4 ms·

If you invested in some jigs to hold the components while soldering, then I could see significant time savings. The time to cure the resin really doesnt count.

If you invested in some jigs to hold the components while soldering, then I could see significant time savings. The time to cure the resin really doesnt count. I woukd estimate that with the correct jigs, you could complete the soldering in half an hour tops. I count roughly fifty solders on thus thing, most of them pretty simple. You also overestimate the per hour cost of semi skilled labor. The skills involved arent that involved or difficult to learn (especially with the right tooling).

HeyLaughingBoy 15y ago
Of course you need fixturing: that's a given. Remember to account for the time and materials making up fixtures. I would price the labor at around $15-$30 per hour minimum. You aren't going to farm this out to an assembly shop (not enough volume) and there isn't enough money in it to hire employees and deal with that overhead, so you're down to finding a FOAF or a student who can solder and is reliable. Factor into that that the person must be supervised. Next, this isn't just assembly that has to work; it has to look good, so the assembler needs the skill and attention to detail to provide that. That means either you get lucky or you have a lot of rework, or you watch him closely. Soldering is not enough: need to pay attention to the cut ends of those thick conductors. The component lead terminations must look good and the components themselves should be fairly regularly placed and not look sloppy. Remember, you're selling primarily on looks. Also, if this assembler isn't always available, you have to make enough inventory to handle orders that may come in until he can make more if you don't have the time to do it yourself. Volumes are uncertain, but the parts are cheap, so let's assume he buys enough to make 100 units at a time. The selling price has to reflect the risk that all those parts won't be used. Buy higher inventory levels and your parts cost goes down, but risk of "dead stock" goes up. Having a small electronics mfg business on the side, I live this on a daily basis. Luckily I don't sell to price sensitive hobbyists :-) But in the end, the price I'd try to sell it for has nothing to do with how much it cost to build: it's cool looking. That's where the price comes from.
- DanBC 15y ago
  > You aren't going to farm this out to an assembly shop (not enough volume) There are plenty of sub-contract electronic manufacturing companies that'd take on jobs of 100 units. > I would price the labor at around $15-$30 per hour minimum. Yes.
- Natsu 15y ago
  Learning to solder mostly requires practice, so you could probably train someone to do it. You just have to make sure they don't destroy a lot of expensive parts learning. But you're right about all the other stuff. I wouldn't be surprised to see something like this on Kickstarter, though.

HeyLaughingBoy 15y ago

Of course you need fixturing: that's a given. Remember to account for the time and materials making up fixtures. I would price the labor at around $15-$30 per hour minimum. You aren't going to farm this out to an assembly shop (not enough volume) and there isn't enough money in it to hire employees and deal with that overhead, so you're down to finding a FOAF or a student who can solder and is reliable. Factor into that that the person must be supervised. Next, this isn't just assembly that has to work; it has to look good, so the assembler needs the skill and attention to detail to provide that. That means either you get lucky or you have a lot of rework, or you watch him closely. Soldering is not enough: need to pay attention to the cut ends of those thick conductors. The component lead terminations must look good and the components themselves should be fairly regularly placed and not look sloppy. Remember, you're selling primarily on looks. Also, if this assembler isn't always available, you have to make enough inventory to handle orders that may come in until he can make more if you don't have the time to do it yourself. Volumes are uncertain, but the parts are cheap, so let's assume he buys enough to make 100 units at a time. The selling price has to reflect the risk that all those parts won't be used. Buy higher inventory levels and your parts cost goes down, but risk of "dead stock" goes up. Having a small electronics mfg business on the side, I live this on a daily basis. Luckily I don't sell to price sensitive hobbyists :-) But in the end, the price I'd try to sell it for has nothing to do with how much it cost to build: it's cool looking. That's where the price comes from.

DanBC 15y ago
> You aren't going to farm this out to an assembly shop (not enough volume) There are plenty of sub-contract electronic manufacturing companies that'd take on jobs of 100 units. > I would price the labor at around $15-$30 per hour minimum. Yes.
Natsu 15y ago
Learning to solder mostly requires practice, so you could probably train someone to do it. You just have to make sure they don't destroy a lot of expensive parts learning. But you're right about all the other stuff. I wouldn't be surprised to see something like this on Kickstarter, though.