Poetry Camera production update: First test assembly complete
Comparing plastics suppliers and dealing with warping
In our last update, we described all the design changes we made to make the camera easier to assemble and use.
Now, we just got our plastics samples and new circuit boards in! And we’re here to put them to the test.
We intended to only work with one supplier for plastics production, but a second supplier (with the highest quote) was so eager to work with us that they made and sent us a free sample.
Our previous prototypes all used 3D printing because we were still iterating on the design and needed to quickly produce individual prototypes.
We had optimized the design simultaneously for 3d printing (a low-volume production method, but not perfectly smooth surfaces) and for injection molding (a high-volume production method with smooth surfaces) so it would look as polished as possible with minimal artifacts. But there were still some bumpy little areas at the top of the camera that are signature traces of 3d printing:
We love how both suppliers’ parts feel like a step up from 3d printing…. but Supplier 2, trying to impress us, of course delivered a much better result. Better colors, better fit.
Supplier 1, by comparison, had a lot of tolerance and quality control issues. Warping; stuck buttons; inconsistent sizes across front and back. We’re following up with feedback, but it’s unlikely we’ll work with them again.
We also received our new revision of PCBs, featuring Susan Kare’s Poetry Camera icon on all of them!
We expected to find mis-measurements when putting everything together for the first time, and… we did!
Here’s one example — the new knob component we selected was a bit taller than we expected, which means it can’t properly connect to the other components. So we’ll need to make a bunch of micro-adjustments to get everything working for the next batch.
Next up, we’re:
1. Making adjustments to the enclosure design & circuit boards
2. Ordering a new batch of plastics from Supplier 2
3. Ordering more circuit boards & other components
4. Preparing for our next assembly in August
5. Working on getting the full new-camera firmware up and running
More soon!