I may have missed it, but I'm wondering what the MOQ for the laptop parts is. Probably larger than 83.
Good question. I don't know either. But in the past
@lkcl said something like the most critical part was the PCMCIA socket. So it looked like the rest of the components had lower MOQs than 250.
Are they lower than 83 ? No idea. On the one hand you typically think yes, laptop parts are going to have high MOQs.
Then you look at the design and find the most likely to have high MOQ in any laptop is the case, but in this design its 3D printed and plywood, so not very much cheaper by the 100s than one alone.
Then there are the PCBs, those might be more expensive at lower volume, I don't know. Since
there are some 428 computer cards that also have PCBs maybe manufacturing a lot of different PCBs, even at different quantities, can be cheaper than any one of them ?
Keyboard, screen and trackpad and I guess cables and USB connectors can be got for laptop repair in small quantities, I don't know about the price difference at volume.
Maybe the price offered already already counts small volumes, that's why it seems high.
The battery is from electrical bicycle. I guess they sell replacement batteries so it can also be got at low volumes ?
Then there's assembly, but at just 14 assembled laptops, worse case
@lkcl could do it himself or something (and at 635$ per assembly it can possibly still be outsourced even for 14?).
So not at all sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if 83 was doable for this particular laptop. It's very different from the Pyra.
Edit: I forgot
one of the updates. It seems the MOQ for the laptop parts is 250. But if the cards reach 500 then they could bring savings that might cover the loses of producing only 140 laptops instead of 250.
Now there are 411 computer cards + 33 passthrough cards (not sure if they can be added) and 84 laptops.
in 53 days. If I extrapolate linearly (i.e. badly, specially since some options have been there for less than 53 days) it gives one should expect 11 more laptops, 54 more computer cards, and 4 more passthrough cards in the remaining 7 days. That'd be 95 laptops instead of 140 or 250, 465 (+ 37 ?) instead of 500 or 250 cards. I don't know if they were counting the 1340$ in "I love you" donations, but even if you add those, and assume you can save 2800$ when you reach 500 instead of 250 cards, you're $200 in the red after unhealthy dosis of optimism... It seems maybe it is very close as @opon4 said. They need 10 or (more likely) 50 more laptops above the current pace.
.)
