Every now and then we are being asked for new innovations. Even though it seems obvious that we should continue to push for new products and features, things are not quite that straightforward.
We're sorry that there is no 4x4, new wheel colours, app upgrade, larger capacity battery or even a scooter release for the mass market, but we are focusing on the Mellow Drive from a production and financial perspective.
Due to our „highest quality approach“, we want it to be perfect before running on to the next thing. We didn’t make such a complex product to release a half-developed device right after. It would not sustainable to create to break. A lot of work went into the Mellow, and we continue to improve on its functionality.
Apart from the technical challenges everyone is facing in the electric skateboard market, we also feel the need to address the economical side.
As for the general climate of the e-skate market, it turns out to be much smaller than originally predicted and the challenge to produce high-tech boards that last has been a struggle for most. Companies who have raised Millions anticipating a huge board sport & mobility market are already off their boards and out of business.
Maintaining and keeping our existing and new customers satisfied with thorough customer service and replacements whilst continuing to improve the production of the Mellow Drive has been our priority instead of investing in new accessories. We are doing the best we can to make our core product as long-lasting as it could possible be rather than hopping on the next wave.
So allow us to remind you what we have been up to in R&D to show you that we are not exactly sitting on our hands. Here is a refreshed list of the improvements and developments from the past months and from last year:
Although, with our high-quality standards we are always striving for 100%, we have to admit that production of the Mellow Drive had a few teething & a few minor problems.
Reported Issues *Updated*
There have been 4 main issues that Mellow owners reported to us:
1. Batteries were rattling inside of the Drive
2. Batteries dropped out of the Drive
3. Battery wouldn’t charge anymore
4. Drive didn’t work anymore after water entered the system 5. King Pin & Frame weaknesses
6. Connection dropouts
7. Customer demands
These issues didn’t affect all Mellow owners. Many of our customers never reported any issues and still are perfectly happy with their Drive. Depending on the production series and fit of components some Mellow systems were more affected than others.
Detailed Product Improvements *Updated*
Electronics Compartment
Problem: Water Resistance
Improvement: Sealing of the electronics compartment via a rubber layer
We added an extra layer of rubber on top of the electronics compartments to ensure waterproofness. At the same time abrasion resistance of the lid is increased.
Electronics Compartment
Problem: Water Resistance
Improvement: Reinforcement of electronics compartment silicone seal
The original seal, which is dispensed onto the electronic compartment cover, could bend away in some cases allowing water into the drive. In order to meet this issue, the seal was reinforced to avoid the bending. This measure was confirmed as effective and is in all 2018 Drives.
Electronics Compartment
Problem: Water Resistance
Improvement: Clamping device installed for mounting of electronic compartment lid
While tightening the screws of the electronic compartment the lid has to be pressed down quite firmly in order to bring the necessary pressure onto the seal. This pressing down used to be done by hand and therefore the water resistance was depending on how well this job was performed. TQ created a clamping device to increase the quality in this step of production. The lid is now pressed down with a defined force by the clamp, which makes this step free of the risks of the "human factor".
Electronics Compartment
Problem: Water Resistance
Improvement: 2x UV resin sealing of electronic compartment screws
The screws of the electronics compartment are now sealed in two layers with a UV curing resin. A UV light system was installed and every screw is separately checked for proper application of the resin.
Electronics Compartment
Problem: Water Resistance
Improvement: Gluing of the plastic insert into the drive done by a robot with extra surface treatment
As there were adhesion issues between the powder coating of the drive and the plastic insert that carries the main battery connector over 250 glueing tests were conducted. The result now is a super-strong bond that is permanently watertight. This was achieved i.e. by a plasma pre-treatment of the glueing area as well as the use of an industrial robot applying the perfect amount of glue to each frame. Also here the "human factor" was taken out in order to achieve reproducible quality.
Drive
Problem: Water Resistance
Improvement: Pressure test
100% of our drives are now pressure tested at the end of production. This means that at the end of the assembly line the drive is "pumped up" with air via the main battery connector and the airtightness is measured. A Drive that holds the pressure is also 100% waterproof.
Drive
Problem: Material Damage of the frame
Improvement: King Pin Shell
A few of our heavy users reported broken King Pins. Therefore we have reinforced the overall King Pin & implemented an additional King Pin shell.
Drive
Problem: Connection interruptions
Improvement: Widening of the Rosenberger connector
Due to a production error of the Rosenberger connector, which resulted in connector holes being too small, every Drive connector needed to be revised with a special connector tool.
Drive
Problem: Material Damage
Improvement: Reinforced Frame
In certain cases e.g. wrongly mounted hard risers (not flush with the truck) or heavy usage we reported broken Drives at the rear part of the truck. The frame therefore got reinforced to even support heavier usage of the drive.
Motor
Problem: Water Resistance
Improvement: New bearings & optimised sealing
After previous changes, which included a grease-filling into the gap between the motor and the hanger, we decided to keep sourcing the bearings. That's why we implemented new bearings with improved waterproofness and optimised the sealings at the same time.
Motor
Problem: Rattling Wheels
Improvement: Improved fit of the wheel on the motors
By tightening the fit of the wheels on our motors we achieved a massive reduction in riding noise and rattling
Battery
Problem: Water Resistance
Improvement: Rubber plugs now have thicker sealing ribs
The height of the sealing ribs on the batteries rubber plugs has been increased. This makes the opening and closing of the plugs a bit more firm but it increases the water-resistance tremendously.
Battery
Problem: Water Resistance
Improvement: Introduction of a rubber gasket under the LED display
Formerly the LED-display was only glued in - now it is equipped with an additional rubber gasket.
