Hardware Podcasts

Ep. 36 - Keeping Up With Orders

Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast · 24 Jan 2025 · 1h 10m

What this episode covers

Stephen Hawes and Lucian Chapa of Opulo discuss the operational challenges of keeping up with orders for their open-source hardware products, specifically the Lumen and feeder systems. They detail their in-house manufacturing process, explaining how they use dynamic lead times, labor allocation, and a custom Google Sheets dashboard to manage production queues and avoid stockouts. The episode highlights the trade-offs between hiring full-time staff versus using flexible part-time labor, and the importance of maintaining strong vendor relationships to mitigate supply chain risks.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Opulo
Products
Lumen
Tools
Shopify, Live Split One, Andy, Inventory

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Amp Hour · 58m

    What's In A Name?

    Dave Jones of EEV blog and Chris Gammell of Chris Gammell's Analog Life launch the first episode of The Amp Hour, discussing the nascent maker movement, the business models of open-source hardware companies like SparkFun and Adafruit, and the challenges of component sourcing. They analyze industry consolidation, the impact of major customers like Apple on supply chains, and the strategic use of low-cost development tools by companies such as Texas Instruments and Microchip to capture market share. The conversation highlights the trade-offs in engineering design, from BOM optimization to the realities of manufacturing in China versus local hand-assembly.

    Direct-to-consumer & e-commerceSourcing & supply chain
    8 chapters

  • The Amp Hour

    A Benchtop Pick and Place with Stephen Hawes

    Stephen Hawes, founder of Opulo, discusses the development and business of the Lumen Benchtop Pick and Place machine, an open-source device for low-to-medium volume PCB assembly. He explains how the company evolved from a garage prototype to a scaling operation, detailing the technical challenges of software integration with OpenPnP and the pragmatic decision to use Marlin firmware. Hawes also shares insights on manufacturing operations, the importance of dogfooding, and his experiments with making PCBs using fiber lasers.

    PCB design & layoutEmbedded firmware
    7 chapters

  • Thoroughly Considered · 29m

    21: The Way it Goes

    Tom Gerhardt and Dan Provost of Studio Neat discuss the year-long development and release of the Canopy, an iPad keyboard case, detailing the frustrations of sourcing materials and coordinating with Asian manufacturers. They also provide an update on the Glif, explaining the tension between finalizing production details and meeting holiday shipping deadlines. The conversation covers the challenges of domestic versus overseas manufacturing, the impact of media coverage on niche products, and the operational logistics of direct-to-consumer fulfillment.

    Manufacturing partners & offshoringScaling production
    6 chapters

  • Making It · 59m

    Episode 068: Love Handles and Bald Spots

    Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto discuss their current projects, including David's Ulu knife build and Bob's beehive house, while analyzing the significant delay in the Glowforge crowdfunding campaign. They explore the complexities of hardware manufacturing, the risks of relying on contract manufacturers, and the importance of quality over speed in delivering a prosumer laser cutter. The conversation also touches on the supportive nature of the YouTube maker community, contrasting it with traditional media competition, and offers advice on patents and everyday carry items.

    Crowdfunding & preordersIntellectual property
    6 chapters

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 09m

    AI Tooling with Matt Liberty and Luke Beno

    Matt Liberty of Joulescope and Luke Beno of Tundra Labs and Werewolf.us discuss building custom AI-driven ERP systems to manage small-scale hardware businesses. They detail how AI tools like Claude Code and OpenClaw automate firmware debugging, protocol analysis for Juki pick-and-place machines, and inventory tracking via DigiKey and Mouser APIs. The guests emphasize that while AI accelerates software and operational workflows, it currently struggles with hardware design, arguing that engineers must retain fundamental physical intuition to effectively guide and debug AI-generated code and designs.

    Embedded firmwareAI & machine learning
    8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.