6 ms·

>But for about $90 in parts Oh and I don't know, about $250K worth of professional experience and skills but yeah.. we have.

mhb 8y ago
And a dollar for the piece of chalk.
- castlecrasher2 8y ago
  don't forget imgur's hosting costs...and the computer you're on right now!
glitcher 8y ago
And if you had zero of the tools and equipment beforehand used in the process, what would the additional cost be to just get started?
- kickopotomus 8y ago
  If you want to buy your own 3D printer and reflow, it's going to be pricey. If you live in an urban area, there are likely "maker spaces" nearby where you can pay a nominal fee to use the communal tools.
- LolWolf 8y ago
  What tools? I think the biggest thing is a reflow oven, but, honestly, I've soldered using a cheap, used toaster oven from Goodwill + an oven thermometer. Worked wonders! The 3D printer might have been the biggest offender, to be fair, but many libraries have some (as do many maker spaces that are hourly). Additionally, you can order a number of 3D printed parts online as well, for relatively low cost.
  - bewuethr 8y ago
    I'm pretty sure they used a Monoprice Mini Delta[1], which is one of the cheapest fully assembled 3D printers available (about $160), so it's not even that bad without a printer. [1]: https://www.mpminidelta.com https://www.mpminidelta.com
- opencl 8y ago
  The case is 3D printed on what appears to be a $160 Monoprice Mini Delta. Soldering was done in a reflow oven, commercial units start at around $200 or you can use a modified toaster oven. This board doesn't look too terrible to do with an iron or hot air gun either. You can get a decent combo hot air/iron station for about $60. You'll want some test equipment, cheap multimeters start at free from harbor freight but you'll probably at least want to step up to a ~$15 model. Logic analyzers are handy and until fairly recently were quite expensive but now you can get them for $10. An oscilloscope might be handy for debugging the power circuitry here, you can get a cheap one for $20 or a nice one for a few hundred or an old nice one for about a hundred. An adjustable bench power supply isn't really necessary but nice to have, those start around $50. A professional EE's workbench will probably have many thousands of dollars worth of equipment on it but most hobbyists have much more modest budgets.
  - stephen_g 8y ago
    The aQFN package of the particular microcontroller they use would be impossible to do with a soldering iron. You could do it with hot air though.
- avhon1 8y ago
  Around $400-$600. More if you need to do in-depth troubleshooting. The 3D printer OP uses is a Monoprice; it looks like the delta mini (https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21666 https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21666). It costs $160. The circuit boards and the solder paste mask are made by another company and delivered by mail. It's been a while since I looked up costs, but it's quite cheap these days, and the watch's circuit board is small, so I can comfortably say it cost under $100 to get the mask and a few copies of the board. The soldering could be done with a $200 chinese reflow oven, like the T962 (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=t962 https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=t962), or with a $20 toaster oven, an oven thermometer, and some careful timing. (Some people do their surface-mount soldering with just a frying pan and their kitchen stove!) The rest is just basic hand tools -- screwdriver, file, sandpaper, tweezers, maybe a magnifier. Maybe a $5 Arduino clone to help with debugging and programming, and a $35 T12 soldering tip+controller for doing soldering test stuff and "I messed up" wires. If the first try doesn't work, and it's not obvious why, you'll to spend more money. If fixing the problem requires changing the board board then you need to order new ones, and the mask to solder them. DC voltage levels, current consumption, and electrical continuity can be checked with a $20 multimeter. The presence, frequency, and integrity of signals can be checked with a good used analog oscilloscope costing $100-$200. Some things are easier to check with a new, basic digital oscilloscope costing $300-$400. If the electronics are good but there's something wrong with the software, you'll need something to read the signals the chips are exchanging with each other. Basic, low-speed (less than 1 MHz or so) signals can be read and generated with the Arduino board, or a $30 Bus Pirate. If your project uses higher-speed signals, you'll need a logic analyzer. A good USB model is the Saleae Logic 8, which costs $400. (There is overlap in the capabilities of digital multimeters and logic analyzers, so you can sometimes just buy one and use it for both purposes.)
davidzweig 8y ago
You can literally learn all the required skills for $0 (Youtube, online lectures, personal projects).. and a few years of your life.
dotancohen 8y ago
My ten year old daughter recently built a robot that finds a face and then applies blush. We used an old printer for parts, a blush brush, and an Arduino clone. That's $3 in parts. She also had no prior experience with the Arduino or C, though she knows a bit of Python. That is the level of technology that we are at today. We are living in the future. And it is a future that Asimov would like.

