BullseyeBore Core: Drill Straight Holes Every Time
Created by BullseyeBore
Drill straight holes freehand with a laser guided drill accessory that attaches in seconds. Works with common commercial drills & bits
Latest Updates from Our Project:
April Updates
21 days ago
– Sun, Apr 28, 2024 at 01:03:50 PM
Hello backers,
As we near the end of April, we wanted to share some of what's been happening behind the scenes over the past few weeks.
Post Campaign Surveys
Thank you to everyone that has filled out their survey! As of today, 82% of Kickstarter backers have completed their Backerkit surveys.
Our team would like to lock completed surveys within the next few days so we can process payments and proceed with finalizing manufacturing plans for add-ons. If you haven't completed your survey yet, we ask you to do so as soon as possible.
You'll receive an email reminder letting you know you have 24 hours to make changes to your survey before they are locked. Note that we will process payments shortly after locking completed surveys, so you can expect to be charged about 24-48 hours after receiving that email.
What if I haven't received my survey?
If you haven't seen an email from Backerkit inviting you to fill out your survey, we suggest the following:
1. If you used Apple Pay, check your Kickstarter messages.
Kickstarter uses a relay email for those that chose Apple Pay as their payment method, but these often do not work with Backerkit. We recently sent a message through Kickstarter with a link to your survey to all backers with an Apple relay email.
You can also reply to that message or email us at [email protected] with the email address you would like us to use for future communication so you don't miss any important messages.
2. Check your spam/junk folder
If you didn't use Apple Pay but haven't seen the survey invite in your inbox, it has likely gone to your spam folder. Also make sure you're checking the email account that is tied to your Kickstarter account.
3. If you've checked your Kickstarter messages and spam folder and you're still having trouble finding your survey invite, you can email us at [email protected]
What if I need to make changes after surveys are locked?
Our team is able to manually make changes to your survey after they have been locked.
If you need to change your shipping address, forgot to add an accessory, or need to make another change to your survey, please email us and our team can assist you with any changes.
2024 Red Dot Award Winner
We recently received the exciting news that BullseyeBore Core has been awarded the prestigious 2024 Red Dot Design Award in the Product Innovation category!
The Red Dot Design Award, established in 1955, is one of the world's largest and most prestigious design competitions. It recognizes excellence in product, communication, and concept design. The award is judged by an international jury of experts who evaluate entries based on criteria such as innovation, functionality, ergonomics, durability, and ecological compatibility. With over 18,000 submissions from 60 countries annually, the Red Dot Design Award is a highly sought-after distinction in the design world.
Winning this award in the Product Innovation category is an incredible honor and reflects the hard work and dedication of our design and engineering team at BullseyeBore Inc. We are thrilled that the impact and ingenuity of BullseyeBore Core has earned this recognition as one of the best-designed and most innovative products worldwide.
Pre-production Testing Updates
In our last update we mentioned that we would be testing 20 PCBs and Laser module units, specifically looking at a new window bonding technique and the battery contact design.
Acrylic Window
Changing our bonding technique to a heat-staked acrylic window has required a few changes. We had to create a new window design with holes for the stakes and also had to modify our housing molds.
The new test windows have been completed and will ship to our vendor in China this week. Our vendor will run the first round of testing and investigation of the heat staking process with the new changes and will then send them to us for a final check.
We will need to verify that the windows do not become damaged from the process and can still transmit the beams without distortion. Once this is confirmed, we will then be able to finalize and proceed with our pilot run of 300 units as soon as the parts arrive at the factory, which will take 30 days.
Our goal is to finalize the window design change by mid-May, but we have some factors to contend with including China's upcoming five-day long Labor Day holiday, the time needed for transportation of the finished parts between the US and China, and the possibility of further window related design changes. We're working hard to get things finalized so we can begin production, but unfortunately these kinds of factors and constraints simply take time that is largely out of our control. We will continue to work hard to prevent further delays while prioritizing product quality.
Our plan after the first 300 units are built is to assess production procedures and make any necessary changes, and then move forward with mass production of the remaining units.
Power Issues Resolved
In great news, all issues related to the battery contacts and green laser power usage have been resolved!
That's all for now! We'll be back with more updates soon.
-John and the Team at BullseyeBore
Updates on Progress Heading Into April
about 2 months ago
– Thu, Mar 28, 2024 at 02:24:15 PM
Hello backers,
We've made a lot of progress in the last month and we're excited to share the latest updates!
Progress Made: March 2024
Post Campaign Surveys
We've been working with our shipping partner to negotiate the best prices for backers and are now ready to finalize the surveys. In addition to providing shipping details, you'll also be able to select add-ons in the survey, including single BullseyeBore Core units, Standard Chuck Alignment Guides, Chuck Extensions, and Worksurface Extension Plates.
