icebreaker - ice cubes made easy

April Status
about 8 years ago – Thu, Apr 07, 2016 at 11:15:36 PM

This month has been super exciting! I have spent a LOT of time in my “kitchen lab” making ice cubes..

We received the initial moulded samples as scheduled, which allowed us to start the physical testing. Here we made observations, new learnings and conclusions, and implemented iterations.
The status for the most important milestones is as follows:
- Filling → CHECK
- Waterproof → CHECK
- Freeze → CHECK
- Release → NOT YET CHECK
The biggest concern for the prototype was to see if the device would be waterproof… And you know what? It is COMPLETELY waterproof :-)

We believe we have found a solution to the challenge regarding the release element. We have had to engineer a new essential part, which we have just released for new tooling. The lead-time of this tool is 4 weeks! Sometimes I wish I had chosen to make software so I could just hit the compile button – again. Things in the hardware world just take more time…

Meanwhile, we have also worked on our relation with Bureau Veritas, BV will maintain a great deal of the quality insurance for us: they will be ensuring prober specifications and functional testing of the product. They will also be specifying and testing the material chemicals in order to ensure that our products are safe for food usage and for regulatory approval of course.

So, let’s sum up: We are having constant positive progress, but it takes time… And unfortunately I will not be able to provide you with a new schedule before the last vital corner stone of the ice cube releasing has been crossed. But stay tuned - One thing I can promise is to keep you posted!!

All the best, Kim & the icebreaker team

March Update
about 8 years ago – Thu, Mar 03, 2016 at 11:23:08 PM

Hi guys,

First of all, I want to thank you all for hanging in there – I really appreciate your patience and your kind and supportive comments. The delay I reported 5 weeks ago is still valid, and even though delays are never fun I’m now seeing “the light at the end of the tunnel”. 

Though, we are still only where we had to be in January, I really feel that things are back in control. By the end of this week, I will finally receive a moulded part and with that in hand, I will be able to assemble a new generation of prototype as you can see in the picture. This prototype will be a combination of moulded parts and 3D prints - but it will be partly operational. This will enable the first test round with filling, freezing and releasing ice cubes. If passed successfully, we are getting a step closer to release all parts for production (I’m sorry but I can’t show you all the individual parts as I wish to maintain my IP for as long as possible).

The new prototype includes some new enhanced user interfaces and features, which I will present to you once they have been properly tested and integrated in the design. So my next update will actually be the exciting update! This is where I will be able to give thumbs up or down on the progress. With a positive outcome, I will also be able to give you an updated time schedule with much more accuracy – this is something I’m really looking forward to myself.

Despite of the delay, I’m very happy and positive about our situation. The process has been very challenging and a lot of time was wasted due to some wrong choices from my side of contracted resources. But now I know that I have the people and competences needed to get back on track. Also, I must stress that it is a very complex design, which is difficult for new developers to comprehend, but I’m not satisfied before the design have resulted in strong and simple parts with the right quality and function. I do not sacrifice quality for haste.

To sum up:

• Only positive progress since the last update
• New cool user features integrated in the design

So stay tuned. Hopefully very soon I can be more accurate on the schedule for shipping the TEST PILOT version and the final icebreakers. 

Cheers,

Kim & the icebreaker team

January update - Production Status
over 8 years ago – Tue, Jan 26, 2016 at 04:08:31 PM

We hope you’ve had a wonderful Christmas as well as a great start to the New Year. Despite the holidays, the work for the icebreaker hasn’t stop and as promised we are now able to give you a detailed overview of the production progress. So here we go…

The last couple of months have been both hectic and challenging. Overall we have been making good progress as far as the design for manufacturing, the quality control and the production start-up, but we are delayed due to several factors. 

Design for Manufacturing:
After the Kickstarter campaign ended, we were forced to replace our dear mechanical designer because of conflicting projects and workload. As a part of the transfer to the new mechanical engineering service, we had to move the design to another CAD system. This caused more troubles and problems than we had anticipated. According to our schedule, all parts should have been released for tooling/production by now. However, only 2/10 parts are completed so far. As these 2 parts are the inner most essential parts, they are also the most critical for starting testing. Just last week we went to China to inspect the first samples. 

Quality Control:
“Quality is everything” - some famous industrial guy once said (I’m not sure who though), and we want to build on that fact. That’s why we have also invested time and money in partnering up with the industry leader within quality assurance and control. The Bureau Veritas occupy more than 70.000 people world wide with quality ensuring. 

