I kept meaning to write this for quite a while, and I kept not getting to it. Ugh!
Anyway, a handful of people keep asking me, like, what needs to happen between now and when? And when am I going to do what? So I figured I'd better write out my checklist of what's between here and there. Basically, I'm splitting this up into four major milestones:
What needs to happen before crowdfunding ends?
- I'd like to get a final firmware update to a few early testers that has a representative UI that they can mess with and make some videos with.
What needs to happen before I order boards?
- Money needs to come in from Crowd Supply.
- There are a few changes left to X1P-002's schematic and layout that I need to make -- mostly, a few stability changes to the voltage regulator, and a few value changes to the overcurrent protection circuit.
- I need to validate using the GPIO on LAN9514 to reset RP2040.
- I need to quickly prove out in some early firmware that x1plusd can talk to RP2040, through a LAN9514, on a real printer. It doesn't have to support everything but it does have to work at least a little bit.
- I'd like engineering samples of the X1P-001-A03 cables to come back. That would be nice.
What happens between ordering boards and getting boards?
- Finalize SLS plastics -- do a sample order, and then order in volume.
- I need to fab out and check out X1P-003, the manufacturing test jig. That can be quick-turn since there are just a few of them. Design and print plastics for the test jig, and then machine a few dowels to hold the boards.
- Production samples of boards need to come back so I can check them out. Then, I can P-release boards.
- P-release cables (should be shorter lead time than boards).
- Final RP2040 firmware gets written then against the production-sample boards.
- The lead time on boxes is short, but I definitely need to do art for the boxes, because man, all those converging lead times creep up on you!
- Will I have time to make a trip to Shenzhen? That would be nice!
What happens when I get boards?
- Pizza party at my house! If you live in the Bay Area, and you want pizza and beer, send me some e-mail, and we'll have an assembly party. There's going to be a bunch of work testing and labeling boxes, and stuffing packing peanuts. And petting Peanut.
- Ship a bunch of large boxes over to Mouser.
- Hopefully that will coincide with X1Plus release 2.1. If not, hurry the hell up before people get boards.
Huh, wow, that list was a lot shorter than I thought. Is this actually going to work out? Stay tuned...
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