Time to read: 2 min
After a brief hiatus last month, Hardware Roundup is back! Catch up on news from accelerators, manufacturing trends, hardware guides and upcoming events.
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Industry News
Indiegogo launched its China Global Fast Track program to help companies launch campaigns to international audiences. Y Combinator is also expanding its reach in China + Silicon Valley is seeing a surge in China-focused accelerators supporting access to Chinese markets.
The red dot award-winning bike from Ikea, Sladda, is being recalled and production cancelled. The bike’s belt drive was prone to snapping and was impossible to swap for a chain. + The Essential Phone 2 has been cancelled, and the company is up for sale.
Popular Mechanics asked 26 companies (including Zippo, Airstream, Intel, Caterpillar, and Ford) about manufacturing in America, specifically the advantages, challenges, and predictions. + Discover our industry findings in the Fictiv 2018 State of Hardware Report, released this week.
Apple announced its involvement in developing a process to produce aluminum through a carbon-free smelting process. + Apple’s global facilities (retail stores, offices, data centers) are now powered by 100% clean energy.
Boston Dynamics’ robots have been making headlines again; the research company is bringing their robot dog to market, and a new video demonstrates how they will be able to operate anonymously using Lidar. + Their humanoid robot, Atlas, can run.
Hardware Knowledge
Autodesk’s Pier 9 workshop released their collection of training manuals for their machines, including tutorials on mills, lathes, printers, and bandsaws. + Autodesk’s Sketchbook is now free for everyone.
Any run-of-the-mill engineer can design something that is elegant. A good engineer designs systems to be efficient. A great engineer designs them to be effective. #36 in Akin’s Laws of Spacecraft Design.
A story of injection molding economics for a toy car + The manufacturing steps for the game Beasts of Balance.
PCH released a white paper guide on enhancing the reliability of lithium ion batteries. + Designing waterproof enclosures for electronic devices.
Events + Community
Events: As part of SF Design week, Cooper Perkins and Misty West are hosting a Hardware Product Design Science Fair tomorrow.
Webinar: Fictiv’s Mike Geyer will be joined by Local Motors CEO, Jay Rogers, to discuss How Product Innovation is Demanding More from Traditional Manufacturing this coming Tuesday.
Hiring: Kinetic are looking for a director of manufacturing to be responsible for the manufacture, assembly, and quality control process for their wearable product. + 3Scan are hiring a R&D Hardware engineer, to help build 3Scan’s next generation of robots to dissect and analyze biological tissue.
Community: How to spec an air filter? Finding a 72” steel ruler with 1/32” graduations + DFM for large blow-molded parts.
For the Love of Engineering
Online supermarket Ocado’s automated warehouse: Each robot travels around 50 km every day at up to 4 meters per second.
Until next month!
Fin, Hardware Evangelist at Fictiv
