MiniProto on the Stack Overflow Podcast!

Building Prototypes Without a 35% Tariff

Join Ryan and Ben as they sit down with Alex Malcoci, CEO and founder of MiniProto, to explore cutting-edge hardware prototyping, the shifting challenges of today’s global supply chains, the effects of the US–China trade war on manufacturing, and how automating production may give rise to new training programs for the next generation of engineers.

Podcast Link https://stackoverflow.blog/2025/06/24/how-to-build-your-prototypes-without-a-35-tariff/

Episode takeaways

Fast hardware prototyping

A prototype is not finished until it is a physical part. This episode is about getting that part built when the default path is a long wait on a global supply chain, then a tariff on the way in. The title is the brief: build the prototype without parking the project behind a 35% tariff.

Supply-chain and tariff exposure

The conversation puts three things on the same table: today’s global supply chains, the US–China trade war, and a 35% tariff. For hardware teams, prototype sourcing is now a trade-policy problem as much as a manufacturing one.

Automation in low-volume manufacturing

Automating production shows up here because short-run and prototype work still has to get built. Automation is part of how that work gets done. It does not remove the need for people who understand the build.

Training the next generation

The intro already joins those ideas: automating production may give rise to new training programs for the next generation of engineers. If more of the line is automated, the remaining work is not a skill set you can assume is already on staff. The training has to be created.

Who this is for

• Engineers and founders who need hardware prototypes built without a long, tariff-exposed wait
• Teams whose sourcing now includes supply-chain and US–China trade-war risk
• Anyone looking at automation on a low-volume line, and at who will be trained to run it

Next step

Need a prototype built? Design it in the configurator or send the design for a quote.