The Amp Hour

An Interview with Ken Burns

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Welcome Ken Burns of TinyCircuits!

  • TinyCircuits is located in North East Ohio (NEO), in Akron.
  • Ken also attended the University of Akron
  • Decided to stay in the Midwest
  • Past guest Todd Bailey talked about going to a job for working with graybeards
  • Ken used to work for Avid, which was later bought by Avnet/E14.
  • Since it's a design shop, he got to try out different types of electronics.
  • This included learning the entire process and taking it to a CM.
  • Wireless HART developed by Rosemount (now Emerson), based on 802.15.4
  • MACtek made a PC based interface device for wireless HART
  • Dust networks bought by LT
  • The standard uses a negotiated time for when to wake up to save power.
  • Pepperl and Fuchs bought out Mactek
  • Decided to leave Avid to start a company
  • Wanted to make a smart sensor platform
  • This was late 2000s (2008), so Arduino was getting started
  • TinyDuino (and the other boards with the same form factor) is 20x20 mm
  • TinyCircuits have launched 3 kickstarters
  • Digispark was 2 months prior
  • This was early kickstarter days. His Kickstarter video recorded rough.
  • The stretch goal was to do mfg, inspired by companies like Dimension Engineering
  • Couldn't have done it otherwise because of the volumes being low per board
  • Kickstarter money worked as seed money
  • Design was done, but the manufacturing all the problem
  • Example system is a processor board + USB shield + GPS (for tracking cats)
  • Was in MAKE magazine for that kit
  • Everything is open source
  • Didn't need as many feeders as they got for the PNP machine.
  • Bought a used machine
  • Machine was from 1996
  • It had 80 feeders included and was bought with the reflow oven
  • All delivered for 25K
  • Juki
  • Started with 0402
  • Bought it from a company that was reputable
  • A month of tinkering to get it started
  • The bigger learning curve is making consistent product
  • "Paste is by far the most critical step in the process"
  • Yields started at 40%
  • Need to use fresh paste every time
  • Yield is 99% now
  • Dek 265 helped make things more consistent.  Got it a year after original stuff for $3K
  • They are now running with a Panasonic SP60
  • Got a new PNP 2 years ago, also from Juki.
  • New machines allows small runs or big runs
  • Allows testing of a lot of different products
  • It's gotten much cheaper to send it out than when they started.
  • Doing manufacturing allows you to do a higher mix, which might be cost prohibitive with sending out to a CM.
  • TinyCircuits has done some CM work where it makes sense. Ken says they're not going to offer ISO9001 or anything.
  • It makes sense if the customer wants something custom designed
  • Robotic golf caddy
  • Chris asked what customers are asking for at TInyCircuits.
  • Roadmap is higher end stuff
  • Whiskers are breakout sensors.
  • They are now funding on Kickstarter!
  • 5 pin input mux allows you to talk to different versions of the same sensor (up to 16)
  • Dealing with the Tariff
  • Selling batteries on digikey
  • "18650 is the biggest thing we sell on eBay"
  • Selling on digikey and mouser
  • Johnny 5 / firmata (used by past guest Jason Huggins)
  • Latest stuff supports circuit python
  • Little Bits sold to Sphero for unknown amount after raising $70M.
  • Working with group out of MIT
  • tinycircuits.com
  • They work out of the old Goodrich plant in Akron
    • ...more
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