Congratulations on the successful funding. Having control of the manufacturing makes a huge difference in the process. I just recently got a big CNC router and brought all our machining in house. I’ve always tried to make things easier to manufacture, but I find now that I am actually more willing to push the capabilities of the process at the cost of some difficulty.
When you’re paying $120/hour, it’s difficult to justify spending a couple days trying to help the shop figure out how to do something they’ve never done before. Now I just do it. In the last few months I’ve developed several CNC-cut wood joints that had been in my head for years. Having the ability to do that R&D is huge. It’s also one of the biggest weaknesses of trying to work with factories overseas. Even when you’re over there often, it’s very difficult to do something beyond their normal experience.