Battery
Problem: Broken Snap Lock
Improvement: Introduction of 4 ribs on the backside of the snap lock
In order to increase the strength of the snap lock 4 ribs were introduced on the backside.
Battery
Problem: Battery Drop
Improvement: Introduction of a shock absorber behind the battery snap lock
As a consequence to a shock the battery's snap-lock could start vibrating, allowing the battery to drop out. We introduced a shock-absorbing pad behind the snap lock of the battery that absorbs the energy of the shock, not allowing the snap lock to vibrate. This way the battery stays in place even on a 1m drop.
Battery
Problem: Rattling / Battery Drop
Improvement: Introduction of lateral pressure pads
Lateral pressure pads now improve the fit of the battery inside the frame and largely reduce vibration of the battery. This measure also reduces the risk of the battery dropping out.
Battery
Problem: Rattling / Battery Drop
Improvement: Improved flatness of the battery housing
By adding ribs beneath the blue over-moulding material we now achieved that the batteries are flatter and therefore fit more tightly in the frame. This reduces vibration, rattling and the risk of battery dropouts.
Battery
Problem: Rattling / Battery Drop
Improvement: Change of blue battery over-molding material
By changing the blue over-molding material to a slightly harder compound with less shrinkage (on cooling after injection) we further improved the batteries flatness with the consequences stated above.
Battery
Problem: Rattling / Battery Drop
Improvement: Tightening the battery pockets
At the rear end of the battery left and right of the snap lock has always been two pockets that are now made much smaller in order to firmly bite onto the dedicated metal ribs in the frame. These pockets were there from the beginning as a backup measure for improving the batteries fit and stability and are now being "activated" as we see the necessity.
By tightening the pockets the battery is fixed in position on two additional points now, which reduces the risk of battery dropouts and rattling.
Battery
Problem: Rattling
Improvement: Damping pads
To further reduce noise production and increase the smoothness of the ride, we assembled all batteries including a damping pad inside the battery.
Battery
Problem: Broken lid
Improvement: Improved ultrasonic welding
Due to the design (screws being used) and large forces working on the lid, we improved the ultrasonic welding by increasing the surface of the battery frame.
Battery
Problem: Burnt-out Charging Fuse
Improvement: Change of fuse to a stronger one
One of the most common battery problems was the burning out of the charging fuse. In order to eliminate this problem, the fuse was replaced by a stronger one for the 2018 models.
Software
Problem: Connection Interruption
Improvement: Software optimization
For a better communication between battery and drive to avoid connection dropouts.
Software
Problem: Several customer feedbacks to improve riding experience & safety
Improvement: Software optimization
After hearing you out, we have gone through all the valuable feedback concerning your riding experience. That´s why we did changes to the riding comfort of each mode concerning acceleration and rotational frequency.
Hand in hand with a better riding experience comes to improved safety due to revised temperature derating in drive and battery.
Remote
Problem: Connection Interruption
Improvement: Doubling of Bluetooth signal strength
In order to meet the very rare chance of a connection loss due to an i.e. carbon fibre deck, we doubled the signal strength of our remote control.
Remote
Problem: Decalibration
Improvement: Software and hardware improvements
As some of our remotes would decalibrate over time we introduced several changes into the remotes electronic hardware as well as compensation algorithms that automatically recalibrate the remote on the fly.
Remote
Problem: Decalibration
Improvement: Additional QC-check
At the end of the assembly line, all of our remotes get checked for faulty calibration and are recalibrated if necessary.
Remote
Problem: Decalibration
Improvement: Recalibration feature
If necessary the customer can now recalibrate the remote very easily by a new firmware feature we introduced on the 2018 series. Our support team will guide the customer through the easy steps of recalibration.
Remote
Problem: Lost Connection
Improvement: Increase of transmission strength
In order to meet our customer's complaints of the loss of Bluetooth connection, we doubled the transmission strength via a firmware update - so this fix is in all remotes that will be delivered in 2018 and will be available for update to all earlier customers in spring.
Wheels
Problem: Broken core
Improvement: Reinforcement of wheel cores
Wheels
Problem: Urethane being too thin
Improvement: Introduction of 90mm wheels
After many of you were asking for bigger wheels, we introduced a 90mm wheel with a urethane durometer 76A.
Decks
Problem: Only 2 Mellow Decks available
Improvement: Introduction of new deck choices
After all, we are still focusing on the drive unit as our main USP. But we clearly see that working on your feedback we can help to produce the right deck for the right situation. Therefore we introduced some new choices to our store.
Many product improvements over the past months and years have helped to refine the product step by step. Nevertheless, we are expecting further slight changes to come based on the experiences in yet unknown riding environments. More and more accidents in the overall e-skate market are reported. Not only does this show that e-skating can be dangerous if someone overestimates himself/herself, it becomes even more clear, that every e-skate company still has a long way to go to ensure the highest safety standards for their customers. Safety is paramount for us, therefore it´s even more important to focus on revising an existing product instead of raising new capital and follow a hire&fire mentality that ultimately only satisfy growth expectations and short term profit of venture capitalists. Our partnership with the TQ-Group and slow and organic growth is aimed to helping us to still be a relevant micro-mobility provider in the future.
We're hoping this helps you understand why there have not been any more exciting news lately. Running a sustainable business and thus maintain great customer satisfaction and support, in the long run, is our main priority. We love you guys!
If you want to know if we are available in a shop close to you check out our retailer map or stay tuned via our Mellow News!
