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I wonder if we're on the brink of a world where hardware development is as easy as software engineering. Projects like this make me think so.

MichaelThatsIt 1y ago
If you asked me 3 weeks ago I’d think you’re crazy, but this was genuinely not that hard. Honestly I had never even touched CAD before this. I think my next challenge is supply chain, sourcing a custom board, and figuring out unit economics for a product version.
ethan_smith 1y ago
Hardware development still has fundamental physical constraints that software doesn't - material costs, manufacturing complexity, and safety requirements create barriers that CAD and 3D printing alone can't overcome.
- MichaelThatsIt 1y ago
  Yeah I'm learning that's the real hurdle. I'm doing my best to lean on others in the space to guide me through the process. a lot of supply chain appears to be a relationship based economy. I may end up flying out to China at some point.
WillAdams 1y ago
I noted in a different discussion here that I'm about to the point where my next computer is going to be a Raspberry Pi 500 w/ a second gen. Wacom One 13 display w/ stylus and touch and a battery, for which assemblage I'll make a folding tablet shell... Or, maybe it will be a shell/case for the Pilet which I'll be getting from Kickstarter.
bee_rider 1y ago
Probably not, even something really fast like a 3D print still takes hours to “compile” so to speak. But, it looks to be a whole lot easier than it used to be!
- MichaelThatsIt 1y ago
  Most of the iteration process was just me staring at the printer waiting for it to screw up or to find out if I screwed up.
  - bee_rider 1y ago
    We need a really good physical simulation of the 3D printing/curing (or whatever they call it) process to plug in to the modeling software, somehow.
toyg 1y ago
Development, yes. Production, no. That's really where the rubber meets the road. Upfront costs, profit margins, and scaling challenges, are not comparable.

MichaelThatsIt 1y ago

If you asked me 3 weeks ago I’d think you’re crazy, but this was genuinely not that hard. Honestly I had never even touched CAD before this. I think my next challenge is supply chain, sourcing a custom board, and figuring out unit economics for a product version.

ethan_smith 1y ago

Hardware development still has fundamental physical constraints that software doesn't - material costs, manufacturing complexity, and safety requirements create barriers that CAD and 3D printing alone can't overcome.

MichaelThatsIt 1y ago
Yeah I'm learning that's the real hurdle. I'm doing my best to lean on others in the space to guide me through the process. a lot of supply chain appears to be a relationship based economy. I may end up flying out to China at some point.

WillAdams 1y ago

I noted in a different discussion here that I'm about to the point where my next computer is going to be a Raspberry Pi 500 w/ a second gen. Wacom One 13 display w/ stylus and touch and a battery, for which assemblage I'll make a folding tablet shell... Or, maybe it will be a shell/case for the Pilet which I'll be getting from Kickstarter.

bee_rider 1y ago

Probably not, even something really fast like a 3D print still takes hours to “compile” so to speak. But, it looks to be a whole lot easier than it used to be!

MichaelThatsIt 1y ago
Most of the iteration process was just me staring at the printer waiting for it to screw up or to find out if I screwed up.
- bee_rider 1y ago
  We need a really good physical simulation of the 3D printing/curing (or whatever they call it) process to plug in to the modeling software, somehow.

toyg 1y ago

Development, yes. Production, no. That's really where the rubber meets the road. Upfront costs, profit margins, and scaling challenges, are not comparable.