[sdiy] Productionisation Service for the SDIY community

Mon Nov 9 01:03:29 CET 2015

Excelent Rob, I may indeed take you up on this at some point :)

Quincas

On Mon, Sep 21, 2015 at 1:42 PM, Rob Spencer <Rob at gmsn.co.uk> wrote:

> Yes, Ian Fritz pointed out yourselves, Bridechamber and Elby but we have
> precious few in the UK and Europe.
>
> Someone else was asking what I would bring to the table, so I thought I'd
> give a bit of background. I'm currently a Senior Project Manger a large
> banking group here in Scotland. I was recently managing the Infrastructure
> element of the new ApplePay service rolled out in the UK. So I've got a
> good understanding of facilitating technical teams to get new products into
> production. Before I got into IT, I spent 12 years in the Army as an
> Electronics Technician working on Challenger tanks and MILAN rocket
> launchers. Lots of box changing but it gave me a good insight into the
> logistics machine and support structures that sit behind the front line,
> all the way back to manufacturers. It also taught me what good technical
> documentation looks like. I spent many cold nights on top of tanks reading
> through huge folders of docs trying to fault find. Basic trade training was
> 2 years and I left with a BTEC in Electronic Engineering, we then returned
> to training after 3 years in the field to complete Class 1, which I think
> gave us 2 modules short of a degree. They didn't like to give us to many
> qualifications in case we've used them to get jobs elsewhere!
>
> In my spare time I run Glasgow, Make Some Noise, which is a Synth Building
> community in the West of Scotland. It started off as a Saturday afternoon
> meet up to build kits and very quickly escalated into a design, build and
> repair shop. I recently repaired Slam's SH-101 which appeared in DJ
> Magazine.
>
> I've got accounts at RS and Avnet to spice components at wholesale prices
> and through the repair service am building up relationships with some of
> the vintage spares guys.
>
> In terms of software, I regularly use Autocad and Adobe Illustrator for
> panel design. I use RS DesignSpark for schematics and PCB layout. I have
> used Eagle but I prefer to be able to look up parts using RS part numbers
> so I can be sure of getting a good supply of components. I also have a CNC
> Router which is used for prototyping panels.
>
> In terms of assisting people with getting designs to a certain standard I
> have loads of guys who come to the build workshops who concentrate on
> getting their design to do the function but right, but haven't necessarily
> thought about the non-functional parts like protection diodes, etc.
>
> I'm not saying this service is for everyone, but if you've got designs
> you'd like to get out there, but don't want to be tied down with the boring
> stuff, then please give me a shout :)
>
> Cheers
>
> Rob
>
> On 21 Sep 2015, at 15:59, Synthcube <info at synthcube.com> wrote:
>
> That's similar to what we do for circuit designers as well-- with some
> success improving access for DIY. We try and pick up those aspects of the
> value chain that are least interesting or hardest for designers, engineers
> and musicians. Panel design, production, kitting, documentation,
> distribution, etc... Whichever parts of the process a designer doesn't want
> to take on.
>  Thonk in the UK does to a degree as well. There's very little money in it
> of course because you need some scale and velocity to avoid getting chewed
> up by fixed costs but it's a great deal of fun and a service to DIY.
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Sep 21, 2015, at 4:21 AM, DeclareUpdate <declareupdate at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> Howdy Rob,
>
> Assuming the procedure was all worked out, and it sounds like you’ve got a
> fine start, I think this is a great idea. I have a few designs that I’d
> love to offer as kits, but have little to no time to do so, as well as past
> kits that I don’t have much time to support or re-run.
>
> For instance, the CEM3328 Filter module that pops up on muffwiggler is my
> design, and people dig the filter, but I had a hell of a time getting the
> documentation and BOMs up to date, and don’t have the time to re-run, bag
> up, or sell the kits any more. Maybe that’d be a fine place to test the
> waters with your service, even :)
>
> Cheers,
> Chris
>
> On Sep 21, 2015, at 6:10 PM, Rob Spencer <Rob at gmsn.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Hi Jack,
>
> I see there being a few stages of testing starting with a review of the
> design. At a minimum there would be polarity protection diodes, bypass caps
> at IC, etc. I could put together a design standards doc, which we could
> circulate here to get some kind of quorum on. I'm by no means an expert on
> design, far from it, but happy to facilitate. The info at dintree.com is
> fantastic.
>
> This would help get designs to a minimum standard and protect people's
> kit. Obviously there's people who know far more than me about Synth designs
> so I'll probably be asking most of the dumb questions.
>
> PCBs would then be ordered and test builds completed. The build docs would
> also be written at this point. The build would then be fully tested by both
> the designer and myself so we agree it's doing what it should. Together
> with calibration and test routines.
>
> A further test build would then be completed by a third person using the
> build docs.
>
> On successful completion of the final build, the design would be classed
> as productionised and go on the website.
>
> With regards to the figures, these would be agreed on a case by case basis
> depending how much effort each party has put in to ensure everyone gets a
> fair deal.
>
> Cheers
>
> Rob
>
> On 21 Sep 2015, at 09:30, Jack Jackson <jackdamery at hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Hi Rob,
>
> It sounds like a good idea. I'm just wondering how would you ensure
> quality of the designs when receiving them from people of different levels
> of experience and different points of view on design? Perhaps some
> QA/testing procedure?
>
> I definitely think that clear documentation and explanation of the designs
> would go a long way to help the newcomers to the community.
>
> Best Regards,
> Jack Jackson
>
>
> > From: Rob at gmsn.co.uk
> > Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2015 09:16:04 +0100
> > To: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> > Subject: [sdiy] Productionisation Service for the SDIY community
> >
> > Hi guys,
> >
> > I've been toying with the idea of launching a service for people who
> want to share their designs with the wider community but don't want the
> hassle that comes with sorting out kits and dealing with all the shipping.
> >
> > I know most people on this list have no problems etching PCBs and
> sourcing components, but there's a lot of others out there who would
> benefit greatly from this sort of thing.
> >
> > It wouldn't be a get rich quick scheme, purely a service for the SDIY
> community.
> >
> > GMSN would handle pretty much everything from sourcing the PCBs and
> components. Putting kits together and all the shipping. Panel design could
> either be done by the designer or could be done by GMSN.
> >
> > Modules would be offered as PCBs, PCB and Panel, Full kits or Prebuilt
> Modules. I would also put together the build docs and it would be up to the
> designer on whether they wish to include schematics.
> >
> > Example build docs can be found at gmsn.co.uk/support.
> >
> > Like I said earlier this isn't a get rich quick scheme, it's a service
> to the SDIY community. There would be a mark up of, say 20% for GMSN and
> the same for the designer.
> >
> > The whole ethos of GMSN is to make SDIY more accessible to beginners and
> help grow the community. Giving the community somewhere to share their
> designs, not just in schematic form but also in actual kits they can build
> would be a huge help.
> >
> > What do people think? Would people just getting into SDIY benefit from
> this sort of thing? Are the figures ridiculous? Does this sort of service
> exist elsewhere?
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Rob
> > _______________________________________________
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-- 
Quincas Moreira
Test Pilot at VBrazil Modular
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