For fun: I am an avid maker. I’m certain I will have fun at buying parts at the market.
For business: I work for a startup and we have a working prototype of a custom wall PC that we would like to manufacture in China. We will need help with electronics, enclosure, custom cables, custom heatsink, etc to turn this prototype into a manufacturable product. I would like to meet with various companies (in addition to SeeedStudio) to start a business relationship with them.
How do I find reputable companies so I would not waste my limited time during my visit.
Do I fly in directly to Shenzen? or should I pick a different airport to arrive at?
What kind of visa do I need? Any other tips for someone who has never done this before?
Welcome to visit Shenzhen! Per your questions, hope the following answers will be helpful for you:
(1) For finding the companies
that you’d like to cooperate with, maybe you can send us more details/requirements of the companies, and we might be able to recommend some for you
(2) Flights:
I’d suggest you flying to Hong Kong since it’d usually be much cheaper to fly to HK than to SZ directly And it’s quite convenient to transfer from Hong Kong to Shenzhen either via ferry or minivan or metro.
(3) Visa:
You can either apply for a visa in the US or get a visa on arrival at the border of Shenzhen. (As a US citizen, you won’t need a visa to get into Hong Kong, but you’ll need a visit to enter Shenzhen).
Visa Type: You can either apply for a tourist visa or a business visa. For business visa, you’ll need an invitation letter from your partner company in China.
Electronics Engineering firm to design a daughterboard with 7-port USB 3.0 Hub, USB Audio card, Audio amplifier, 3-port Gigabit Ethernet Switch, SAMD11D14 to control two stepper motors (pan/tilt). I expect a few working prototypes before starting manufacturing.
Suppliers of the needed parts
PCB Manufacturer and assembly once the above design is completed and proven. We’ll start with 100, then 500, then thousands.
Enclosure companies
Adapt the 3D printed enclosure that we have prototyped for injection mold process.
We will start with silicone mold first.
Then we will need production mold tooling.
Custom cable companies
We would like custom USB cables of various length and ends with molded strain relief.
DC power cables of custom length with JST ends.
Mains Power cable of various lengths.
Custom Heatsink companies
We would like to replace the factory shipped fan assisted heat sink on our motherboard and replace it with larger passive heat sink.
We have tried working with some companies via email and chat, but I think being able to be in same room with the engineers would cut down the delays and misunderstandings.
Thank you for all your help! I hope to see you in Shenzen!
