[sdiy] Making kits of parts

[Olivier Gillet]

My girlfriend and I did the first 2000 Shruthi kits with the plastic
cups method - 10x10 grid of cups on the table, one on each side, 50
each. Martina Topley Bird Last.fm station (the secret ingredient).
https://www.facebook.com/mutable.instruments/photos/a.287097354738345.68866.204949496286465/287097701404977/?type=1&theater

The error rate was really low (at most 2 kits in 100 had missing parts).

Since then, I've "outsourced" this to someone else (who also does kits
for other open-source DIY synth projects), but their method is the
same...

I tried the Digikey kitting option too but obviously they won't kit
parts that can't be bought from them.

Some random tips:
* One rough error-checking method is to check if there are parts left
in a bag/strip after you're done - for most parts it should be zero,
but you'll find that some suppliers over-deliver in a rather
predictable way (eg Eagle plastic knobs are always 102 in bags of 100;
panasonic caps 2 or 3% more). Order passives from a place that gives
exact counts.
* Before ordering check that the R / C / diodes you buy are in
ammo-pack. Resistors or capacitors in bulk in a bag are a pain to
count. Some distributors have different PN for ammo-pack vs bulk.
* For single resistors/diodes, I found it faster to cut only one side
of the strip, and then "pluck" the resistors one by one from the
strip. For other parts, pre-cut strip/ammo rather than trying to cut
over the cup.
* For items like LEDs (that we had to count by 8), nuts, screws, we
emptied the bag on wide cardboard boxes (like a pizza box) that we
carried ; and it was immediate after that to pick groups of 8 or 2x4
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subitizing) parts, when they are spread
over.
* Try passives from several brands to find those with the most legible
markings. I buy the passives from Farnell for this reason. Helps
preventing assembly errors.
* I really like these anti-static bags with zip:
http://fr.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?CMP=i-ddd7-00001003&sku=1687798

Olivier

On Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 1:02 AM, Tim Ressel <timr at circuitabbey.com> wrote:
> We just started making kits. We do the kitchen table marathon method.
>
> The plastic cups are a great idea!  I'll try that next.
>
> Tim Ressel
> Circuit Abbey
> 503-750-9331
> timr at circuitabbey.com
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Declare Update <declareupdate at gmail.com>
> To: David Griffith <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu>
> Cc: synthdiy diy <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 5:48 AM
> Subject: Re: [sdiy] Making kits of parts
>
>
> We often do this at Bleep Labs, with a grid of plastic drinking cups. Usually 50-100 at time. First part goes in every cup, then second, etc, and when you're done the cups pour into bags super easy. It get's really fast once you get a groove going.
>
> Chris
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Sep 24, 2014, at 4:03 AM, David Griffith <dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu> wrote:
>>
>>
>> I've made and sold vintage-style computer kits[1] for a few years.  Last year I looked into having Mouser put parts into individual parts thus saving me the labor of sitting at the kitchen table sorting hundreds of tiny parts into individual bags.  The price?  Apply the volume prices for what I was buying, then add a dollar per kit.  Fast forward to now.  I want some more kits, so I went through my BOM and swapped in cheaper parts for ones that inexplicably became much more expensive.  When I asked for the kitting to be done, I was offered NO volume discount and each kit cost around $4 more per kit.  Naturally I was pissed.  I was even more pissed to be told by Mouser that the deal I got last time was a mistake.
>>
>> I'm in the process of copying my BOM from Mouser over to Digikey.  Digikey doesn't stock everything I need.  I'll have to buy some stuff seperately and stuff them in the bags myself.  I can handle that.  I don't know if Digikey will play nice with me because as I type, Digikey's website is broken.  Just type something in the search box and watch it complain.
>>
>> So, here's a question.  For those of you who have offered kits of synthesizery stuff: how did you go about putting together the parts bags? Did you do the kitchen table marathon or did you get the supplier to make the kits for you?
>>
>> [1] http://661.org/p112/
>>
>> --
>> David Griffith
>> dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
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