The Contextual Electronics Podcast

CEP010 – Low Volume and Low Cost with Timon Skerutsch


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Welcome, Timon Skerutsch (@timonsku)!
Show notes
  • Timon and Chris know each other from Twitter and from past Hackaday events (Timon won one of the Hackaday Prize awards for his Linux Tablet)
  • Timon has been doing experiments with the recently released Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 (CM4)
  • This includes creating a carrier board using an Othermill circuit board router
  • This also led to the creation of the Piunora, a Rasberry Pi in the shape of an Arduino Uno.
  • Interested in getting a Piunora? Sign up here for the mailing list (general) and sign up here for the Crowdfunding campaign
  • His dayjob is working on a technical exhibitions, such as museum exhibits and trade fairs.
  • He is the only person there, so there are limited mentorship opportunities
  • He is mostly self taught
  • The low volume nature of technical exhibitions means Timon has had to reduce costs without volume
  • Bunnie Huang‘s book
    • Chris thought it was the Shenzhen Guide (it was not what Timon meant)
    • The Hardware Hacker: Adventures in making and breaking hardware
    • When finding a manufacturer, it’s important to build relationships
    • Reducing cost means that you might need to move outside “western” manufacturers
    • It’s easier to find alternative suppliers using sites like LCSC or Alibaba
    • Import costs can be high if manufacturing in China
    • The rough ABC Bill of Materials (BOM) discussed during this episode
    • The ABC Rev A Schematic is available on the course site now
    • “It’s often about finding the right keyword for the components you’re searching for”
    • Selling a “pro” and a “lite” version can offer the board at a lower price for people that don’t care about every feature.
    • Check out Timon’s youtube
    • Timon helps out with and participates on the Maker Cast, a monthly show that highlights different people on YouTube who make things and discuss them.
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