Hey all, just thought I'd give a quick update on the project.
First, there's been a change to the boards that I managed to incorporate last week before PCBWay started manufacturing. The boards are being made right now and the change hasn't caused any delays. Release is still schedule for late August.
Anyways, since the awesome chainloader Stuck made is pretty much done, I started writing the code for the payload switching button and other firmware stuff. In doing so, I discovered that I'd hooked up the payload button incorrectly - turns out the manufacturers sneakily rotated the schematic view but not the footprint in the datasheet, and I completely missed it. While this would have been an easy fix, I'd actually already been working on a change to replace the physical button with a capacitive one. The main reason for this is that, in testing, we found that the kapton tape on the button comes off pretty easily after a while. There's a good chance that was just due to the hot air rework I did on the beta units, but it was still making me a bit worried. So, as long as I was making a change to the board anyways, I decided to just go with the capacitive button. I rigged up a touch sensor to match the one on the PCB, did a bunch of testing, and found that it felt far better than the physical button did. It was bigger and easier to press, and easier to program for. It could be covered with conformal coating, wouldn't ever wear out and was one less thing to solder.
So, there's that. Picture of how it will look is attached.
Another few small changes that have been made are to the case. The M1 self-tapping screws made it a bit too easy to strip the holes in the resin after a few removals, so that's been swapped with M1 machine screws and press fit nuts that won't strip. Secondly, the beta testers really liked how the RCM jig snapped into the cap, and wanted the cap itself to snap onto the main body instead of just being a friction fit. So, I did that too. It took a few days to get right but now it closes with a nice little
snik, just like the RCM jig.
So, there's that, too. They're small changes but they should make a huge difference in the build quality feel and longetivity.
Oh, also, for no good reason we're making a program that makes it ridiculously easy to update the DI. It was already easy, but a script we were using just kept getting more complicated and... well, screenshot attached. The long and short of it is, it will check what firmware version you have on your DragonInjector, check what the latest version is on the GitHub, and update it in one click. It started out as a quick way for me to batch program DIs and now it's... something else. Hopefully something useful.
Lastly, and this is a big one, I'm switching from Tindie to Shopify + Fulfilrite. I've been thinking about this for a long time, weighing the pros and cons, then realizing the cons just amount to me having to learn a bunch of stuff I didn't know and seemed beyond me. Turns out, it's actually not that hard. The change is already under way. I will of course still let everyone on the Tindie wishlist know when it's available, so don't worry. It's just that as a platform, this project has kind of outgrown Tindie, which is crazy for something that
hasn't actually shipped yet.
The main reason for this change is demand. The second reason is shipping costs for buyers. I had
no idea so many people would be interested in the DragonInjector. For a hundred units or two, mailing these out myself is didn't seem like a huge deal. For the 1500 units currently on the waitlist? Nope. Not happening. I can't afford to spend two weeks packing and mailing DragonInjectors. My fingers can't
handle two weeks of packing and writing out addresses. I like to think I'm decent at being organized and handling stress, but it was becoming apparent that this would be a task that was just beyond me. Tindie does not offer shipping label generation, discounts, fulfillment of any kind, or really any shipping services of any use. (And if that didn't put you off, they also take a nice fat 5% of your profits on top of the 3% payment charge, while offering little to no after sales support solutions, limited payment options for customers, and no real store customization.) This also means that shipping costs were, in my opinion, completely insane. For most places, I was looking at over $20 USD for basic shipping within North America, with overseas topping over $30.
Ouch. When I started using Tindie I really didn't know about any of this stuff. I was just looking for a quick, easy way to share my project with others. Now I know there are far better options.
Shopify and Fulfilrite give me all of the things Tindie lacks, and make my life easier. (By the way, there are actually a bunch of great options for eCommerce and fulfillment, these are just the ones that made the most sense to me as a Canuck.) I ship them a big box of DragonInjectors and then they pack, label and ship them out individually for me as orders come in, without me having to really do anything. The deals they've made with couriers put their rates at a third of the shipping cost of any local courier here. I couldn't find anywhere they charge more than $9 USD for 4-9 day shipping, and that even includes tracking. I spoke with them over the phone and they were absolutely great to deal with. The guy from Shopify was super chill and even knew what a payload injector was. He bookmarked my site. Tindie doesn't even have a phone number.
Anyways, that's enough ranting about that. The bottom line is, once shipping starts everyone will get their stuff cheaper and faster than they would have before.
If you want to check out the new site there's a link in my sig, though be aware it's still a work in progress. It's a store (with nothing for sale right now), but also a blog where I'm going to write about future projects but also about all the things I've learned in the last year. If there's some aspect of 3D printing, rendering, beginner eCommerce, PCB design or fabricating, UX design, etc. that you really want to know about then let me know and I'll try to write something useful about it. If it's helpful and game related in any way of course it will end up here too.
Thanks for sticking around for this crazy project!