Oasis Table Delivery Timeline UpdateUpdated 11 days ago

The information below is the Kickstarter update about the shift in Oasis Table delivery timelines from March 21st 2025, and we have just added an update on our blog on April 15th with additional manufacturing information.

Hi Everyone. In this update we’re going to be showing recent progress on the production of the tables, providing a sign-up form for those of you interested in beta testing, and discussing the impact of the current trade war. Let’s jump right in. 

Sneak Peek Inside of the Oasis Tables

One thing we haven’t shown yet is the internals of the Oasis Tables. Our team has done a wonderful job designing a mechanism that’s reliable, long-lasting, and easily repairable if need be. You can see a video of the mechanics in action below. Keep in mind, this is a prototype sample and the final mechanics will have cleaner wire routing and a nice powder coat finish on all of the parts. 

We designed this from the ground up, and as far as we can tell it’s a unique design. Typically a mechanism like this would be made with a plastic rack and pinion which is basically one round gear pushing up against a straight gear. That works fine for a while, but we wanted something higher-quality and longer-lasting.

The core components are made of aluminum and steel. We’re using belts for both rotational and linear (straight) movements which ensures very precise positioning and a long-lasting design. Most of the components are similar to those you’d see in 3D printers which need a bit more accuracy than a ball bearing drawing in sand. Overall, these components are designed for longevity to ensure that you’re able to enjoy your sand table for years to come.

We’re calling this part “the engine”, and if there are ever any issues with your table we’ve made it easily serviceable. The entire assembly comes out with a few screws and can be easily replaced. 

Beta Testing

We’re getting ready to ship the first tables to backers for beta testing. These tables are expected to be identical to the final production tables. Beta testing helps us to identify any bugs or pain points for users before moving on to mass production.

If you’re interested in becoming a beta tester, here’s a link to a signup form. A few important notes below:

• We can only accept 10 - 20 beta testers, and we’ll cover the shipping cost
• Beta testers will receive the very first Oasis Tables
• Your reward will be considered fulfilled. Beta units have a higher risk of bugs than production units and our team will replace or repair any defects free of charge

We sent out around 50 beta units during our first Oasis Mini campaign, and it was very valuable for squashing a few final bugs before turning on the firehose of mass production. Those of you who volunteer to beta test will help ensure a great experience for the thousands of remaining backers.

Tariff Timeline Impact

This section is a bit tricky because I know all of us have unique political beliefs, but the current trade war has impacted our timeline so for the sake of transparency it’s important to discuss. A few primers here.

We’re a US-based company with most of our employees in Boston, and we pay a tariff when we import goods into the US. The fee is taken from our account and paid to the US government. We manufacture our products in China because they have the strongest supply chain and a workforce with the ideal training for our types of products. China used to be preferred because of low labor costs, but that is no longer the case. Here’s Apple’s CEO Tim Cook reflecting on why Apple continues to manufacture in CN.

We would love to manufacture in the US. It would certainly make my life easier on the logistics side of things. That said, the supply chain and workforce do not exist here today. Perhaps investment in US manufacturing will eventually create a robust supply chain and workforce, but that would play out over a matter of years, and we have thousands of tables to make in a matter of months. Even companies that manufacture in the US typically import large numbers of components from foreign countries which may still be subject to tariffs. 

The tariff rate for the Oasis Tables has increased significantly under the Trump administration. What does this mean for table delivery? It’s a bit of a pickle because most companies including our competitors are increasing prices to compensate. That said, raising prices after the fact on Kickstarter backers is very uncool, and it’s not something we’re going to do. Instead, we’re shifting our supply chain to try and minimize the impact of the tariffs. We’ve already started this process, but it has impacted our timeline. Our current expectation is that backers will receive their tables in June.

We’ve been monitoring the trade policy proposals of the current administration closely, and although a trade war with our allies and primary trading partners wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card, we’re doing our best to work around it and reduce the impact. 

Cats of Grounded Labs 

Ending this update discussing the impact of the trade war seems like a bit of a bummer, so instead here’s a short collage of a few of our employee’s pets that we’re including in an upcoming email newsletter. 

That’s all for this update! We’ll be back with the next one in a few weeks. The best way to contact us with any order-related questions or concerns is via [email protected] or https://grounded.so/pages/support