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In this presentation, Dragon Innovation will provide an overview of how the Blue Robotics team took their product from idea to high volume manufacturing. This presentation was given by the Blue Robotics team at MakerCon in May 2014. Topics will include: - Our idea: Would it be useful? - Market & Feasibility: Do people need it? Will it work? - Idea to Prototype: Methods and Revisions - Prototype to Production: How will we get there? Share the presentation here: http://bit.ly/Dragon-MakerCon-Blue-Robotics About Dragon Innovation Dragon Innovation works with entrepreneurs to launch hardware products and scale companies. Founded by a team of hardware experts, Dragon provides a clear path from prototype through production with unmatched manufacturing expertise and trusted connections. Dragon's client roster includes Coin, MakerBot, LIFX, Scout, Romotive, Sifteo, Orbotix, FormLabs and over 100 more companies paving the road for how new technology gets made. Connect with Dragon Innovation Website: http://www.dragoninnovation.com Blog: http://blog.dragoninnovation.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/dragoninnovate Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/dragoninnovation/
Citation preview
From Idea to High Volume Manufacturing
The Journey of
Rustom Jehangir and Joe Spadola
MakerCon 2014
May 13, 2014
Photo © Elena Kalis
Introduction
Rustom “Rusty” Jehangir Co-Founder and Engineer,
BlueRobotics
Joe Spadola Co-Founder and Engineer,
BlueRobotics
What we’re going to talk about
• Our idea: Would it be useful?
• Market & Feasibility: Do people need it? Will it work?
• Idea to Prototype: Methods and Revisions
• Prototype to Production: How will we get there?
What do we want you to learn?
• Learn from our experiences
• Learn from our mistakes
• Have a better idea of what it takes to get from idea to working prototype
• Where you might go after that
The Idea
We were looking for a cool side project to do for fun. Why not make a solar powered surfboard
and send it from LA to Hawaii?
• GPS Guided
• Arduino
• Satcom
• Solar panels
• Compass
• Temp + pH measurement
• Two thrusters
✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔ ✔
X
2,500 miles 2-3 months
Looking for a thruster? Here are your options.
Commercial ROV Thrusters:
• Very expensive ($750-$3600)
• Hard to buy for the average consumer
• Bulky • Require
maintenance often • 300-3,000 ft depth
Hack-a-pump: • Bilge pump, remove
impeller, add propeller
• Cheap ($20) • Poor performance • Limited depth
RC Airplane Brushless Motor:
• Cheap ($20) • Not depth limited • High risk of shorts • Inevitable corrosion
especially in saltwater
What’s needed is something in the middle: a high-performing, purpose-built, but affordable thruster.
Market & Feasibility Questions
• Is designing a thruster worth pursuing?
• Is there a market for that thruster?
• Can it provide the foundation for a sustainable business?
• Are there related products we can pursue to grow?
Market Research
Academic Competitions
Hobbyists
There are also many academic and commercial uses for marine robotics – these organizations usually have no choice but to buy expensive options.
NURC 100+ robotics teams total, most use 6+ thrusters
1,000s of members
“The ocean covers 71 percent of the Earth's surface and contains 97 percent of the planet's water, yet more than 95 percent of the underwater world remains unexplored.”
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
“When it comes to ‘Ocean Exploration’, the greatest ocean explorers of all time are more than likely still in middle school since that generation of future explorers will explore more of Earth than all previous generations combined.” - Dr. Robert D. Ballard, President of the Ocean Exploration Trust and Director
of the Center for Ocean Exploration
“With the challenges we currently face, environmentally and economically, we cannot leave exploration of our blue planet up to governments alone. Instead, quite the opposite: We need to crowdsource innovators from around the globe to take up the charge of discovering the secrets our ocean holds, while working to preserve it.”
- Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman & CEO of XPRIZE
Looking Forward
Future Market • In our opinion, marine robotics is at the same place UAVs were 10 years
ago.
– Dominated by a few companies
– Government and big-business commercial customers
– Lack a of reliable, dedicated parts
• Open-source software and electronics + cheap components + online communities Hobbyist UAV boom
– 40,000+ member communities
– Numerous successful small businesses
• The limiting factor for marine robotics is lack of quality, affordable components
– Thrusters, tethers, underwater connectors, vehicles
– Open-source electronics, software can be leveraged
Early Design: Rev. 1-2
Approach: • Replicate a commercial-grade thruster: encased motor + propeller +
nozzle • Use injection molded parts • Use a cheap off-the-shelf brushless • Use an axial magnetic couple to seal motor from water • Oil compensated for depth
Rev. 1:
Early Design: Rev. 3-4
Changes:
• Radial magnetic couple
• Decided a purpose-built brushless motor might be best
• Used all 3D printing
Rev. 4:
Current Design: Rev. 5A-B
Approach:
• Started from scratch with a new, unique design around January 1st
• Lots of advantages in size, performance, and cost
• No enclosed air or oil, fewer components, half the price in parts
• Patent pending design
Rev. 4:
3.8”
Test Motor Iteration
Series of test motors to find the best motor design.
• Varied stators, windings, magnets, air gap, bearings
• Documented results
Testing
Built a test stand
• Measures thrust, power, RPM
• Arduino, Raspberry Pi, results plotted live online to bluerobotics.com/live
Exposure testing of components
• Submersion in seawater for thousands of hours
• Documented observations
Lessons Learned During Prototyping
• 3D printing is AWESOME!
• A CAD design only goes so far
• The conventional design may not be the best design
• It’s okay to throw away a bad design when you find a better one
Prototype to Production
• What quantity do we need to order to get discounts?
• How do we know if the quotes are reasonable?
• What suppliers do we use?
• How can we (affordably) assemble in the USA?
• What processes can we automate / streamline?
• How do we fund production?
Proto Labs Cool Idea! Award
• Provides injection molded plastic tooling for cool ideas. Up to $250K total each year.
• We were selected in April
• Currently finalizing tooling
• Great experience so far
Check out past Proto Labs Cool Idea! Award Winners at the Innovation Showcase tonight, 6-8pm!
Suppliers and Quantities
• We’re currently finding suppliers for parts – mostly from China – MOQ?
– Lead time?
• Alibaba
• Ideally purchase through US company with Chinese connections with large markup – Saves time
– Ensures reliability
Is it feasible to assemble here?
• Assembly here would give us tighter control of the process
– Predictable Final Customer Ship (FCS) dates
• How can we streamline the assembly to minimize time required?
– Jigs
– Batch assembly
– Automation
Funding
• Self-funded + Proto Labs Cool Idea! Award
• Launching a Kickstarter campaign this summer
– Will (hopefully) cover bulk purchasing costs and some of our development costs
– Many expected initial customers use Kickstarter already
Questions, comments, suggestions?
Thank you!
www.bluerobotics.com