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I have prototyped a device that consists of 1 uno WiFi, 4 megas, 16 8 channel relays, and 104 actuators. How do I go about finding a “person behind the curtain?

I have prototyped a device that consists of 1 uno WiFi, 4 megas, 16 8 channel relays, and 104 actuators. How do I go about finding a “person behind the curtain?” I have no idea if what I built even makes sense. It works and it’s the way I was able to solve each problem I faced. I could use a service like this (I think? Not clear to me) because I’d love to have this thing be on a board instead of a massive ball of yarn. Is this a service to accomplish this? If I have to hire someone, what profile am I looking for? EE seems too generic

brk 6y ago
"PCB Design Service". After that, you will likely be looking for "certification services" in the form of UL, FCC, CE, etc.
- conductr 6y ago
  Thanks! search results look like what I’m in need of.
bigiain 6y ago
To me at least, it seems priced out of reach if you want just one or two of your "massive balls of yarn", but if you've tested/validated your electrical design with your yarnballs and want another 20 or 50 of them, it becomes much more attractive. I suspect there's a sweet spot somewhere in there 20-1000 unit range, where this'd be "the right choice". Fewer than that, the time spent assembling them myself is not worth a grand US (to me, for hobby stuff at least). More than 1000 I'd be leaning much more towards a bespoke design/layout and getting them manufactured in China (which the proviso that "Hardware is Hard!" and that it's a risk getting the right place over there to work with. Been there, done that, keep telling myself "Never again!!!" - until next time a really great sounding idea appears...) In between, and where the constraints around exact layout/packaging are not a showstopper, I'd jump on this.
- conductr 6y ago
  Thanks for the feedback. My application is low volume, probably would order in runs of ~100 depending on pricing. But it is revenue generating so I’m not swayed with these dollar amounts. I’m already at ~$300 before the actuators and my impression is that I could get that down a bit by improving the design. I’m also concerned with serviceability and I’m not great at soldering. I’ve come this far on breadboards. Seems like I might hire a design service then utilize JLCPCB for production. I can’t tell if this sparkfun service is essentially combining those two actions. Although I think the DIY requirement is still a bit high based on my interpretation of the service description. I’m in a spot where I want to show someone what I’ve built and let them be a professional/specialist to turn it into a real device/controller

brk 6y ago

"PCB Design Service". After that, you will likely be looking for "certification services" in the form of UL, FCC, CE, etc.

conductr 6y ago
Thanks! search results look like what I’m in need of.

bigiain 6y ago

To me at least, it seems priced out of reach if you want just one or two of your "massive balls of yarn", but if you've tested/validated your electrical design with your yarnballs and want another 20 or 50 of them, it becomes much more attractive. I suspect there's a sweet spot somewhere in there 20-1000 unit range, where this'd be "the right choice". Fewer than that, the time spent assembling them myself is not worth a grand US (to me, for hobby stuff at least). More than 1000 I'd be leaning much more towards a bespoke design/layout and getting them manufactured in China (which the proviso that "Hardware is Hard!" and that it's a risk getting the right place over there to work with. Been there, done that, keep telling myself "Never again!!!" - until next time a really great sounding idea appears...) In between, and where the constraints around exact layout/packaging are not a showstopper, I'd jump on this.

conductr 6y ago
Thanks for the feedback. My application is low volume, probably would order in runs of ~100 depending on pricing. But it is revenue generating so I’m not swayed with these dollar amounts. I’m already at ~$300 before the actuators and my impression is that I could get that down a bit by improving the design. I’m also concerned with serviceability and I’m not great at soldering. I’ve come this far on breadboards. Seems like I might hire a design service then utilize JLCPCB for production. I can’t tell if this sparkfun service is essentially combining those two actions. Although I think the DIY requirement is still a bit high based on my interpretation of the service description. I’m in a spot where I want to show someone what I’ve built and let them be a professional/specialist to turn it into a real device/controller