Dear Backers,
As mentioned in our previous update, we originally planned to begin the first mold trial for the L7 around January 20th. This stage—installing the completed molds onto injection molding machines for initial production—is commonly referred to as T0.
The actual mold progress moved slightly ahead of schedule. On January 17th, our supplier informed us that the molds had been completed, and we traveled to the factory the same day.
The T0 trial was successfully completed on January 18th. The L7 consists of five plastic parts, produced using three plastic injection molds.
During injection molding, plastic material is heated, injected into the mold cavities under high pressure, and then rapidly cooled to form parts.
Although the molding process itself is fast, factors such as injection pressure, material shrinkage, and mold precision directly affect dimensional accuracy and assembly results.
This is what the L7 front and rear housing molds look like when installed on the injection molding machine
The purpose of this T0 trial was to verify that all L7 plastic parts produced with these molds meet the original design requirements and can be assembled correctly. Surface finish and final color were not evaluated at this stage.
We have also prepared a GIF to show how the L7’s plastic parts are formed during the molding process.
Based on the T0 results, the dimensional accuracy of the plastic parts met expectations, with no obvious warping or abnormal shrinkage. All parts assembled correctly according to the design.
We also dropped the assembled plastic structure from a height of over 3 meters, and no structural damage was observed. The primary verification goals of the T0 trial have been met.
At this stage, these parts are not yet ready for mass production. The T0 parts have relatively smooth surfaces, and some CNC machining marks are still visible, which is normal at this stage since surface appearance is not addressed during T0.
In addition, after assembling the plastic parts with the aluminum middle frame, we found that some gaps are not yet perfectly uniform. This does not affect functionality, but it is something we plan to improve in the next stage.
Next, the molds will undergo polishing and surface texturing to achieve the final surface finish. This process is expected to take about one week, after which we will receive around 20 T1 samples. (Samples with finalized surface appearance are typically referred to as T1.)If no new issues arise during the T1 stage, subsequent mass production will follow the T1 standard.
During this trip, we also visited the factory responsible for producing the aluminum middle frame. The middle frame is CNC-machined from solid aluminum alloy and then treated with sandblasting and anodizing.
It is currently in a small pilot production phase (approximately 20 units). Mass production of the middle frame will begin after the T1 confirmation and full device trial production.
Overall, production is progressing according to plan, and there are no delays at this time. However, the risks mentioned in our previous update still remain. February will be a more challenging period due to the Chinese New Year holiday and rising component costs (IMU prices have increased significantly—by roughly 10× compared to previous levels.). That said, our team is actively working through these challenges, and solutions are in place. We are continuing to push forward with delivery.
The next major milestone is PCB production. Based on the newly selected IMU, we have redesigned the circuit and completed validation. We expect to begin PCB trial production around January 30th.
As with this update, we will share another short update at that time to keep you informed. In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to contact us at support@makagic.com.
We appreciate everyone’s continued attention to the project and the time you’ve taken to follow our updates. We’ll keep sharing progress at each key stage so you have clear visibility into how the L7 is moving toward production and delivery. Thank you again for your patience and support as we work through each step.
— The MakaGiC Team
