Some personal stuff - and prototypes building!

[AnimatedFreak]

Those pictures makes me so excited for the Pyra! I can barely wait for when they are ready to go into mass production.

 

[matzesu]

Is it just me, or does it seem a little unfair / unrepresentative to still call them prototypes at this point? More like alpha-release or release candidates if anything.

Its not from the Massproduktion Run, its partly hand fixed (the Coil for the USB Charging), and hand assembled by the CEO of Dragonbox, the EvilDragon himself, so they are Prototyphs,

Our Massproduktion Units will be made by Global Components, by some workers (Minions) that maybe dosnt know what they assemple..

 

[Hans Alin]

Spoiler

Somewhere buried in the last news thread I've already made a small status update post, but here's a proper, more thorough information and a bunch of pictures, as I'll document the prototype building process very thoroughly.

Well, the current delay in prototypes building can be blamed on me - not any company or anyone else.
I've had a few rough weeks. First a colleague with whom I've worked for 20 years now has suddenly died due to a heart attack - then I catched a cold (maybe even the flu)... and while I'm usually recovering within 2 - 3 days, this time, it took more than 2 weeks until I fully recovered.
I tried to work on the prototypes - but literally fell asleep in front of them, which wasn't helpful

Maybe it was also a small burnout, who knows. But I guess it was all just a bit too much. A lot of work, death of a colleague which also leads to some demotivation, flu season... all that added up and took its toll.

Anyways, I gave myself some time to recover, as it won't help ANYONE if I continue working in Zombie mode, and it seems like I've fully recovered now, as I'm feeling fine and FINALLY started to work on the prototypes this weekend!

I hope you can understand that

Now, onto the important stuff: The news!

1. The cases

While the new company has already done some tweaks and design changes, they didn't have too much time as they had a huge project by one of their biggest customers which had to be done within a timeframe. They already told me that when I was visiting.
Well, the deadline for that ended last Friday - which means that they can now fully work on the Pyra case.
I can't wait to see the fixes they'll do


2. Small change for the keymats

The manufacturer of the keymats ran into an unexpected small issue while doing the mass production run: It was nigh impossible to prevent visible air bubbles inside the glue when attaching the keycaps.

That's why they're changing the design of the plastic caps so that they will stay affixed on top of the mat without glue.
Everything else stays the same. As soon as I know more, I'll let you know.


3. Prototype building

Finally, long overdue, the prototypes are being assembled by me.
And while I won't do a video (as such a setup is too complex and just hinders the assembly), I'll do a LOT of pictures for you to enjoy, basically a step-by-step guide on how the units are assembled!

I will post these pics here in this thread and will try to update it daily, as I continue to assemble the prototypes.

First some pictures which don't have anything to do directly with the assembling of the prototypes:
One resistor had a wrong value and needed to be replaced. Does anyone remember how MWeston had to replace over 400 resistors to fix Wifi on the first-built Pandoras...?

Yeah, we had something similar - though luckily, we noticed it before the mass production. This wrong resistor value limited the power input of the USB port to 1.5A - which caused a slower charging.

View attachment 32324
The resistor is REALLY small. The second one from the left in front of the small chip needs to be replaced. And yes, that's a Micro-SD Card to show the size
Fun fact: The third resistor from the left is actually 90° rotated. That's from the pick and place machine It sometimes happens and is the case on multiple PCBs. That's not a problem though, just a fun fact.
View attachment 32325 View attachment 32326

Here are two pictures of the desoldered resistor.

View attachment 32327 View attachment 32328

And here's the result: The new capacitor is in there. And my index finger once again shows how small those resistors are.

View attachment 32329 View attachment 32330

Well, these boards have all been modified - so let's start to turn these little ones into prototypes this week, right?

Now, let's start with the real assembly!

The Lid

The first thing that needs to be assembled is the lid.

View attachment 32331

Let's start with a sheet of bumpers and a bunch of LCD PCBs.

