Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast

In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, Stephen and Lucy dive into the intricate process of deciding what to work on next. They explore the challenge of prioritizing tasks in a landscape where everything seems important, while sharing insights on how to navigate this complexity within the framework of a company's structure. They emphasize the significance of customer feedback a...

In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, Stephen and Lucy talk about what it’s really like to advertise in the open hardware world. From running social media ads to trying out print campaigns, they share what worked, what didn’t, and what they learned along the way. They touch on things like figuring out who your audience actually is, why selling machines like the Lumen pick and...

In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, Stephen and Lucy talk about the role education plays in engineering and open hardware. They share their own experiences, what they gained from pursuing degrees, what they learned outside of school, and how both shaped their careers. They get into the cost of formal education, the value of personal projects, and the lessons that only come...

This week on the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, Thea and Lucy talk about what collaboration really looks like in open source hardware. They share how they each found their way into the open source world, with stories ranging from building Nerf blasters to creating massive community-driven projects, like Nox or the LumenPnP . The conversation touches on different ways people come together to...

In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, Stephen and Lucy explore the complex world of product certification, an essential yet often intimidating part of bringing hardware to market. They discuss the details of obtaining certifications like FCC and CE, sharing their experiences and insights from the certification process of the Lumen PMP V4. Addressing the challenges of navigati...

In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, we explore the concept of the "bus test", a critical measure of an organization's knowledge sharing and resilience to sudden, unexpected change. Join Stephen and Lucy as they discuss the implications of team members being suddenly unavailable and how to prepare for such scenarios. Drawing from personal experiences and recent challenges, t...

In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, we explore the influential media that has shaped our journeys as engineers and entrepreneurs. Join Stephen and Thea as they dive into the books, documentaries, and creators that have left a lasting impact on their careers. From the lessons learned in the world of open source hardware to the entrepreneurial spirit ignited by unexpected sou...

In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, we tackle the daunting yet exhilarating journey of starting a hardware company. Join Stephen and Lucian as they share their insights and experiences, breaking down the essential steps to kickstart your venture. From embracing failure to navigating imposter syndrome, this episode is packed with valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs....

In this episode of the OHM Podcast, We explore the critical phases of product development: Engineering Validation Test (EVT), Design Validation Test (DVT), and Production Validation Test (PVT). We discuss the importance of each phase in transforming a bare-bones concept into a market-ready product and emphasize the need for structured validation processes to ensure that products meet their intende...

In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, we dive into keeping sales up while managing production demands. This is an "unofficial part 2" to the last episode, where we discuss keeping up with orders . From the importance of understanding your customer demographics to the delicate balance of marketing channels, we share our experiences and lessons learned along the way. Whether yo...

Keeping up with orders is an underrepresented problem that has been intrinsically tricky for us to solve. We cover everything from keeping lead times down and managing orders in the queue to avoiding stockouts and using stock management tools. This can be one of the most challenging aspects of manufacturing, and we have spent significant time figuring out what works best. We hope you enjoy! Note:...

Join Stephen and Lucian as they wrap up this year by giving a year-end review of the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2024. From Prusa closing their source to FreeCAD 1.0 squeaking in at the last minute, they cover quite a bit while enjoying the memories. We can't thank all of you enough for a very successful 2024, and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year. Happy Holidays! Here is the li...

Managing a print farm may seem like it shouldn't be that complicated. It is tricky in ways you wouldn't expect, and it certainly comes with some life lessons! From choosing the right printer to optimizing filament and settings, we share our journey and lessons learned in building an efficient 3D printing farm. Whether you're running a single 3D printer or managing a fleet, this episode is packed w...

Join Stephen and Lucian on an exciting episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast as they chat with Bar Smith, the innovative mind behind the Maslow CNC. We hope you enjoy this talk about the world of open-source hardware and community building as Bar shares his journey from a random thought to creating a revolutionary CNC router, the Maslow 4.1. You will learn about the struggles of devel...

Writing documentation is like a Greek tragedy, where you are both the best and worst person to write your own docs. In this episode, Stephen and Lucian dive deep into the art of creating effective documentation for open hardware products. Join us as we explore the balance between text and images, the downsides of video documentation, and the ever-evolving nature of keeping your docs up-to-date. Wh...

Surprisingly, there are many other reasons why an event can benefit a company besides selling units at your booth. From making industry connections to gauging what your customer demographic wants, it can be a great place to gather data that could help you shape your company's direction. In this episode, Stephen and Lucian tell you about the trade show that opened their eyes to the fact that people...

Packaging requires considering what you might need in the future, which is not as easy as you think. You don't want to bottleneck your future products because they won't fit in the packaging, nor do you want to buy all new packaging for every change you make. You'd be surprised by some of the design choices made in the name of packaging.  Did I forget to mention that a horse kicked, bit, and...

Finding the right way to offer customer support can be tricky. You can't run everything yourself forever if you intend to continue your growth. There are so many ways this can go wrong, so make sure to take the time to plan this out as best as possible before you dive in. In this episode, we will dive deep into how we handled building our support team and the hurdles that came with it. -----------...

It's here! The LumenPnP V4 is finally here , and we wanted to share some of our design decisions and explain why we made some of the choices we did. From wants to necessity, it wasn't easy. It took years of feedback, but we couldn't be happier with what has come from all of it. We wouldn't be where we are without the help of our community and the hard work they put into this as well. Thank you! To...

You did it! You worked hard to prepare everything for launch day, but now it is time to put it all into action. Take what you have learned from the last two episodes and prepare for one of the most fun and stressful days you will ever have. Stephen and Lucian have experienced their fair share of ups and downs with different launch days and are ready to share their best practices with you. If you t...

As we gear up for launch day, listen to the conclusion of Preparing for Launch. (If you haven't listened to Part 1, we highly recommend doing so before diving into this episode!) Stephen and Lucian will cover topics like internal work instructions, setting up your PLM software, press kits, and so much more. This is really fun to talk about because we are also in the middle of this right now. It's...

What actually goes into launching a hardware product? What can be worked on in advance, and what has to be perfectly timed with the launch date? We'll explore how to structure the necessary planning and share some of the things we have learned through multiple launches we have done ourselves. There is so much to unpack here that we had to break up this episode into two parts! Do you have any...

What does it mean to license something in a way that works for you and your project? Does this fall under copyright or a patent? (The answer may surprise you!) The president of the Open Source Hardware Association, Thea Flowers, stopped by to school us on open hardware licensing, and it was much needed. We start by going over the scope of permissivity regarding licenses, beginning with the most op...

It is challenging to succeed with open hardware while keeping it sustainable and still making enough money to pay the bills. But there are ways to do it! In this episode, we dive into how you can succeed in doing open hardware. Plus, we talk about how vastly different open hardware is compared to open software. Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io...

Pricing your product can be a daunting task. Set the price too high, and you risk alienating potential customers. Set it too low, and you may find yourself struggling to sustain your business. While there's no "one-size-fits-all" formula, our experience in this field has given us some perspective on how to approach it! Adafruit Blog Post: https://learn.adafruit.com/how-to-build-a-hardware-startup/...