# #032 - Why manufacturing in USA vs China is becoming interesting, with Scott N. Miller of Dragon Innovation, USA

- Show: [The Hardware Entrepreneur](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur)
- Published: 2017-07-05
- Length: 36m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-07-05-032-why-manufacturing-in-usa-vs-china-is-becoming-interesting-with-scott-n-mille
- Listen: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thehardwareentrepreneur/032.mp3

## Summary

Scott N. Miller, co-founder and CEO of Dragon Innovation, discusses the shifting landscape of manufacturing between the US and China, highlighting how rising Chinese labor costs and the rise of crowdfunding are making US production viable for lower-volume hardware startups. He details Dragon Innovation's new software tool, Product Planner, designed to help hardware companies manage bills of materials and unit economics, and announces a partnership with Kickstarter and Avnet called Hardware Studio to support creators. Miller also shares a critical failure story from his time at iRobot involving the first 15,000 Roombas, where a design flaw caused optical encoders to fail due to rubber dust, illustrating the importance of testing and quality control.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-07-05-032-why-manufacturing-in-usa-vs-china-is-becoming-interesting-with-scott-n-mille#t=0) Introduction and Manufacturing Landscape
- [3:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-07-05-032-why-manufacturing-in-usa-vs-china-is-becoming-interesting-with-scott-n-mille#t=222) US vs China: Cost, Quality, and Schedule
- [8:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-07-05-032-why-manufacturing-in-usa-vs-china-is-becoming-interesting-with-scott-n-mille#t=485) Dragon Innovation's History and Mission
- [10:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-07-05-032-why-manufacturing-in-usa-vs-china-is-becoming-interesting-with-scott-n-mille#t=656) Product Planner Software and Standard BOM
- [17:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-07-05-032-why-manufacturing-in-usa-vs-china-is-becoming-interesting-with-scott-n-mille#t=1062) Kickstarter Partnership and Hardware Studio
- [22:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-07-05-032-why-manufacturing-in-usa-vs-china-is-becoming-interesting-with-scott-n-mille#t=1345) Robotics and Millennial Trends in Manufacturing
- [27:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-07-05-032-why-manufacturing-in-usa-vs-china-is-becoming-interesting-with-scott-n-mille#t=1632) The Roomba Failure Story
- [31:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-07-05-032-why-manufacturing-in-usa-vs-china-is-becoming-interesting-with-scott-n-mille#t=1883) Career Advice and Cultural Observations

## Topics

- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Quality & yield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/quality-and-yield)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Dragon Innovation (company)
- Product Planner (tool)
- Kickstarter (company)
- Avnet (company)
- iRobot (company)
- Roomba (product)
- Pebble (company)
- Bose (company)
- MakerBot (company)
- Formlabs (company)
- Rethink Robotics (company)
- Hardware Studio (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [An Interview with Scott Miller - Sudden SinoAmerican Synthesis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2012-09-17-an-interview-with-scott-miller-sudden-sinoamerican-synthesis) (The Amp Hour)
- [Monster Scale Production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-10-28-monster-scale-production) (The Amp Hour)
- [S1 E4: Cracking the Code of Hardware Manufacturing with Scott Miller](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2023-05-15-s1-e4-cracking-the-code-of-hardware-manufacturing-with-scott-miller) (The Builder Circle)
- [39: Made in China](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2018-06-27-39-made-in-china) (Thoroughly Considered)
- [140: Physics Is the Same Everywhere](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2016-02-25-140-physics-is-the-same-everywhere) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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