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This appears to be a rebranding (at nearly three times the price) of the Gakken Record Maker (which is still available online for its MSRP of ¥7,980 ($55) [1]).

This appears to be a rebranding (at nearly three times the price) of the Gakken Record Maker (which is still available online for its MSRP of ¥7,980 ($55) [1]). It even comes with a copy of the Gakken magazine! Here's a review of the Gakken record maker (which looks identical to the Teenage Engineering one) [2], the Japanese description from Gakken [3], and an English description from a reseller [4]. Gakken is a Japanese educational company. One of their products is a magazine called "Otona no Kagaku" (Adult Science) which comes with a kit to build a toy version of a mechanical or electronic device. Because they're part of a magazine, the kits are only available for a limited time. Here's some examples of the other issues' kits [5]. Some of the more notable ones are a wax cylinder recorder [6] and a gramophone kit [7]. [1] https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/NEOBK-2453544 https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/NEOBK-2453544 https://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4057507221/gkp_shuppan-22 https://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4057507221/gkp_shu... https://hon.gakken.jp/book/1575072200 https://hon.gakken.jp/book/1575072200 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB8qtW19nf4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB8qtW19nf4 [3] https://otonanokagaku.net/magazine/vol46/index.html https://otonanokagaku.net/magazine/vol46/index.html [4] https://www.turntablelab.com/products/gakken-easy-record-maker-toy-instant-record-cutting-no-returns-please-read-terms-before-purchase https://www.turntablelab.com/products/gakken-easy-record-mak... [5] https://otonanokagaku.net/ https://otonanokagaku.net/ https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/series/2993 https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/series/2993 https://www.adafruit.com/category/269 https://www.adafruit.com/category/269 [6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9X2CS4cs8o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9X2CS4cs8o [7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDdZFFLnsUo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDdZFFLnsUo

vanderZwan 4y ago
> They've also made a wax cylinder recorder Jan Derogee will be ecstatic to hear that in case he loses his reproducer again. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNFQkcbY5cQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNFQkcbY5cQ
faefox 4y ago
The margins on everything Teenage Engineering sells must be insane. Thinking in particular of their "computer-1" itx case which is a handful of pieces of unbent sheet metal and commodity parts, all for a mere *$195*.
- itronitron 4y ago
  Yeah, seems like it would be rather straightforward to send a template design to an online fabrication company. CNC seems like it would be overkill but I assume they are willing to cut sheet metal. That could be a fun assignment for a design course. Lots of technical details to consider, such as dimensions of standard components, but a lot of design freedom as well.
  - ortusdux 4y ago
    A CNC laser would be the best bet. A good one could cut this in about 5 min. Water jets and CNC plasma cutters could do it, but they would probably both have issues with that many pierces. I agree though - $195 for this is a bit much: https://images.prismic.io/teenageengineering/d379b4fd-3721-4cd4-bec2-f3a7c13e099f_computer-1_store_layout.png?auto=compress,format&w=2048&h=1 https://images.prismic.io/teenageengineering/d379b4fd-3721-4... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGpKAIsUIpI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGpKAIsUIpI
    - janekm 4y ago
      It looks like it has countersunk screw holes, so that would usually be done on a CNC punch: http://www.vandf.co.uk/tooling/what-is-cnc-punching/ http://www.vandf.co.uk/tooling/what-is-cnc-punching/ (amazing machines) It also looks powder-coated... when you consider their likely volumes $195 is not unreasonable once you take into account development costs, setup costs and overheads.
      - digdugdirk 4y ago
        Not discounting the coolness of CNC punching whatsoever, but the reasonableness of $195 is way off, even if they are manufacturing in low volumes domestically. Parts like this should ideally be manufactured via stamping, which would also produce any countersinks needed. Even better would be to have them cut and bent in a progressive die (also a super cool manufacturing process!) and would have all cuts and features done in one go. But if I were them, I'd probably aim for a buck or two for each sheet part, maybe up to five dollars if you wanted to keep it at a local shop with low volumes. But the big win of having just flat pieces is you can make a ton of components at once and they can take up very little space on a shelf. Get a few thousand produced and powdercoated, and then just keep an eye on when supply runs low. Basically, if they aren't making 90% margin on these (all in, shipped to your door) I'd be disappointed.
klyrs 4y ago
> Yuri Suzuki has joined forces with cult electronics studio Teenage Engineering and Japanese educational toymaker Gakken to launch the PO-80 Record Factory. https://www.pentagram.com/news/po-80-record-factory https://www.pentagram.com/news/po-80-record-factory
- capableweb 4y ago
  Also, from the submission URL, second paragraph: > PO-80 record factory is a compact and portable record cutter, made in collaboration with yuri suzuki.

vanderZwan 4y ago

> They've also made a wax cylinder recorder Jan Derogee will be ecstatic to hear that in case he loses his reproducer again. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNFQkcbY5cQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNFQkcbY5cQ

faefox 4y ago

The margins on everything Teenage Engineering sells must be insane. Thinking in particular of their "computer-1" itx case which is a handful of pieces of unbent sheet metal and commodity parts, all for a mere *$195*.

itronitron 4y ago
Yeah, seems like it would be rather straightforward to send a template design to an online fabrication company. CNC seems like it would be overkill but I assume they are willing to cut sheet metal. That could be a fun assignment for a design course. Lots of technical details to consider, such as dimensions of standard components, but a lot of design freedom as well.
- ortusdux 4y ago
  A CNC laser would be the best bet. A good one could cut this in about 5 min. Water jets and CNC plasma cutters could do it, but they would probably both have issues with that many pierces. I agree though - $195 for this is a bit much: https://images.prismic.io/teenageengineering/d379b4fd-3721-4cd4-bec2-f3a7c13e099f_computer-1_store_layout.png?auto=compress,format&w=2048&h=1 https://images.prismic.io/teenageengineering/d379b4fd-3721-4... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGpKAIsUIpI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGpKAIsUIpI
  - janekm 4y ago
    It looks like it has countersunk screw holes, so that would usually be done on a CNC punch: http://www.vandf.co.uk/tooling/what-is-cnc-punching/ http://www.vandf.co.uk/tooling/what-is-cnc-punching/ (amazing machines) It also looks powder-coated... when you consider their likely volumes $195 is not unreasonable once you take into account development costs, setup costs and overheads.
    - digdugdirk 4y ago
      Not discounting the coolness of CNC punching whatsoever, but the reasonableness of $195 is way off, even if they are manufacturing in low volumes domestically. Parts like this should ideally be manufactured via stamping, which would also produce any countersinks needed. Even better would be to have them cut and bent in a progressive die (also a super cool manufacturing process!) and would have all cuts and features done in one go. But if I were them, I'd probably aim for a buck or two for each sheet part, maybe up to five dollars if you wanted to keep it at a local shop with low volumes. But the big win of having just flat pieces is you can make a ton of components at once and they can take up very little space on a shelf. Get a few thousand produced and powdercoated, and then just keep an eye on when supply runs low. Basically, if they aren't making 90% margin on these (all in, shipped to your door) I'd be disappointed.

klyrs 4y ago

> Yuri Suzuki has joined forces with cult electronics studio Teenage Engineering and Japanese educational toymaker Gakken to launch the PO-80 Record Factory. https://www.pentagram.com/news/po-80-record-factory https://www.pentagram.com/news/po-80-record-factory

capableweb 4y ago
Also, from the submission URL, second paragraph: > PO-80 record factory is a compact and portable record cutter, made in collaboration with yuri suzuki.