Hello snickerdoodlers,

Three topics we wanted to cover in this update:

1. Production & delivery status

Another batch of snickerdoodles made its way to Crowd Supply this week where the fulfillment elves are feverishly at work getting more orders out the door. More breakyBreakys are due in the next couple weeks (there was a slight delay due to part shortages - a common theme…).

Regarding the next round: we’re experiencing an unexpectedly and unsustainably low production yield through these first 1,000 units, and have been extensively diagnosing the failures we’re seeing.

At first we thought it could be a result of inadequate Zynq “baking,” as these parts have extended time and temperature pre-assembly treatment requirements (beyond those of typical ICs). However, after making an adjustment between the first and second production runs, the failure rates remained relatively consistent; it now appears the issue is related to overheating during the wave solder process (i.e. when the through-hole connectors are installed).

Of course, this is still a theory at this stage and we are ordering some more parts to validate (or invalidate) our hypothesis, which we hope to have soon. The outcome of these tests will dictate how we move forward with production.

2. snickerdoodle prime (LE)

If you check the snickerdoodle campaign page, you’ll notice an “Add to Cart” button - as opposed to "Pre-order" - now shows up for snickerdoodle prime (LE)! As mentioned in previous updates, Crowd Supply has these in stock and ready to ship. We’re working on getting other items like accessories and baseboards (namely breakyBreaky) set up in much the same way (CS does have many accessories available for those people wishing to add things like jumpers, baseboard headers, etc. to their prime order). Again, anything that’s “in stock” at Crowd Supply ships within two business days of order placement.

3. Maker Faire

For those of you attending the Mother of All Maker Faires (i.e. Maker Faire Bay Area) May 20 & 21, come check out the krtkl exhibit! We’ll have a cool little autonomous, snickerdoodle-powered rover rolling around (courtesy of Rochester Institute of Technology), some snickerdoodle prime (LE)’s for sale, and the first ever public appearance of piSmasher. We’ll also have some cool giveaways and promos for the snickerdoodle faithful. If you haven’t been to a Maker Faire before, you’re missing out - it is an epic event for people of all ages, so pick up your tickets today.

(Bonus) piSmasher

As teased above, we are on track to have piSmashers ready in time for Maker Faire Bay Area. Pending testing, bringup, debugging, etc., we will be FINALLY moving piSmasher into full production shortly thereafter (and giggleBits shouldn’t be too far behind). We’ll reveal the final final piSmasher product specs, etc. before that ramp up commences.

Warm regards,

the krtkl crew