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You are here: Home / Guest Appearance / MightyOhm Appearance / #279 – Merry Keyzermas!

#279 – Merry Keyzermas!

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MerryKeyzermas

Merry Keyzermas! Welcome again, Jeff Keyzer!

  • Jeff is still selling his Geiger counter kits.
  • He has been working on Valve on the Steam Controller
  • Part of the process for high volume manufacturing is doing Monte Carlo analysis. 
  • If you haven’t seen it yet, the video of the the Steam Controller is amazing!

  • Chris asked about using the Steam controller for layout but it doesn’t seem like a good fit. Dave and Jeff use space navigators with Altium.
  • Jeff has a go-kit. He brings it everytime he goes to China
    • DMM
    • USB digital microscope – the dino-lite
    • Tweezers
    • Spudgers
    • Soldering supplies
    • Gloves sized for Jeff
    • Finger cots (magnum sized)
  • Dealing with part switching due to sourcing issues is an ongoing process.
    • Paper qual – if the datasheet looks good
    • Full qualification – test rigs and sample builds
  • Jeff uses OneNote (Chris uses Evernote) for documenting projects over the product lifecycle. A paper trail is very important.
  • iFixit teardown of the Steam controller.
  • Chris asked about the reliability of Chinese manufacturers. Dave has been reading a book called Poorly Made in China. Jeff says the most important thing is representing the interests of the company paying for the manufacturing (often with an employee on the ground).
  • Jeff has turned into the “Quality Tzar”, making sure the boards are up to snuff. Using the USB microscope, he shares problems he finds with boards. A picture is worth a 1000 words.
  • The level of competence in china is so high because they have consumer electronics experience. Getting to the point of “steady state” manufacturing will help you maintain quality.
  • Rework adds uncertainty and sometimes it’s not worth it. For a finished goods product that is $49.99 retail the decisions are different than for a $4K board. The value of time is a big factor.
  • Could this all be done stateside? It’s very dependent on the support and the supply chain. In China, there’s no issue that can’t be solved within one day (with a mfg rep).

We always love when Jeff stops by! Don’t forget to follow @mightyohm on twitter!

Image courtesy of Jeff’s face and Chris’s family’s house

Comments

  1. Rogerx3 says

    December 25, 2015 at 2:00 am

    All-ways enjoy your show today I’m working so its extra nice.

  2. Orphic Mysteries says

    December 26, 2015 at 12:21 am

    On does not simply “Close the Door” into Mordor

  3. Jonas says

    December 27, 2015 at 8:56 am

    Question for Jeff – which model of Dino-lite do you recommend?
    Thanks!

    • mightyohm says

      December 28, 2015 at 10:48 pm

      I use the Dino-lite AM4113T. I wrote a blog post about it earlier this year:
      http://mightyohm.com/blog/2015/04/cool-tools-dino-lite-am4113t-usb-digital-microscope/

    • steveb says

      January 6, 2016 at 11:37 am

      There’s a kickstarter for a microscope add-on that looks intersting:
      https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/754265265/peek-the-professional-microscope-that-fits-in-your/description

  4. ru4mj12 (@ru4mj12) says

    December 31, 2015 at 4:55 pm

    Bunnie had a good talk about how “open source”, schematics, gerbers, source code, is just the tip of the iceberg. He recounts his recent production experience going from a simple little wearable gadget, all the way up to supply/assembly and testing.

    They always say ideas are cheap, but it sounds like even having a working prototype is… meh…. the real meat on the bone, comes after all that!

    http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=4527

Trackbacks

  1. Mightyohm Guest Spot on The Amp Hour – Merry Keyzermas! | Perfect Wire Harnessing Techniques says:
    December 29, 2015 at 1:41 am

    […] week I was a special guest on The Amp Hour episode #279 – Merry Keyzermas! I spoke with Chris and Dave about some of the things I’ve working on this year, volume […]

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