Jin Daily Tech Trivia - How hard to Manufacturing in USA?

My favorite YouTuber, Destin, recently tried to manufacture his metal scrubber in the U.S., and he discovered just how difficult it is—not only to produce locally, but even to build a supply chain free from reliance on China.

Here are some of the challenges he faced:

The local tooling and die-making industry has largely disappeared.
3D printing helps, but it’s still not cost-effective compared to injection molding for mass production.
Common parts are hard to source locally and are significantly more expensive than their China-made counterparts.
Supply chain fraud: They tried ordering chainmail from India, but it turned out to be a dropshipper sourcing from China.
Some “Made in USA” sellers are actually manufacturing their parts in places like Costa Rica.
Many of the experienced operators and craftsmen are aging or have passed away, with few younger people taking over their knowledge or trade.

The original designer of the metal chainmail scrubber had an incredible idea. They were trying to solve a real problem—metal bristles from traditional scrubbers breaking off, getting into food, and potentially causing internal injuries.

This whole topic really got me thinking.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some of the best supply chains in the world. I was responsible for setting up plastic molding operations across Malaysia, Singapore, and China.

In Malaysia, I’m glad we’re not (yet) facing the same problems as the U.S. We still have a healthy pool of skilled labor in the market, and that’s a huge advantage.

Singapore, on the other hand, is quite different. Interestingly, it has some of the world’s best tooling makers—mainly because Western companies are concerned about IP protection in China. Many high-end molds and precision parts are still manufactured in Singapore, and then shipped to China for installation in production machines. Few people realize how critical Singapore’s manufacturing industry is to the global supply chain.

As for China—well, that’s a whole other discussion. I think Bunnie Huang described it best with the word 山寨.

There’s a new class of innovators in China who go far beyond just copying Western products. They create hybrid “mash-ups,” developing entirely new products from a mix of existing ones. Often bootstrapped with small capital, these innovators operate in teams ranging from just a few people to a few hundred. Their pace of product development is incredible, and they often rely on a community-driven, open-source-style ecosystem where design files and component lists are openly shared.

我最喜欢的 YouTuber —— Destin，最近试着在美国制造自己的金属清洁刷，结果发现这事真的超级难。不光是在美国本地做不容易，就连想要摆脱对中国供应链的依赖也非常非常难。

他遇到的问题包括：

-> 本地做模具和工具的人几乎都消失了 -> 3D 打印虽然有帮助，但成本还是比不上量产用的注塑 -> 很多常见零件美国本地根本没供应链，价格也比中国贵好多 -> 遇到供应链诈骗：他们想从印度买链网，结果是中国的代发卖家冒充的 -> 一些标榜“美国制造”的厂商，其实是在哥斯达黎加等地生产的 -> 老一辈手艺人都年纪大了、退休了，年轻人又没人愿意接手他们的技术

那个设计这款金属链网刷子的人真的很厉害，他们的初衷是想解决传统金属刷的问题——刷毛断了混进食物，吃进肚子可能会刺伤身体，听着就很吓人。

看到这个故事我感触挺多的。

我之前有幸参与世界级的供应链项目，也负责在马来西亚、新加坡和中国设立塑料模具生产线。

对马来西亚来说，我觉得我们暂时不会像美国那样走到这一步，至少短期内不会。因为我们还有很多有经验的技术工人，人才还在市场上活跃。

新加坡就不一样了，他们反而有世界顶尖的模具制造能力。因为很多西方公司担心在中国做东西会被抄，所以宁愿花钱在新加坡制造高端模具，然后再运去中国组装。其实很多人不知道，新加坡的制造业在全球供应链里地位非常关键。

至于中国，那又是一个大话题了。Bunnie Huang 以前讲得特别好，他说中国的“山寨”文化，其实是一种创新模式。

一群新的创客，不只是单纯复制，而是把各种产品 mash-up 成新东西。他们可能只有几个人的小团队，用很少的钱快速做出新品，还靠一个类似开源的社群大家分享设计图、零件清单、经验啥的，效率超级高。

Jin Daily Tech Trivia - How hard to Manufacturing in USA?

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