FirstBuild is a co-creation community that is changing the way products come to market by letting a community influence the product from the very beginning. Backed by GE Appliances, we have access to world-class engineering and design talent. Opal first showed up as an idea posted by a community member on our FirstBuild.com web forum. It was a simple idea, so why didn’t a residential nugget ice maker exist? We listened to our community, and now we are launching the product to the Indiegogo community, a group of early adopters who see into the future of technology.

Why are we doing an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign? Because we know that the best way to find out if people really want a product is to give them the opportunity to buy it. Crowdfunding on Indiegogo gives us the opportunity to validate that the product matches the needs of the market before we make hundreds of thousands of them.

Make sense? If you have any questions, visit us at nuggetice.com or email us at social@firstbuild.com.

What makes Opal different?

Opal is an icemaker designed for the enthusiasts: people who drop by their favorite restaurant on the weekend to pick up a bag of that special soft ice or have googled “nugget ice maker for home” only to find that home nugget ice makers start at $2000 - $3000.

What does it do?

Opal only does one thing: make chewable, craveable nugget ice. But it does a really good job at that one thing.

Why is nugget ice so important?

Ice doesn’t just keep drinks cold. Millions of Americans crave nugget ice for its chewability and its flavor retention properties.

How does it work?

Opal nugget ice is made by scraping the ice flakes off the inside of a chilled aluminum cylinder. The flakes are extruded through a round hole, compacting them into frozen nuggets of air and ice. Nugget ice is about 50% air by volume, and those tiny pinholes of air between the ice flakes are the secret to soft, chewable, flavorful ice.

How do I fill the Opal Nugget Ice Maker?

Simply add water to the filling reservoir under the bucket. 6 cups of water is enough to make 3 pounds of ice. The reservoir has a max fill line that indicates the amount of water to be added to the icemaker.

What happens if I unplug Opal while the bucket is full of ice?

We’ve thought of everything! Opal includes a reservoir large enough to contain the meltwater from the ice bucket, just in case you don’t finish your ice before it’s time to power down.

How smart is Opal?

Opal is smart enough to know when to start and stop making ice. It’s equipped with a sensor that will identify the fill level of the bucket to turn the ice maker on and off. Just like in any cooler, ice will slowly melt within the air-insulated bucket. Opal will automatically turn on to make sure that the bucket is refilling with ice.

What happens to the ice as it melts?

Opal recycles the melted ice water to ensure that your ice bucket is always full of fresh, cold nugget ice.

How fast does Opal work?

Your first nuggets of ice will be delivered in about 15 minutes. At a rate of 1 pound per hour, Opal outpaces all the residential refrigerator ice makers that we have tested. You should have a full 3 pound bucket in just over 3 hours, and every time you remove ice, more will be made.

Do you have more detailed feature information?

•  Stainless steel

•  Dimensions: 17.25" T x 10.5" W x 15.5" D

•  Capacitive touch user interface

•  Fits underneath most cabinets above the countertop

•  Opal can be plugged into any standard 120V outlet

•  Makes 1 pound of nugget ice per hour

•  Clear ice bin holds 3 pounds of ice

Where can Opal be shipped?

We will ship only to the US and Canada for this Indiegogo campaign. In the future, we hope Opal will be available worldwide.

When will you be shipping Opal?

Production of Opal units began on June 27, 2016. We expect the first units to start arriving at backers' homes near the end of July 2016. Orders will be fulfilled in roughly the sequence that they were purchased on Indiegogo.

What is the warranty for Opal?

Opal will include a one-year limited warranty.

Taylor has been developing and marketing products for 11 years. As FirstBuild's Product Evangelist, he interacts directly with early adopters to find ideas and create innovative products that wouldn’t have existed without the input of a community. His passion for nugget ice began when he noticed a dedicated group of nugget ice enthusiasts looking for an affordable way to get nugget ice in their homes.

Scott is a career engineer with 25 years of mechanical design experience in appliances, half of which were spent in R&D. A creative inventor with nearly 40 patents, he particularly enjoys making the impossible possible. During his long and fulfilling career, he has worked on nearly every appliance product, including some which never made it to the showroom. He has a particular love for the unique engineering challenges associated with products like Opal, and looks forward to bringing nuggetty goodness to the masses.

Matt’s love for marketing stems from a core fascination of rapid prototyping and lean manufacturing and extends to his firmly held belief in the Opal product. He  loves everything about how products are made, communicated and sold. He is a bourbon drinker, home renovator and Opal nugget ice lover looking to share drinks with friends next summer on the back deck.

Wilberto tells the story of FirstBuild, including its products. He is responsible for making sure that FirstBuild is as transparent as possible; showing the process of product development from beginning to end. He is also notorious for eating several cups of nugget ice a day.

Tomas is a passionate engineer who enjoys developing cool new products. An advocate for open innovation, Tomas challenged the FirstBuild community to develop a beautiful and functional new product that would meet the needs of consumers. Through his own experimentation, Tomas has come to believe that Opal nugget ice will completely redefine iced coffee.

Jarvis leads the industrial design team at FirstBuild. He spent his early career hand-making furniture for galleries and individual clients. For the last twelve years he's worked in every category of appliances, bringing innovations into the home. Opal is a great opportunity to create a better experience for entertaining.

Opal could not have been possible without countless contributions from community members who share our vision for superior ice. FirstBuild’s development of Opal started with an idea submission by Alan Mitchell. Ismael Ramos’ challenge entry made Opal into a beautiful and functional product that real people will use.