Keep an eye out for an email from Backerkit between April 2nd through the 4th.
Please note: if you used Apple Pay as your payment method there's a chance we do not have your correct email address associated with your pledge. Kickstarter uses a relay email for Apple Pay backers, but these tend to not be delivered when using Backerkit. If you haven't received your survey invitation by the 6th, please email us at [email protected] with your name and backer number so we can update your email address and resend your survey.
Testing and Certifications
The BullseyeBore Core CE and FCC testing and laser certification have been completed. BullseyeBore Core has officially received a Class 1 laser rating. Class 1 lasers are low-power lasers that are inherently safe and have a lower laser radiation level than Class 2 lasers. This is amazing news, better than we anticipated! 🎉
BullseyeBore Core Accessories Progress
Manufacturing of the Chuck Extension molds is underway! The Chuck Extensions are an optional accessory in the BullseyeBore Core ecosystem. The Chuck Extension mounts in between the drill chuck face and BullseyeBore Core and is used to move the Core’s projected Reference and Alignment Patterns closer together on the worksurface at the start of drilling, which can make drill alignment or misalignment easier to visualize. They can also be used to reduce the overall diameter of the Alignment Pattern(s) if they do not fit on the worksurface. The Standard Chuck Alignment Guides come in a pack of 3 in lengths of 0.525”, 1.0” and 1.5” and will be available to add to your order in the Backerkit survey.
We also received completed samples of the Worksurface Extension Plates, another optional accessory in the BullseyeBore Core ecosystem. We explored several options for manufacturing and finalized the process earlier this month after evaluating the samples. We've also decided to make the base color whiter for better visibility of the laser patterns on the surface of the plate.
The Worksurface Extension Plate is a flat aluminum circular plate with a 6” diameter that can either be held or tacked in place on the flat worksurface to “extend” it so the Reference and (at least one) Alignment Pattern are fully visible. The Worksurface Extension Plates will be available to add to your order in the Backerkit survey.
Our manufacturing team just completed 20 PCBs (printed circuit board) and Laser module units, which are scheduled for shipping over the next few days. These PCBs and Laser module units compromise the “guts” of BullseyeBore Core. These units will be shipped to both our primary manufacturing facility and to us in the US for additional testing and assembly into completed units. Shipping and testing will take about two weeks. If there are any issues, we will need to address them prior to commencing the 300-unit bonus early shipping production run. There are two recent changes we'll specifically be testing:
Battery Contact Design In February we revised the negative battery contact design to prevent distortion of the contacts if the device is kept in storage with batteries installed over longer periods of time. We will be running extra testing on the new units to ensure the new contact design performs as anticipated.
New Optical Window Bonding Technique We've also needed to make changes to how we bond the clear optical window to the polycarbonate housing. Our intent was to use the same adhesive that we used on our pre-production prototypes, which were successfully subjected to significant drop and impact tests. However, we were surprised to discover that this adhesive did not work as well with our injection molds when subjected to the same drop and impact tests.
As a result, our engineering and manufacturing team has decided on heat staking as the bonding technique. This should be a much more productive way to attach the window and should provide better durability. Heat staking will require a minor modification to the housing mold, changes to the optical window design, some additional tooling, and further testing to assess the viability of the bond. However, there is some risk that it may not work as intended, in which case we would return to an adhesive. The transition to the use of heat staking could impact our manufacturing schedule by about 20 days.
This does unfortunately mean that we will not be able to ship the first 300 early bonus units in April. 😓
When will early bonus units ship? All components take 30 days to obtain and there is some built in lead time, but we may face some additional component shortages in our first 300-unit order due to supply chain issues.
We've done everything possible to make sure we didn't experience delays. Unfortunately the window bonding technique was a challenge we just couldn't anticipate. Our goal is to deliver a great product and that's what we're trying to do. We'll work hard to get the early units ready to ship as soon as possible without sacrificing product quality.
We'll announce a new estimated shipping date for the bonus early shipping units in a comment on this Backer Update on Kickstarter within the next week.
New Festool Prototype Adapter
One of the best attributes of BullseyeBore Core is that it works with thousands of common commercial electric drills. Lately we’ve been working with BullseyeBore Core on Festool drills. Festool has a unique system called FastFix that allows you to quickly change chucks, and BullseyeBore Core works great with all their standard size chucks.
But Festool also offers a unique proprietary chuck call the Centrotec chuck. This small chuck allows for quick drill bit changes with their proprietary bits and drivers, but unlike standard hex shank chucks, the bit mounts deeper in the chuck so there is no corresponding bit wobble or runout.
