As I recall, the manufacturing issue at that time related to "some components" which had substandard versions used initially - before being rectified with better ones. Causing indeed a delay in the obtaining and shipping.

But I don't believe anyone has ever stated or confirmed that the "some components" referred to back then, are directly related to the components failing now.

Though, they may well be.  I just don't recall any actual statement of such.

Bit by bit it has become clear that this third party don't really know what they're doing. It frustrates the hell out of me. I really really wish i had not let crucial parts of this operation out of my hands as i believe we would certainly have shipped by now had we maintained control of the manufacture and done it here in Sydney. The wisdom of hindsight can be a real bitch sometimes.  I take full responsibility for taking the choice to work with these people. God i wish i hadn't. As i say, at the time it seemed like a good move. I am sorry for this. We have been seriously let down.

The cause for the latest delay is that we recently discovered that said third party had ordered largely substandard inappropriate substitute parts for our boards, not the ones we specified. We are lucky we found this out when we did. Going ahead with the manufacture with the wrong parts would have caused all sorts on unknown instabilities on the boards. People may well have received them sooner, but there would be a  large chance they would not work properly, not get decent hashrates, and perhaps not work at all, or break soon after being plugged in. Dealing with this problem after the boards had been made would have been a nightmare.

That is correct. They built my bitfury boards, and assembled the drillbit boards.