their timelines shrink. So enabling people to deliver a real product, from real tools in real materials, really fast helps them to get a project green-lit or to capture early sales dollars or funding.
How do you see online collaboration platforms like HWTrek improving hardware product development, project management, and supply chain visibility?
Anytime you can put a creator and a supplier together directly, to help break through the white noise, to help reduce travel dollars and supplier qualification dollars is a good thing. Most good ideas fail from lack of capital, many times we have met creators/designers who find us too late after they have burned through their capital working with poor suppliers. HWTrek is helping us connect with creators/designers earlier which gives their project a much better chance of success.
And now for something completely different, fun questions…
What are your ‘go-to’ sources for tech information and news? (Do you have any recommendations for a must-read/watch/listen to article, book, blog, film, or podcast, etc.?)
Just finished ‘The Inevitable’ by Kevin Kelly, does a good job of summing up where things seem to be heading with some interesting twists of his own.
What’s currently on your playlist, what are you listening to these days?
Bowie and Cohen
What fuels you (coffee, tea, or….)? When you’re low on creative juice, what is your #1 method to get back on track?
Coffee. Getting back on track, another cup of coffee.
What do you recommend (place to go/see, what to eat) for a visitor to Shenzhen?
We eat local food all the time and it is great and I would recommend this for any traveler. Just pick a restaurant that has photos on the menu and try the local dishes. Also, because Shenzhen is such a massive migrant city the local dish might be from any corner of China, so there is a huge range of dishes to try. The food is cheap so just be brave and try something as is won’t break your bank account if you don’t like it. But, I can appreciate that some people need a Western food fix. If this is the case, then CoCo Park (Shopping Park) area in Nanshan or Shekou Area in Nanshan are both great options for Western bars and restaurants.
What gadget would you love to have from your favorite science fiction film or book?
Time machine, from The Time Machine
To learn more about HLH, feel free to connect with James Murphy on HWTrek and check our their solutions.
