We just released the Smart Card Utility Wireless Mobile Reader after more than a year of development. Our Wireless Mobile Reader is manufactured entirely in the USA. Not just the final assembly, but the entire reader is made by American workers in the US, including the circuit board, enclosure, and packaging.
The circuit boards are manufactured in California and populated in Oregon; the enclosures are molded in Michigan, and the packaging and final assembly are done in Illinois. This makes the Wireless Mobile Reader both TAA compliant and easy to purchase by members of the US government and US military.
Circuit Boards
The circuit boards are fabricated at APCT in Santa Clara, CA. They are the second-largest printed circuit board manufacturer in North America and have been manufacturing circuit boards since 1977. They produce high-quality circuit boards quickly and affordably and were a key to our ability to get the product manufactured entirely in the USA.
Assembly
The circuit boards are populated by RelianceCM, a contract manufacturer in Corvallis, Oregon. They also flash the initial firmware and do the initial testing on the reader populated circuit boards. They worked closely with Twocanoes Software to prototype our designs, meet our target budget, and answer all of our questions. They were always available to answer our questions and provided straightforward answers.
Injection Molding
One of the most challenging areas was the enclosure. Once we had the design, we had to get an injection mold created, run prototypes, and then do a production run. We used the services of Xometry to identify Quickparts, a US-based injection molder. We worked closely with them to create the injection mold, get samples, and our initial projection run. The mold and parts were manufactured in Detroit, Michigan area.
Packaging and Fulfillment
A longtime partner of Twocanoes, White Graphics has been creating packaging and doing order fulfillment since 2013. Located in Naperville, Illinois, White Graphics has the ability to prototype many different types of packaging and printing and worked hard with us to get the packaging just how we wanted it. White Graphics also does our fulfillment from our Shopify store and orders placed directly with us. If you have ever received a package from us, it was probably printed and mailed by White Graphics.
Final Assembly
We do the final assembly in-house at Twocanoes in Naperville, Illinois. We kept the final assembly in-house to ensure the highest quality of the final units. The labels are attached to the bottom of the enclosures, and the battery, circuit board, and light pipes are installed in the enclosure. The enclosure is screwed together and the device is provisioned with a unique Bluetooth pairing PIN. Final inspection is then done and the readers are put in the packaging and sent to White Graphics for order fulfillment.
Proudly Made in the USA
When we embarked on the idea to create our own Smart Card reader for iPhone, iPad, and Mac over a year ago, we dreamed of having a final product manufactured in the USA that was cost-effective. We found not only that a device can be manufactured in the USA in a cost-effective way but also that there are many other advantages to manufacturing in the US. We saved on shipping costs, communication was easier since we were in nearby time zones, and we didn’t have to deal with tariffs and customs.