# 48: Assembly

- Show: [Thoroughly Considered](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered)
- Published: 2019-02-13
- Length: 52m
- Episode: 48
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2019-02-13-48-assembly
- Listen: http://relay.fm/tc/48

## Summary

Tom Gerhardt and Dan Provost of Studio Neat discuss the operational challenges of handling in-house assembly for products like the Mark One and Material Docs, noting that while they prioritize product quality over pure efficiency, the volume of assembly work is becoming a bottleneck for new product development. They explore the trade-offs of remaining a two-person shop versus hiring staff, highlighting the difficulty of finding reliable local help for sporadic, high-quality assembly tasks. The conversation concludes with a tech corner segment analyzing the trend of adding multiple lenses to smartphones for computational photography, debating whether this improves image quality or is merely a marketing gimmick.

## Chapters

- [0:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2019-02-13-48-assembly#t=8) Introduction: Studio Neat and the rise of hand assembly
- [1:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2019-02-13-48-assembly#t=74) The history of Studio Neat assembly: Glyphs to Mark One
- [4:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2019-02-13-48-assembly#t=270) The assembly bottleneck and quality assurance concerns
- [7:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2019-02-13-48-assembly#t=454) Designing for assembly and the cost of in-house work
- [14:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2019-02-13-48-assembly#t=860) The tension between assembly time and new product development
- [18:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2019-02-13-48-assembly#t=1092) Business structure: Two-person shop vs. hiring overhead
- [28:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2019-02-13-48-assembly#t=1699) The tipping point for hiring and operational efficiency
- [37:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/thoroughly-considered/2019-02-13-48-assembly#t=2274) Tech Corner: Cameras vs. Razor Blades and computational photography

## Topics

- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Studio Neat (company)
- Mark One (product)
- Glyph (product)
- Material Docs (product)
- Light (company)
- Apple (company)
- iPhone (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Episode 208: Eat that Frog](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2019-03-29-episode-208-eat-that-frog) (Making It)
- [469: It’s My Fault, But Also Your Fault](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2025-01-31-469-its-my-fault-but-also-your-fault) (Making It)
- [483: There Are Two Wolves Inside Me…](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/making-it/2025-05-16-483-there-are-two-wolves-inside-me) (Making It)
- [Ep. 36 - Keeping Up With Orders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2025-01-24-ep-36-keeping-up-with-orders) (Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast)
- [Is This A Show?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2015-07-02-is-this-a-show) (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/thoroughly-considered/2019-02-13-48-assembly. 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 Thoroughly Considered.