mhb 8y ago

And a dollar for the piece of chalk.

castlecrasher2 8y ago
don't forget imgur's hosting costs...and the computer you're on right now!

glitcher 8y ago

And if you had zero of the tools and equipment beforehand used in the process, what would the additional cost be to just get started?

kickopotomus 8y ago
If you want to buy your own 3D printer and reflow, it's going to be pricey. If you live in an urban area, there are likely "maker spaces" nearby where you can pay a nominal fee to use the communal tools.
LolWolf 8y ago
What tools? I think the biggest thing is a reflow oven, but, honestly, I've soldered using a cheap, used toaster oven from Goodwill + an oven thermometer. Worked wonders! The 3D printer might have been the biggest offender, to be fair, but many libraries have some (as do many maker spaces that are hourly). Additionally, you can order a number of 3D printed parts online as well, for relatively low cost.
- bewuethr 8y ago
  I'm pretty sure they used a Monoprice Mini Delta[1], which is one of the cheapest fully assembled 3D printers available (about $160), so it's not even that bad without a printer. [1]: https://www.mpminidelta.com https://www.mpminidelta.com
opencl 8y ago
The case is 3D printed on what appears to be a $160 Monoprice Mini Delta. Soldering was done in a reflow oven, commercial units start at around $200 or you can use a modified toaster oven. This board doesn't look too terrible to do with an iron or hot air gun either. You can get a decent combo hot air/iron station for about $60. You'll want some test equipment, cheap multimeters start at free from harbor freight but you'll probably at least want to step up to a ~$15 model. Logic analyzers are handy and until fairly recently were quite expensive but now you can get them for $10. An oscilloscope might be handy for debugging the power circuitry here, you can get a cheap one for $20 or a nice one for a few hundred or an old nice one for about a hundred. An adjustable bench power supply isn't really necessary but nice to have, those start around $50. A professional EE's workbench will probably have many thousands of dollars worth of equipment on it but most hobbyists have much more modest budgets.
- stephen_g 8y ago
  The aQFN package of the particular microcontroller they use would be impossible to do with a soldering iron. You could do it with hot air though.
avhon1 8y ago
Around $400-$600. More if you need to do in-depth troubleshooting. The 3D printer OP uses is a Monoprice; it looks like the delta mini (https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21666 https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21666). It costs $160. The circuit boards and the solder paste mask are made by another company and delivered by mail. It's been a while since I looked up costs, but it's quite cheap these days, and the watch's circuit board is small, so I can comfortably say it cost under $100 to get the mask and a few copies of the board. The soldering could be done with a $200 chinese reflow oven, like the T962 (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=t962 https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=t962), or with a $20 toaster oven, an oven thermometer, and some careful timing. (Some people do their surface-mount soldering with just a frying pan and their kitchen stove!) The rest is just basic hand tools -- screwdriver, file, sandpaper, tweezers, maybe a magnifier. Maybe a $5 Arduino clone to help with debugging and programming, and a $35 T12 soldering tip+controller for doing soldering test stuff and "I messed up" wires. If the first try doesn't work, and it's not obvious why, you'll to spend more money. If fixing the problem requires changing the board board then you need to order new ones, and the mask to solder them. DC voltage levels, current consumption, and electrical continuity can be checked with a $20 multimeter. The presence, frequency, and integrity of signals can be checked with a good used analog oscilloscope costing $100-$200. Some things are easier to check with a new, basic digital oscilloscope costing $300-$400. If the electronics are good but there's something wrong with the software, you'll need something to read the signals the chips are exchanging with each other. Basic, low-speed (less than 1 MHz or so) signals can be read and generated with the Arduino board, or a $30 Bus Pirate. If your project uses higher-speed signals, you'll need a logic analyzer. A good USB model is the Saleae Logic 8, which costs $400. (There is overlap in the capabilities of digital multimeters and logic analyzers, so you can sometimes just buy one and use it for both purposes.)

davidzweig 8y ago

You can literally learn all the required skills for $0 (Youtube, online lectures, personal projects).. and a few years of your life.

dotancohen 8y ago

My ten year old daughter recently built a robot that finds a face and then applies blush. We used an old printer for parts, a blush brush, and an Arduino clone. That's $3 in parts. She also had no prior experience with the Arduino or C, though she knows a bit of Python. That is the level of technology that we are at today. We are living in the future. And it is a future that Asimov would like.