Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast

Keeping up with orders is an underrepresented problem that has been intrinsically tricky for us to solve. We cover everything from keeping lead times down and managing orders in the queue to avoiding stockouts and using stock management tools. This can be one of the most challenging aspects of manufacturing, and we have spent significant time figuring out what works best. We hope you enjoy!Note: To find out more about the FTC rule that was mentioned: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/business-guide-ftcs-mail-internet-or-telephone-order-merchandise-ruleNote: Link to the speedrunning site that was mentioned: https://one.livesplit.org/----------------------------------Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io. We'd love to hear from you!To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.ioTo see everything else we do, including social media, check out Opulo.start.pageO.H.M. Podcast Merch is now here!Intro song:Complicate Ya - Otis McDonald (Creative Commons Attribution License)Ad song:Forever Young - Otis McDonald (Creative Commons Attribution License) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Managing a print farm may seem like it shouldn't be that complicated. It is tricky in ways you wouldn't expect, and it certainly comes with some life lessons!From choosing the right printer to optimizing filament and settings, we share our journey and lessons learned in building an efficient 3D printing farm.Whether you're running a single 3D printer or managing a fleet, this episode is packed with practical advice to save you time, money, and frustration.YouTube video about the print farm manager Stephen made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHku1zc3RQs----------------------------------Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io. We'd love to hear from you!To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.ioTo see everything else we do, including social media, check out Opulo.start.pageO.H.M. Podcast Merch is now here!Intro song:Complicate Ya - Otis McDonald (Creative Commons Attribution License)Ad song:Forever Young - Otis McDonald (Creative Commons Attribution License) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writing documentation is like a Greek tragedy, where you are both the best and worst person to write your own docs. In this episode, Stephen and Lucian dive deep into the art of creating effective documentation for open hardware products.Join us as we explore the balance between text and images, the downsides of video documentation, and the ever-evolving nature of keeping your docs up-to-date. Whether you're a seasoned doc writer or just getting started, you'll find valuable insights and practical tips to enhance your documentation process.Mentioned in this episode:Bill Hader - "when they tell you what's wrong they're usually right, when they tell you how to fix it they're usually wrong"Googles Style Guide Thea Flowers beautiful example of great documentation----------------------------------Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io. We'd love to hear from you!To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.ioTo see everything else we do, including social media, check out Opulo.start.pageO.H.M. Podcast Merch is now here!Intro song:Complicate Ya - Otis McDonald (Creative Commons Attribution License) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Packaging requires considering what you might need in the future, which is not as easy as you think. You don't want to bottleneck your future products because they won't fit in the packaging, nor do you want to buy all new packaging for every change you make. You'd be surprised by some of the design choices made in the name of packaging. Did I forget to mention that a horse kicked, bit, and stomped a LumenPnP? You never know what your packaging might go up against.YouTube video we did about packaging a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku4Wvu6LsrU----------------------------------Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io. We'd love to hear from you!To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.ioTo see everything else we do, including social media, check out Opulo.start.pageO.H.M. Podcast Merch is now here!Intro song:Complicate Ya - Otis McDonald (Creative Commons Attribution License) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's here! The LumenPnP V4 is finally here, and we wanted to share some of our design decisions and explain why we made some of the choices we did. From wants to necessity, it wasn't easy. It took years of feedback, but we couldn't be happier with what has come from all of it. We wouldn't be where we are without the help of our community and the hard work they put into this as well. Thank you!To learn more about the brand new LumenPnP V4.0: Opulo.io ----------------------------------Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io. We'd love to hear from you!To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.ioTo see everything else we do, including social media, check out Opulo.start.pageO.H.M. Podcast Merch is now here!Intro song:Complicate Ya - Otis McDonald (Creative Commons Attribution License) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we gear up for launch day, listen to the conclusion of Preparing for Launch. (If you haven't listened to Part 1, we highly recommend doing so before diving into this episode!) Stephen and Lucian will cover topics like internal work instructions, setting up your PLM software, press kits, and so much more. This is really fun to talk about because we are also in the middle of this right now. It's been fun and quite meta. We hope you enjoy this episode!Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io. We'd love to hear from you!To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.ioTo see everything else we do, including social media, check out Opulo.start.pageO.H.M. Podcast Merch is now here!Intro song:Complicate Ya - Otis McDonald (Creative Commons Attribution License) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to license something in a way that works for you and your project? Does this fall under copyright or a patent? (The answer may surprise you!)The president of the Open Source Hardware Association, Thea Flowers, stopped by to school us on open hardware licensing, and it was much needed. We start by going over the scope of permissivity regarding licenses, beginning with the most open type of license available and progressing from there. There is a lot to unpack here, so get ready to get educated!Links for things mentioned in this episodechoosealicense.comTLDRLegalCC Friendly LawyersDo you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io. We'd love to hear from you!To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.ioTo see everything else we do, including social media, check out Opulo.start.pageO.H.M. Podcast Merch is now here!Intro song:Complicate Ya - Otis McDonald (Creative Commons Attribution License) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pricing your product can be a daunting task. Set the price too high, and you risk alienating potential customers. Set it too low, and you may find yourself struggling to sustain your business. While there's no "one-size-fits-all" formula, our experience in this field has given us some perspective on how to approach it!Adafruit Blog Post: https://learn.adafruit.com/how-to-build-a-hardware-startup/pricing-your-productAlso, Stephen was super wrong in this episode: DRM is not "Digitally Restricted Media" but instead "Digital Rights Management"!Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io. We'd love to hear from you!To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.ioTo see everything else we do, including social media, check out Opulo.start.pageO.H.M. Podcast Merch is now here!Intro song:Complicate Ya - Otis McDonald (Creative Commons Attribution License) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.