The Centrotec chuck is proprietary to Festool and very small, but we like it so much that we created a simple prototype adapter for BullseyeBore Core. The beauty of the prototype adapter is that it connects to BullseyeBore Core just like our Standard Chuck Alignment Guides. This simple adapter allows Festool users to utilize their existing Festool drill, Centrotec chuck, and Festool drill bits with BullseyeBore Core, and this entire system provides excellent through hole accuracy.
Check out our short Instagram post, or our longer YouTube post above. If you are a Festool user, we would love to hear with you think, and even if you’re not a Festool user, the Instagram post is a great demonstration of just how accurate BullseyeBore Core can make your drilling!
What's Next: April 2024
Here are some of the other projects we'll be working on in the next month, in addition to sending the surveys and assembling and testing the 20 new BullseyeBore Core samples:
Finalizing packaging design and the Quick Start Guide.
Completion of the Chuck Extension assembly and testing.
Revising the BullseyeBore Core assembly process and/or tooling as needed based on assembly and testing of the new BullseyeBore Core samples.
Thanks again for joining us on our launch journey! We look forward to hearing from you in the comments, and we'll be back with more updates soon.
-John and the Team at BullseyeBore
Funding Successful! Here's What's Happening Behind-the-Scenes
3 months ago
– Thu, Feb 29, 2024 at 11:09:26 AM
To our amazing 3,698 backers – thank you so much, you made it happen!
The BullseyeBore Core Kickstarter campaign closed at $534,211 in funding. We smashed through our target funding goal within a couple minutes of going live on January 30, and crossed the $200k milestone within 48 hours. BullseyeBore Core is alive and well, and the team is hard at work finalizing the production and fulfillment plan.
In addition to a successful campaign, our expert reviewers took the Internet by a storm:
Concurrent to the Kickstarter campaign, the team has been busy behind the scenes. Here's a sample of the projects we've been crossing off the list:
The BullseyeBore Core Housing and Lower Body plastic injection molds were manufactured, tested, and (as we expected) were modified a couple times.
The Chuck Alignment Guide stamping molds were manufactured and tested.
We began the process of securing CE, FCC, and Laser related certifications. CE and FCC testing are complete and Laser testing is starting this week.
The protective EVA case was completed and is ready for manufacturing. Each BullseyeBore Core unit will include and be shipped in this protective EVA case.
Left: EVA case (closed) Right: EVA case (opened)
We built and tested the second set of optical calibration platforms that will be used during manufacturing. These platforms allow each laser to project a beam within 1 degree of accuracy.
Our engineering team has performed a ton of rotational impact and drop impact testing on the BullseyeBore Core molded product. We are happy with the results.
We’ve revised and improved the negative battery contact design. The goal of this change is to prevent distortion of the contacts if the device is kept in storage with batteries installed over longer periods of time.
We’ve updated and completed the third version of our Assembly Video and Guidance for our primary manufacturer (the first version was created way back in September of 2022).
Next Steps - March and April 2024:
We'll finalize shipping rates and accessories options and set up Backerkit surveys to go out to all backers (approximately 3-4 weeks from now).
We'll finalize packaging design and complete the Quick Start Guide.
We'll manufacture the Chuck Extension plastic injection mold, closely followed by Chuck Extension molding, assembly, and testing.
Our team will complete final Assembly and testing of ~20 BullseyeBore Core samples based on the final design, followed by additional testing.
Based on these tests, we'll revise the BullseyeBore Core assembly process and/or tooling as needed.
Once again, we're so glad that you've joined us on our launch journey! We look forward to hearing from you in the comments and keeping you updated on our progress as we take the next steps to make BullseyeBore Core a reality.
-John and the Team at BullseyeBore
500% funded and we're just getting started!
4 months ago
– Tue, Jan 30, 2024 at 10:47:20 AM
Wow, that was fast! Nice work, early birds. We smashed through our target funding goal in under 24 minutes.
Thanks to everyone that has backed the campaign so far. Remember that production starts in just 8 weeks. We can't wait to get your new BullseyeBore Core shipped to you.
A lot goes on behind the scenes of a product launch that’s been 10 years in the making. This week alone, the plastic injection molds for the BullseyeBore Core primary parts (the outer housing and inner body) were completed.
We also received the first silk screen painted and completed Worksurface Extension Plate samples. They are a beauty to behold!
Worksurface Extension Plates and other BullseyeBore Core accessories will be available to purchase as add-ons after the campaign, when we send out our post-campaign survey.