That is why we will now be able to: 
• Ensure the proper specifications for the use of the icebreaker 
• Compile design requirements 
• Ensure that we align with national standards for food related products
• Test that our materials does not contain unwanted chemicals 

Production start-up:
Last week we went to China to visit our main supplier and additional sub-suppliers. The main reason for the visit was to receive the first two essential parts. But we also wanted to check out the factories in order to ensure that they have a sufficient quality set-up so that we – and you – get the quality that we expect. We also wanted to reviaew the code of conduct – just like quality this is a very important issue for us. That is why we were so happy to visit the factories. They performed much better than we could have anticipated… Great people and great quality!

A few modifications had to be done on the tooling for the parts - these are expected to be completed and shipped just before the Chinese New Year. In the weeks to come we will be moving forward with testing while preparing for the release of the remaining parts.

As a result of all of the above, we are now delayed approximately 2 months (depending on the overall success in testing and the need for modifications) with the TEST PILOT version of the icebreaker. In regard to the final shipping, foreseeing the delay is not yet possible. But we promise to keep you updated, and we promise to keep a steady focus on delivering a quality product providing you with the easy ice cubes that you expect.

Don't forget to fill out the survey 
Most of you have already fulfilled the survey we sent out - but some of you haven’t yet: so please follow this link to complete the survey: https://icebreaker-ice-cubes-made-easy.backerkit.com/

All the best,
the icebreaker team

Merry Christmas & a happy new icebreaker year...
over 8 years ago – Wed, Dec 23, 2015 at 11:03:27 PM

Hey Guys… 

Time sure is flying – it is almost almost Christmas! A very busy time of year – and also the time to send out your wishlist. So in the spirit of Christmas just around the corner, we would like to remind you to let us know your color choice for your icebreaker. If you haven’t done it already, please fill out the BackerKit color survey. If you are a Test Pilot, please remember that the color selection is only for your final icebreaker(s) – not for the test pilot version. 

Quality is the best Christmas Present 

As we so happily announced in a previous up-date we have received a great investment from the Danish incubator BOREAN – this mean that we now have the opportunity to invest in true quality. So even though the happy holidays are upon us we will still be working hard – the inside elements for the icebreaker is in progress. We will be able to give you a much more detailed overview of the production progress and timeframe in the early beginning of the New Year. 

The icebreaker team received an early Christmas present this year 

This year, the Danish Crowdfunding Association gave out 6 awards in 6 different categories to celebrate entrepreneurship and crowdfunding… And we are so grateful and happy to say that we won the award for “Crowdfunding Campaign of the Year” for the icebreaker campaign. This was our very first attempt in the world of crowdfunding– and we really couldn’t be any prouder. 

Last but not least… 

Everyone here at the icebreaker team would like to wish you all a wonderful and merry Christmas, and an amazing New Years celebration. Personally, we can’t wait for 2016 – the year of the icebreaker. 

The Cross promotion of the month.. 

Christmas is upon us and we know that equals family gatherings with a lot of good times and happy memoires – and that is why we would like to tell you about this cool digital camera project: Holga Digital  Capture your memories today with the cool revolutionized digital camera! 

 All the best, Kim & the icebreaker team

The first WARM update
over 8 years ago – Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 07:35:53 PM

Hey all icebeaker backers,

Here we are – a little more than 2 weeks post campaign. And believe us, we are busy as ever. You guys made our dream come true. Because of you and your support, the icebreaker adventure has truly begun.

You see - the demand for the icebreaker did not end with the campaign, which is why we have been working on a setup for pre-orders. So if you have any friends and family members that missed the chance of ordering the icebreaker during the Kickstarter campaign, you can just point towards our BackerKit page where they can make their icebreaker order here, or go to the IndieGoGo InDemand page here..

Without you – no us! But without us – no icebreaker! We have thanked you guys over and over. And we will properly do it again :) But we really must not forget to thank everyone who has been a part of the icebreaker team. A lot of hard – and GREAT – work was done by some awesome people, who all contributed with knowledge and knowhow within their field of expertise.

So, without any further ado..

Thanks to the guys and girls at Spoft Spot Studios for making our crazy video. Thanks to A3D for the amazing 3D animation. Thanks to Bønnelycke Design MDD for the great design and visuals. Thanks to NextNews, Adria PR and Noesis for the great PR coverage telling the world that the icebreaker is coming. Thanks to the mechanical design team for bringing the concept this far. And last but not least, the fantastic team here at the office that makes every day a success.

In the time to come – we will report back form the production preparations and start up.. So stay tuned!!

As our campaign had ended, we just want to highligt a project that is still live and who might be worth to check out..

Our friend just brought to us their Air Button, a stick-on, customizable, and battery-free button that instantly upgrades your phones! With just one push, you could activate your customized chain of actions and functions on your phone. Just stick the button on the back of your phone and no more fumbling around the jungle of apps! Check out this amazing Button!

All the best, Team icebreaker