The $400 Mistake That Nearly Sank Our Project
The Shortcut
It all started with one decision. A tool we needed cost about $400–$500. We had bought so many similar tools in the past… Expensive, sure, but someone suggested a workaround. Why buy another tool when an adapter could do the same job for less? So instead of ordering the proper tool, I was frugal. And that’s when the problems began. The adapter came in, and it worked…kind of. It would take a specialist or talented individual to work the assembly with this modified adapter piece, something I assumed would be easy to do rabbit holed into problems after problems.
The Adapter “Solution”
We tested the adapter with the tools we already had. Only one matched the wire gauge, and it seemed to work. The crimps looked good on the outside. But hidden inside each one were tiny flaws we couldn’t see. Flaws that didn’t matter… yet, but would soon cause a lot of pain. Confident it was fine, we built out all the parts, even handing off the work to my trusted coworker. Everything appeared perfect. Until it wasn’t.
The Hidden Failure
When our director of the program began using the parts, he spotted failures almost immediately. And here’s the terrifying part: these failures showed up on the ground. If they had happened in the air, where this prototype was meant to fly, the results could have been catastrophic. His investigation traced the issue back to us. The adapter tool wasn’t creating proper terminations. Connectors weren’t seating correctly. The entire assembly was compromised. By then, we had already built about 16 batteries with bad crimps using the frugal adapter tool solution. Every one of them had to be redone.
The Cost? Hours of wasted labor. Debugging time from the director and other engineers. Multiple people pulled away from their own work, only to discover the problem came down to one decision: not buying the tool. Had the prototype failed mid-flight? We would have lost the entire drone, weeks of work gone, only to spend more resources build it all over again.
The Ripple Effect
The fallout went beyond just rework. It slowed the project, wasted valuable time, and created unnecessary stress for everyone involved. All because I tried to save $400.
The Event
Then came the real test. After months of nonstop effort, long days, sleepless nights, people sacrificing time with their loved ones, it was time for the live demo. Thousands of people were watching online. Hundreds were in the audience. Press, industry leaders, the whole community. The drone launched. And then… it vanished into the foggy sky. The demo halted due to a technical difficulty. It was the longest pause of my life. My stomach dropped. I didn’t know if it was due to a failure on my end, or something completely different. Seconds dragged into minutes. The silence in the room was deafening. Finally, the drone returned to complete its mission. The demo ended successfully, and the crowd erupted into the loudest applause muffling my speakers. I can’t describe the relief I felt in that moment. But the lesson still burned in my mind.
Lessons Learned
This experience taught me three things:
Trust your expertise. I’m the best at what I do, next to no one, I wont be humble about that. I know connectors, harnesses, and assemblies. I should have had the confidence
to stand by my judgment and insist on the proper tool for the job.
Double down on quality checks. Even with trusted teammates, a few extra checks can prevent small issues from becoming massive ones. It doesnt hurt to check again.
Don’t be penny wise. We’re a multi-billion-dollar company. Spending $400 upfront is nothing compared to the hours of labor, stress, and risk we faced.
The real cost of cutting corners wasn’t $400. It was time people had put in, trust of our customers, and the success of an entire program.
So next time? I’ll remember the simplest lesson of all: Just buy the damn tool.