View attachment 32332 View attachment 32333

These rubber bumpers are being sticked on the PCBs.
There are two reasons we're doing this with bumpers and not directly inside the plastic:

1. You would see marks on the outer side of the lid if this would be done inside the plastics, which we want to prevent.
2. When you push too hard with the stylus onto the touchscreen, the soft rubber will cushion that a bit and prevent damage.

BTW: The mass production LCD PCBs will look a bit simpler. The solder pads for the once-planned rotator chip will be gone as well as the ones for the other display we looked into. The 0R resistors in the middle of the rotator chip area will also be gone.

Next, we'll need the LCDs.

View attachment 32334
They come on trays - these are actually LCDs from the mass production batch, no prototypes anymore.

Now we'll connect the LCDs to the LCD PCBs:

View attachment 32335 View attachment 32336

Simply plugging in the small connector...

View attachment 32337 View attachment 32338

... and simply wrapping the flex cable around the PCB, so that the LCD is in front of the LCD PCB.

View attachment 32339 View attachment 32340

Connecting the touchscreen - and then we're done

View attachment 32341

Now, here's a bunch of magnets. I've got two different sizes, as I need to test which ones are strong enough to reliably trigger the lid switch. These are some neat NeoDym-Magnets.

View attachment 32342 View attachment 32343

Here they are, glued to the case.

View attachment 32344
And a bunch of transparent cases with magnets - hard to see, due to the transparency, eh?

View attachment 32345 View attachment 32346 View attachment 32347

Next step: Putting the pre-assembled LCDs with the PCB into the case. We need to lift the protective foil a bit and put it in front of the case - otherwise, you could have a hard time removing it once the unit is assembled (as the foil would be below the bezel...)

View attachment 32348 View attachment 32349

Now it's time to connect the LCD cable.

View attachment 32350

And here we are - 10 almost-finished lids!
Now we only need to roll the cable and put the backside of the lid on.

I couldn't do this today, as I noticed that I don't have the metal logo plates here (they're in the office, and I*m at home). While these will be glued in by the factory for the mass production, I need to do this myself for the prototypes.

I'll continue the assembly and picture posting tomorrow - so stay tuned for updates here at this thread

And sorry again for the delay - I really needed a bit of time to recover from all the stuff that happened. I'm only a dragon like everyone else

Hi, I've written to you earlier via contact, My name is Hans Alin, and I will come to Ingolstat the second week of April, is there any possibility for me to buy a Pyra of you then, I ordered a Pandora by Craig for ten years ago, without getting it, but I still want a Pyra, but I want to get it out of your hand and I pay cash.
[doublepost=1552315021,1552314967][/doublepost]Hi, I've written to you earlier via contact, My name is Hans Alin, and I will come to Ingolstat the second week of April, there is no possibility for me to buy a Pyra of you then, I ordered a Pandora by Craig for ten years ago, without getting it, but I still want a Pyra, but I want to get it out of your hand and I pay cash.

 

[ZXDunny]

Should'a gotten the flu shot.
Know what boosts your immune system and makes you more resistant to the flu? The flu shot.

I had the 'flu shot - and went down with diagnosed influenza, as did a LOT of people in our area. Why? The estimated the wrong strain to vaccinate against this year. Sometimes, and I cannot stress strongly enough that only the 'flu shot is affected by this, the vaccine just doesn't work.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. But I'm glad you're feeling better!

 

[rygD]

I got no flu shot (doctor advised against it since I am allergic to something in it) and got no flu.

Hit or miss

 

[levi]

I will come to Ingolstat the second week of April, there is any possibility for me to buy a Pyra of you then

You're feeling confident, if you are booking travel especially for this and are sure it'll be ready to buy in just over a month from now.

Edit: Quotefu fail

 

[Djoga'Ro]

From flu shots I tend to get an influenzal infection (not influenza). Then, from real influenza you can get a permanent heart condition. This far, I'd be undecided. It gets decided in the end by I don't like needles.

