Whewwww, quite a while since I found the time to post something here - so sorry about that!
It's been pretty hectic and stressful times, a lot of organizational work is happening in the background (not only Pyra-related, as I also need to take care enough cash flows into our company as well, but a lot of that is Pyra-stuff too).
So, what's happened, what's the status, when will we ship?
This is probably what most of you are asking
Well, assembly has started - mostly Askarus was doing it, as I was still busy with organizing some things.
And...it totally reminded me of how we started with assembling the Pandora!
There are a lot of small things we need to fix. Cut some plastic rests here and there, and so on.
So it's a slow start, as expected (similar to the first assembly of the Pandora)
These are all things you don't realize when you build prototypes - but when you start mass production.
As soon as Covid-19 gets better, I'll need to go to Greece so we can discuss what issues we have left here.
The good thing is though: It just will be a bit more work to assemble the Pyras. It's nothing that will make it impossible to assemble them fully (which COULD'VE happened as well).
Also, the coating company needs to tweak the machines a bit, as there were quite a few parts that have a too thick coating on, so they can't be used.
But they're already working on the next batch.
So, are there any units assembled yet that can be shipped?
No - simply because we're doing it in a similar fashion to the Pandora:
First, we assemble the lids with the LCD, magnet, illuminated logo, displayboard and LCD Cable.
After that, we combine these with the base-keyboard part and put everything else in there (speaker, nubs, keymat).
Then the PCBs are being put in and finally, the backpart including the shoulder buttons is put on.
So we're NOT assembling unit after unit - but we take a larger batch (around 100 - 150 units) and then we're doing each step for all these and then the next step.
The reason for that is that you are a lot faster, when you're repeating the same thing over and over again. So while it will take longer, before the first machines ship, it will be faster in the end (trust me, we tried that already with the Pandora).
Another issue is space. With the Pandora, we had Craigs huge town hall where we could easily put 300 half-finished units on one large table... right, now, we're very limited and have to rearrange parts and half-finished units all the time. Which is pretty annoying.
It looks like I'll rent some small hall where we can do that. I've already found one for a decent price (200 EUR a month) and am just waiting for the confirmation.
Then we'll have our very own Pyra assembly space
The box design by traylorpark has been finished in the mean time and the boxes should arrive here in 2 - 3 weeks.
Everything else is already here... so let's hope we can ramp up assembly speed soon
So, again, I'm very sorry for not posting in a long time... but organization is just something that eats away your time. :/
It's been pretty hectic and stressful times, a lot of organizational work is happening in the background (not only Pyra-related, as I also need to take care enough cash flows into our company as well, but a lot of that is Pyra-stuff too).
So, what's happened, what's the status, when will we ship?
This is probably what most of you are asking
Well, assembly has started - mostly Askarus was doing it, as I was still busy with organizing some things.
And...it totally reminded me of how we started with assembling the Pandora!
There are a lot of small things we need to fix. Cut some plastic rests here and there, and so on.
So it's a slow start, as expected (similar to the first assembly of the Pandora
)These are all things you don't realize when you build prototypes - but when you start mass production.
As soon as Covid-19 gets better, I'll need to go to Greece so we can discuss what issues we have left here.
The good thing is though: It just will be a bit more work to assemble the Pyras. It's nothing that will make it impossible to assemble them fully (which COULD'VE happened as well).
Also, the coating company needs to tweak the machines a bit, as there were quite a few parts that have a too thick coating on, so they can't be used.
But they're already working on the next batch.
So, are there any units assembled yet that can be shipped?
No - simply because we're doing it in a similar fashion to the Pandora:
First, we assemble the lids with the LCD, magnet, illuminated logo, displayboard and LCD Cable.
After that, we combine these with the base-keyboard part and put everything else in there (speaker, nubs, keymat).
Then the PCBs are being put in and finally, the backpart including the shoulder buttons is put on.
So we're NOT assembling unit after unit - but we take a larger batch (around 100 - 150 units) and then we're doing each step for all these and then the next step.
The reason for that is that you are a lot faster, when you're repeating the same thing over and over again. So while it will take longer, before the first machines ship, it will be faster in the end (trust me, we tried that already with the Pandora).
Another issue is space. With the Pandora, we had Craigs huge town hall where we could easily put 300 half-finished units on one large table... right, now, we're very limited and have to rearrange parts and half-finished units all the time. Which is pretty annoying.
It looks like I'll rent some small hall where we can do that. I've already found one for a decent price (200 EUR a month) and am just waiting for the confirmation.
Then we'll have our very own Pyra assembly space
The box design by traylorpark has been finished in the mean time and the boxes should arrive here in 2 - 3 weeks.
Everything else is already here... so let's hope we can ramp up assembly speed soon
So, again, I'm very sorry for not posting in a long time... but organization is just something that eats away your time. :/
