Hello everyone!

The good thing about crossing the 100% funding mark early in the campaign is that we can start some manufacturing activitites early. We still do not have final quantities, as new orders keep arriving, but at least we know what our minimum production batch will be.

Ordering Parts

We have been monitoring the availability of key components. In particular, the pressure sensor we use for the Haxophone has experienced stock shortages and price spikes in the past. Fortunately, we have been able to order enough for our minimum batch, plus some buffer, at a decent price. The parts arrived yesterday.

The other critical part is the printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). As a breathing and living open source project, the Haxophone design has evolved over time to incorporate small fixes and improvements. We now have locked the production files and ordered a few boards to completely de-risk PCBA production. This will ensure we are ready to place our larger batch order the day after the campaign closes.

Planning Assembly Line

The final assembly and testing of the Haxophone HAT takes place in Portugal. This week we meet with Sofelec, our assembly partners, to plan the assembly line. Sofelec analyzed the Haxophone design and is preparing the assembly steps and tooling to assemble them. Their process will be tested with the small batch of boards that is currently being manufactured.

Based on this initial review, Sofelec has agreed to the manufacturing schedule we proposed. Yay!

Testing

A critical step in manufacturing is quality control. We have prepared a manufacturing test image that will test all the Haxophone functions: all key switches, pressure sensor, audio subsystem, connectors, and the SPI bus.

The Sofelec team has confirmed that the proposed test can be incorporated into their process for each individual Haxophone.

Packaging Fun

We have also sourced packaging boxes for the finalized HAT. The boxes were supposed to arrive today. To our surprise, the boxes we received were… wine boxes. Apparently the shipping company swapped our order with one for a local winery. The boxes we received can nicely fit two wine bottles, with openings to display their lables… but are not exactly appropriate for a Haxophone!

Fortunately, they have acknowledged the error and we should receive the right boxes in a few days.

Feedback on Colors

Thank you very much to everyone who wrote to us to voice your opinion on Haxophone colors. At the moment, the full-color option is way ahead, with 86% of the votes. If you have not voted yet, there is still time to cast your vote!

Reach out

That wraps up today’s update. Please don’t hesitate to reach out via the Ask Questions section on the campaign page. Comments, questions, suggestions or rants are all welcome!

Stay musical,