 

[Grench]

Hi, I've written to you earlier via contact, My name is Hans Alin, and I will come to Ingolstat the second week of April, is there any possibility for me to buy a Pyra of you then, I ordered a Pandora by Craig for ten years ago, without getting it, but I still want a Pyra, but I want to get it out of your hand and I pay cash.

That is very unlikely. There are roughly 1000+ pre-orders in front of your request and there are still steps to be done prior to mass production. I.e. there is a long line of us in front of you for now.

The Pyras being assembled above are hand built prototypes for software developers and eight individuals who coughed up roughly $1700 (including shipping), each, up front, over 3 years ago. (Full disclosure - I'm the number eight of those individuals.)

If you're wanting to walk up to ED, hand him a fist full of Euros and walk out the door with a Pyra, that moment is still a ways off. BUT - it is getting much closer. Those pictures are actual Pyra pieces being assembled into units that, at least some of, may be going out to customers. That is a huge step forward IMHO.

 

[TeDaDeS]

Good news that ED has taken a rest and again some progress was made on the Pyra, sad news that the colleague past away .

Might 2019 be the year that there is a production prototype at Gamescom?

 

[Jumpman]

Hey ED, don't feel bad about being under the weather, as it happens to the best of us, and just like you, sometimes it's quick and easy, and then sometimes long and drawn out. I was sick a month or so ago, and it was mostly gone within a few days, but I kept having an issue with my throat that never went away, then I finally went in to see the pros and I had a virus, who knew? Got the proper meds, and was good until yesterday, when past issue sprung back up, but I seem to be doing OK today, so fingers crossed I'm finally done with this shit.

BTW, great update and thanks!

Chris

 

[rSl]

sincere condolences go out to your colleague and the family he or she may have left behind.

2nd that.

good you feel better now, first proto-shots are looking nice!

 

[Swordfish II]

Hi, I've written to you earlier via contact, My name is Hans Alin, and I will come to Ingolstat the second week of April, is there any possibility for me to buy a Pyra of you then, I ordered a Pandora by Craig for ten years ago, without getting it, but I still want a Pyra, but I want to get it out of your hand and I pay cash.

They aren't produced yet

 

[WizardStan]

Sometimes, and I cannot stress strongly enough that only the 'flu shot is affected by this, the vaccine just doesn't work.

Hey. your immune system still got a boost, it was just for the wrong virus. You may have still gotten sick but you are literally stronger for having had it than not.

 

[comradekingu]

Does that mean one can move keys around on the layout? Buy many keymats and have all "A"-letters?

 

[Grench]

Does that mean one can move keys around on the layout? Buy many keymats and have all "A"-letters? View attachment 32351

I don't think so. If I understand it correctly, the key symbols are printed directly on the silicone layer. This is just referencing an issue with the application of the clear gel caps over the top of it. I think that the caps are used for a better key feel and to keep the symbols from wearing off. Apparently they were getting some bubbles in the original adhesive being used.

 

[levi]

Yeah, the letter is printed through the key, like a stick of rock, so that the backlight shows through properly. On top of that there's just the clear plastic cap.

I'm interested in how they're planning to affix the caps without using any glue at all. Maybe they're already a close enough fit that contact fit is good enough, or maybe they're going to modify the caps to have a small lip.

 

[docbroke]

I think once the keymat is in place glue is probably not needed. But fitting keymat with loose caps would be nightmare.
[doublepost=1552369506,1552365071][/doublepost]

1. The cases

While the new company has already done some tweaks and design changes

What is changed/tweaked in case design ?

 

[matzesu]

The Cases got some pegs to hold the PCB in place while they get assembled: On the Prototyphes, the PCB also stays in place when everything is assembled, but you need more time to assemble it correktly because if the PCB isnt in Place, some buttons dotnt work (like the Shoulderbuttons)..
And maybe there are also some other changes, but nothing that need new moulds..
Good to hear that they working on the Moulds, thats means they wants to make progress

 

[Xcl4m4t10n]

So sorry for your loss ED. It's hard to surpass this kind of things so my best wishes for you and his family.