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Dear Peanut Butter Fans,
Thank you so much for your interest in the world-first peanut butter pump! Your support and patience are both greatly appreciated. As you can imagine, we are experiencing some additional delays due to COVID-19 complications, but are still making progress!
Testing:
Why all the testing? Isn't it all just a bunch of plastic? Well, yes and no. Think of it like baking: if you're an expert muffin-maker, but the new order is for muffins in a half-moon shape, you'll have to experiment with temperature and timing to make sure you get the crispy parts and the fluffy parts just right, and that they come out of the molds cleanly; after that (and clearly not like muffins), each properly-made piece must be checked and fitted to its partner. A small difficulty and the mold might need adjustment. All of the above is testing.
Another part of testing is the hardness of rubber parts. Rubber has different mixtures just like metal has different alloys, affecting the function. The same rubber in a window suction cup can also make sneaker soles and car tires, depending on its formulation. This week we've produced silicone airlocks in 3 different hardness levels, to see which one works best. Similar work with the valves and the nozzle caps was done last week. Those are the pictures shared below, along with a barely-recognizable picture of the metal mold for the handle and nozzle. They might not seem like much at first glance, but they are early glimpses of the peanut butter revolution.
This process is teaching me a lot about both the art and science of manufacturing. Like you, I wish it was happening faster, but we are finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel!
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