The Blinkenator Part 32768

With a successful 2nd Kickstarter – The Spectrum Next will have between 8,000 and 9,000 users.

Lets Dream a little and imagine a Bright world where all the users have a Super LED Blinkenator 2000 installed….

9000 users = nearly 40,000 inserts to be made!.

lets say just 10% want the blinkenator, I still have to make nearly 1000 of the things.

I’ve been researching a little and identifying bottlenecks to SUCCESSFULLY produce and deliver my board in those quantities

There’s some scary numbers!

So, I’m now pressing forward with TWO designs. one design, the one you’re all familiar with, suitable for small time production in small batches here and there on my weekends, only ever endeavouring to sell maybe a 150 units ever

and the second, a ‘mass produced’ item that requires minimal ‘hands on’ time from me to deliver, but will require some significant outlay up front.

The pictures above are a first run result of my Design For Manufacture for the inserts….A different injection mould, possibly 2 parts, maybe 1 and using a flexible PCB!

some key notes……..

Advantage – no connector soldering needed on my part – currently I’m soldering 16 cheap ‘bridges’ to each main board. with this insert, someone will be soldering 8 SMT FPC style connectors

Advantage – it’s likely that this design will be easier to make ‘injection moulding’ manufacturable. the existing design is tricky, but not impossible

Advantage – FPC connectors are a bit more reliable and easier to use than my bridges for the end user

Advantage – FPC / flexible PCB ‘legs’ on the inserts will mean a little bit easier installation by the end user

Advantage – Uniformity of Light – This type of construction allows for a much thicker ‘top layer’ – which will diffuse the light far more. Also, more of the insert will be better lit up ‘from below’ rather than from the side that i’m currently doing.

Disadvantage – FPC connectors are more expensive

Disadvantage – Flexible PCB’s are more fragile

Disadvantage – Flexible PCB’s are more expensive than FR4 for small quantities, so prototyping ability is very limited. at The quantities I need though, there’s not that much difference

There’s more i’m sure, once the final numbers are ready, I can see if a kickstarter makes sense, it may not be financially viable if the whole thing needs to be sold at £80 each……

if I can get closer to that £50 mark, then who knows!