317: What Do You Mean by Disintegrated? (Repeat)

Embedded.fm · 6 Oct 2022 · 1h 10m · Episode 317

What this episode covers

Lenore Edman and Windell Oskay of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories (EMSL) discuss their business model of creating high-success-rate hobby electronics kits, including the disintegrated 555 Timer and 741 Op-Amp kits, and the AxiDraw pen plotter. They explain that their design philosophy prioritizes the user's assembly experience, often refusing to sell complex products as kits if the process is too fiddly, such as with the EggBot Pro. The conversation also covers the evolution of PCB aesthetics, from colorful silkscreens to full-color flex PCBs like Kong Money, and the transition from gEDA to KiCad for open-source hardware design.

Mentioned

Companies
Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories
Products
disintegrated 555 Timer kit, 741 Op-Amp kit, AxiDraw, EggBot, Kong Money, Arduino Leonardo, Monster 6502, Mac Pro
Tools
gEDA, KiCad
Also
ElectroCookie, Eric Schlaepfer, Sher Minn, Josie Iselin, Ruth Kassinger, Jepson Herbarium, OSH Park, Boldport, iFixit

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