Rear Case Mold Issues Resolved!
over 4 years ago – Tue, Oct 29, 2019 at 02:28:03 PM

Rear Case Mold Issues Resolved!

It appears that the rear mold issues have been resolved.  The rear mold was the only thing holding us up from making it into production.  Below is a photo of the rear case without cosmetic defects.  Please excuse the quality of the photos, it is on the production floor.  

To correct cosmetic issues such as large lines and fogginess we had to retool the entire inner mold.  Below is a photo of the mold on the injection machine.  For those who saw the prior mold photos you can see how much it has changed.  

 Now we are waiting for the case to arrive from the factory for final fitment testing.  Once the sample arrive and is confirmed, production will commence.  We want to thank everyone for their patience as we solved these complex issues.  We know it is discouraging when the timeline projections get  adjusted, but we think it was worth it to have a great looking case!

Correcting Some Minor Production Issues
over 4 years ago – Tue, Oct 01, 2019 at 03:01:07 AM

Correcting Some Minor Production Issues

We've worked had with our vendor to produce the rear cases.  We have had to retool this mold 3 times and will have to make one last adjustment to remove some cosmetic imperfections.  We've also had to upgrade the machine used to make the rear case.  Now we are using a 1,000 ton injection machine.  That is 2,000,000 pounds of injection pressure!  This is required to give the part maximum transparency.  Unfortunately, it is Chinese National Week so progress will stop for a week of celebrations in China.  At this point we are projecting that we are going to be close to our target date but possibly 1-2 weeks behind. Only the rear case issues are slowing down progress.  Below you will see a video of all the rear cases produced so far.  Each one of the cases is a rejected unit.

The good news is that the front case panel is already in production and coming along nicely.  We understand that a delay of 1-2 weeks is disappointing but we are committed to deliver the best possible cases.  

Getting Close!
over 4 years ago – Tue, Sep 10, 2019 at 09:02:36 PM

Another Mold Sample Created

We are getting closer!  The first sample we received had some missing features and cosmetic issues.  Most of those have been corrected, however, after a second sample the rear case still has some issues.  These issues still need to be resolved before full production can start.  There are some cloudy spots in the plastic which our engineer said just means that the injection machine just needs adjusted to the right pressure.  There are also ejector slide marks on the sides which are inherent but are too visible at this point.  As a result, they are going to retool this part to make them much harder to detect.  

Below you will see the defects in the sample:

We should have that resolved within a few weeks.  Fortunately, we were originally ahead of schedule.  Because of this fact we are still on our original target for most cases to arrive in November or sooner.  

You can come see us and the sample cases at Vintage Computer Festival Midwest.  There will be a drawing to win a free ADB mouse in the color of your choice! 

Another Update?! Choose Your Flavor!!
over 4 years ago – Sun, Aug 25, 2019 at 03:07:31 PM

Choose Your Flavor

As the project is nearing completion there will be updates more often to keep everyone informed.  We promise not to over do it.  But we think you'll love to see what we have so far.  

The case colors are finalized and shown above with the exception of the glow-in-the-dark case.  The main SE/30 cases with the colors will be very limited quantity.  Please note that the mouse molds did not have their last polish so clarity will be improved on final production units.  

Molds 5 of 5 Complete!
over 4 years ago – Fri, Aug 23, 2019 at 04:52:57 PM

Production Testing Final Molds

As you can see in the attached video, great progress has been made.  With the exception of fitment testing and final polishing the last two molds for the main case are complete.  In the video you will see the rear case mold in the injection machine.  Please note the signification size and complexity of both the machine and the mold.  We are still working on refining the production process by making adjustments to the machine settings to make the process smoother and the case have more clarity.  

The production prototypes are being mailed to use for fitment testing.  Following this the molds will be polished and one last sample produced to ensure it has the appropriate physical appearance.  More updates coming soon, please stay tuned!

Please forgive the quality of this video, our production engineers are not videographers.