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Ask HN: How do you sell DIY hardware to non-DIY audience?

15 points by Abishek_Muthian ↗ HN
The issue with productivity timers is that it has to be manually started, The issue with getting immersed with work before a computer is that it easily leads to sedentary lifestyle; To address these two problems I made https://buttmover.com where the task timer gets automatically triggered when we sit on the chair and we're reminded to take a walk when it completes. The break timer begins automatically when we get up.

The Butt Trigger is a simple ESP8266 button-switch which is DIY as its just off the shelf parts, Because I cannot build it at scale due to my disability and even if I do, shipping such niche products from my country is a nightmare.

But my audience aren't necessarily DIY enthusiasts and so to address this my plan is to enable those who could build the Butt Tigger and list them as sellers for their region on Butt Mover(All profit from sale of Butt Trigger is theirs).

To make things easier, The firmware flashing and communication happens through Butt Mover website via web-serial and so they have nothing to do with the code.

But how do I go about finding such DIFO (Do It For Others) builders? Has anyone attempted such a strategy for selling DIY products? Is there a better alternative?

13 comments

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TheBill
Two options as I see it: Partner w/ a co like AdaFruit or another kit developer & push content via youtube/tock etc.

Alternatively work w/ a fab co like https://www.tempoautomation.com/ to produce small batches, and send them to a 3PL co to package and fufil for you.

Abishek_Muthian
I think partnering with those who are already selling electronics kits like you say, Perhaps finding some interested folks on Tindie might be the direction to go. Are there any other Tindie type websites?

Thanks for the information on the fab, Although not immediately useful for my problem it will add value to my curated list of startup tools[1] for anyone looking to manufacturer small quantity of boards.

[1] https://startuptoolchain.com/#manufacturing

melkael
Why not lay everything on a pcb and have the factory solder boards for you ? Jlcpcb can do this. I believe pcbway can do that too. Your product will also look a lot more neater. I would also suggest to add a video of your product in action. I believe it is about jumping on your chair to play the game but it is unclear to me.
iSloth
Exactly what I’ve done before, if components are all on one side then this is the easiest route
Abishek_Muthian
A PCB in my case can only be used to replace the NodeMCU board but that might exasperate my woes without adding any value, Because any custom PCB solution isn't strong enough to replace the switch(button on 170 point bread-board) which goes under the butt cushion.

A new video is coming soon, There's a old video showing the setup if you scroll a bit. I thought leading directly to the game made more sense, Perhaps I should interchange manual trigger and 'connect to the butt trigger' so that people can try manually first?

Edit: The game now suggests manual trigger first instead of connection to the Butt Trigger.

joshvm
I'm skeptical that a PCB is less strong than a breadboard. Have you tested this? If you use an SMT button you can always add a reinforcing layer of plastic under the PCB. If anything, surely it would be more comfortable to sit on a low profile button? Or some kind of strain sensor pad.
Abishek_Muthian
I've tested numerous methods over past two years; But the simplicity, reliability, structural integrity and cost of 170 point breadboard is hard to beat as its an inch thick(built like a lego).

I even tested with velostat fabric, but the resistance varies a lot and so there are numerous false triggers or missed triggers since we don't sit still on a chair.

No matter what's the thickness of the setup is, Any solid material under the butt is uncomfortable and so we need butt cushion for the setup. But with butt cushion, SMT button doesn't function as there's not enough travel, So we need a momentary button with button cap for enough surface area and travel to push into the cushion when we get up.

melkael
I think you could simply make a big switch on a pcb yourself: make your circuit on the pcb and have two exposed metal pads as the terminals of your switch. Then have another metal plate, put some springs in between for separation. When the person sits, the metal plate closes the circuit, which acts as a switch
chrisp_how
You’re looking at an extremely old problem: manufacturing. There are easily a hundred-thousand millionaires who only built things others first created, at scale. The secret is to look through manufacturers’ conferences. Don’t think your item isn’t “big enough” to be built by a big corporation- expect 10,000$US/Euro would be enough to build an assembly line, then cost-or-so to create each one. Distribution centers would love to help you handle in-state/country shipping, too. Find them alongside the manufacturers at conferences— there are 10 a year in the USA that literally publish all the manufacturers for this reason! Good luck!
b20000
i have no clue what i just read. an SMT assembly line easily costs 500K. for 10K you can just buy some lab tools for prototyping.
chrisp_how
Building your own assembly line is not a 500k$ problem. You’re referring to a splice-overlay method, which takes 200 machines, and that’s not even a very efficient method.

Do it by hand, that’s the most expensive it should be. Then improve efficiency one-part at a time.

the__alchemist
I skimmed your website - Don't be scared of doing things the right way. Ie, not stringing together dev boards. Learn how to design circuit boards - KiCad is a good-enough free option. Learn a 3D CAD program like Solidworks or Fusion for enclosure/part design. You can skip injection-molding an enclosure by machining a pre-made one, eg by Hammond.

Just do it. You'll have to learn a lot, but it's the answer to this X/Y question. The Art of Electronics is a nice book for learning about analog circuits, but you can get away with a lot these days by wiring together ICs that do the magic internally.

Abishek_Muthian
I think since I visualized this project to be DIY from the start and was determined to 'not to ship hardware' the need for developing custom board never occurred to me. More over, the part which goes under our butt needs to be very robust I'm not sure if I could come up with something other than injection molding to replace a simple button on a breadboard but that would increase the cost of the product several fold.

Thank you for the book(The Art of Electronics) recommendation!