# Ep. 6 - Research and Development

- Show: [Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast)
- Published: 2023-10-12
- Length: 57m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-10-12-ep-6-research-and-development
- Listen: https://shows.acast.com/ohm-podcast/episodes/research-and-development

## Summary

Steven Hawes and Lucian Chapar of Opulo discuss balancing R&D for new products with improvements to their existing Lumen pick-and-place machine. They introduce the 'onion of tolerance' concept, explaining how they prioritize features based on customer pain points, from assembly difficulty to the need for powered feeders. The hosts emphasize using Product Requirements Documents (PRDs) and customer interviews to make pragmatic decisions, such as rejecting a Core XY motion system in favor of their current configuration for better reliability and ease of setup. They also highlight the value of their open-source model, where community mods like linear rails informed official product upgrades.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-10-12-ep-6-research-and-development#t=0) Introduction: Balancing R&D and Existing Products
- [12:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-10-12-ep-6-research-and-development#t=738) The Onion of Tolerance and Prioritizing Pain Points
- [17:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-10-12-ep-6-research-and-development#t=1032) Design Inertia and Scale: Opulo vs. Apple and Formlabs
- [36:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-10-12-ep-6-research-and-development#t=2189) Using PRDs and First Principles to Evaluate Core XY
- [44:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-10-12-ep-6-research-and-development#t=2640) Leveraging Community Mods and Customer Feedback
- [51:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-10-12-ep-6-research-and-development#t=3091) Conclusion: Listening to Customers to Drive Decisions

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Opulo (company)
- Lumen (product)
- FreeCAD (tool)
- Apple (company)
- Formlabs (company)
- Voron (product)
- Bambu Labs (company)
- CNC Labs (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [A Benchtop Pick and Place with Stephen Hawes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2025-01-21-a-benchtop-pick-and-place-with-stephen-hawes) (The Amp Hour)
- [S7E19 Ryan Schoonmaker | How to Take A Structured Approach to Solving Engineering Problems](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2026-05-01-s7e19-ryan-schoonmaker-how-to-take-a-structured-approach-to-solving-engineering) (Being an Engineer)
- [111: With Great Power](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2024-05-01-111-with-great-power) (Thoroughly Considered)
- [DeepDive Analysis Series: SURVIVAL FRAMEWORK - NPI Survival using Kilimanjaro Takeaways (17m29s)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/npi-sherpa/2026-02-10-deepdive-analysis-series-survival-framework-npi-survival-using-kilimanjaro-takea) (NPI Sherpa)
- [Interview with Eric Ries - Transorted Testing Tachydidaxy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-08-21-interview-with-eric-ries-transorted-testing-tachydidaxy) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2023-10-12-ep-6-research-and-development. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast.