Hey all,
I know I've been scarce, so I thought I'd at least come by and give you a quick update.
Why so scarce? Because I've been busy. To quote Mike, there are a lot of irons in the fire. And that's certainly part of it. But a bigger part of it is in adding new production partners, rolling in new production procedures, and doing some first-ever production-related things.
Production sounds boring? Well, maybe it is, on some level. But without good production partners, procedures, and techniques, we can't deliver great products at affordable prices.
Up until now, we've been using a single PCB assembly house. However, as runs get bigger, we've brought on a second. These guys are up in Northern California, and actually approached us first (a principle in the company had purchased one of our products). They're better set up for very large runs and for more bleeding-edge parts. They even do 100% x-ray inspection (not just optical) after the board is finished. This is an especially big deal for the smaller, finer-pitch parts (or BGAs, which we may end up having to use sometime soon). This actually unloads our long-term supplier and lets them focus on what they do best, which are shorter runs with more human intervention. For our products that still use through-hole parts, or are complex, or that we don't make very many of, they are perfect. For the rest, the new guy is delivering in a big way. This should help us cut down on out of stock situations, and to ensure our high-volume products aren't ever in slow-shipping mode.
Also, up until now, ongoing product runs typically went straight to assembly. This was great, unless there was a glitch in the new run. Now, there shouldn't be a glitch, but you never know what might happen. And in that case, the glitch might only be caught in automated test or sound check. And then we have a bunch of products assembled that need to be disassembled and sent back to the PCB house to be fixed.
So, now all runs, new or ongoing, get evaluated by engineering and/or test staff before getting a formal, documented release. The release goes back to the PCB house, and the run proceeds. Sounds simple, yes? Like I've said, we're not always the brightest people in the world. In any case, this new procedure has caught a couple of stupid things that would otherwise stop up the production lines.
And finally, we're getting ready to do a couple things we've never done before in production--namely, programming the USB input and Microchip microprocessor before assembly--as in, both parts come pre-programmed from the factory, before they are placed on the board. This saves us two programming steps. And when you're talking very high-production products, saving two steps is a very big deal. The reason we haven't done it in the past? (A) We're stupid, (B) the runs weren't large enough to make it irritating.
In any case, I'm coming out of production and development busywork, and should have a new chapter shortly.
(Oh, and Ragnarok being out of stock as run-up to Ragnarok 2? Nope, sorry. It's just out of stock. As with most speculation, there is no conspiracy.)
All the best,
Jason
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