Weekly update 9

Hi! Here another weekly update. Like every week, there is a lot going on but here are the highlights of this week.

Woodwork

I'm currently working on the CNC machine to finish the wood. I'm now at approximately 75%. The oak is done and about half of the walnut is finished. In the coming evenings I will finish the rest.

Last week however, there were some issues which caused some of the parts to fail (mainly the walnut but also some oak parts might have been affected). This problem is now fixed but because of this I might have to order some new wood parts and redo them.

The woodwork I finished in one day (yesterday)

PCBs

The SMD parts of the motherboards are all soldered and next up are the through hole parts (for example the USB and MIDI ports). This should not take very long so I should be able to finish this this week.

After that the main boards with the controls (faders, knobs and buttons) are up. I'm still waiting for the slide potentiometers but I can start with the rotary potentiometers since I half of them are already in.

Panels and potentiometers

I'm currently in a bit of a fight with UPS who are handling the panels and the second half of the rotary potentiometers.

The panels are in transit but apparently the delivery guy couldn't be bothered. I stayed home for the delivery at the agreed time (and made sure someone always was there at the other times) but he didn't show up. UPS said they've been at the door multiple times and they tried to reach me but I know for a fact that that's not true. At some point they informed the factory that I was never home and unreachable and they will send the package back to China.

Luckily I was able to reach UPS (which is also not an easy task) and because of Easter they now will deliver the panels on Tuesday the 19th (they were supposed to arrive on the 7th!).

I hoped the panels would come in sooner because I need to make some changes to have the potentiometers fit (this was planned because it would be more expensive to have the factory do this and I can easily do this myself).

The rotary potentiometers are currently at customs and also handled by UPS so I'm worried the same thing will happen. I will try to keep an eye on the tracking status.

The slide potentiometers should come in next week (as was already known).

Software

The tool and the firmware is finished but still needs proper testing. This is something that should not be taking lightly. The product has been alpha tested but I am meeting a friend next week to test the MIDI OUT and see if we can find any unknown bugs. Even though I can always release a firmware update later, the product should ship without bugs.

The MIDI remote script will be released after shipping but the firmware will be prepared for this so you won't need to upgrade to use it.

Packaging

The packaging company was a bit slow and only sent me the punch model (not sure if that's the correct translation) for me to add the design to last week. I sent it back immediately and they should now start production (for real).

Conclusion

The last parts should come in next week. Even though it's a bit of a bummer that the panels are taking this long I'm glad at least they are not being sent back which would cause for an even longer delay (and more costs).

Next week I can start updating the panels and start assembling the controllers.

Planning

As soon as all the parts are in, I will make the detailed planning for production. I will then be possible to give a more exact time-frame of shipping!

I wish everyone who celebrates this a happy Easter and will be back in touch next week!

Cheers!

Koen