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How we built a hardware startup with two engineers and some free time
- Cheyana 11y agoFascinating. I used to do decades ago with my ears what their devices do now: Listen to machinery while walking around the plant I worked in to see if I could pick up on a trouble spot, because I learned over time that mechanical equipment that was heading for failure sounded a bit different then the equipment that was still running smoothly. Belts, bearings, rollers and plates would wear and I would know to pay more attention to them more often, rather than just react when something happened. People thought I was nuts when I told them I could hear that something didn't sound right through all the noise, which was considerable (you had to wear hearing protection all day).
- extrapickles 11y agoSome of the more fancy machines these days have embedded microphones to tell if a bearing is going to fail soon. They make a distinctive noise based on shaft rpm and bearing diameter when they start to fail, so you know which one to order before you spend a day tearing the machine appart to get at the faulty bearing.
- studentrob 11y agoWow that is cool. Thanks for sharing. From old school to high tech .. Love how the internet brings together experiences!
- auxym 11y agoBearings also tend to start running quite hot when they are at the end of their lives. Bearings on trains often have smoke bombs on them that go off at a specific temperature.
- voiper1 11y agoIt would be nice if they actually talked about their experience and creation, rather than just the methodology...
- pepijndevos 11y agoInspiring. I've been walking around with the idea to build an amplifier of sorts, but have not talked to any customers. Plans range from guitar headphone amps, to valve amps, to DAC things, to other crazy things.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- FreedomToCreate 11y agoAs a hardware startup founder, I would like to note that the lean model only really works for hardware when you not creating something complex (ex lots of mechanical parts or lots of integrated electronic systems). In cases like that, the lean method completely falls apart because of the cost, and it becomes really important to make sure your calculations and simulations are correct.
- studentrob 11y agoI'm sure it's true and I don't mean to diminish your comment but.. Isn't that kind of true for anything? Start small and build up. You're not going to be a contender of, say, Apple in a year or even 10, but there are several companies in the pipeline already at more advanced stages
- galfarragem 11y agoIn some complex and mature markets if you start too small you will never be able to compete with existent players. "Starting up in a garage" works mostly on new and undeveloped markets.
- Retric 11y agoDepends on what you can leverage. You can start a car comapny by modifying existing cars, go up market, build a business and use the same suppliers as the other car company's. Give it 40 years and you really can start a major car company from scratch. Granted this generally takes long enough that most people fail or get bought out.
- WavingThe44 11y agoAs an extreme example, before starting Tesla, Eberhard took an existing electric car [A], which was itself built on an existing kit car [B], and had a different battery technology installed [C]. And then used it as a proof of concept to start Tesla. [A] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Propulsion_tzero https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Propulsion_tzero [B] http://www.funcar.com/sportech/ http://www.funcar.com/sportech/ [C] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Propulsion_tzero#Lithium-ion_battery_conversion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Propulsion_tzero#Lithium-io...
- homero 11y agoWhy would they build on Android then launch on iphone? ? I also can't find ruguscope
- CarVac 11y agoI too searched Ruguscope but then realized it's Auguscope.