Awkward Engineer - Blog

Embedded Multitasking on the AWK-105AL Alarm Clock

by Sam Feller

Embedded Multitasking on the AWK-105AL Alarm Clock

In this blog post, we'll a bit about the multitasking code that allows the Alarm Clock to tell time, check if the alarm should sound, beep on and off, etc, all at the same time.

The Franken-Test-Rig

by Sam Feller

The Franken-Test-Rig

We work really closely with our assembly facility (they're about a 2 hour drive from our office, so they're local-ish), and with their help, we reduced the field failure rate on meters from about 2.5% on the first production batch of Clocks to about .6% on batch #2. (If you're one of the unlucky few with a bad meter, let us know, we repair/replace at no charge).

Most issues were traced to debris from a wire brush used for cleaning parts at the meter factory (we think they passed testing at the point of origin and debris dislodged and jammed the mechanism in shipping) and now we run a more sophisticated component screening test at our facility.

Olive Voltmeter Clock Production and Quality Improvements

by Sam Feller

Olive Voltmeter Clock Production and Quality Improvements

Hey Everyone, It's time for an update on the Voltmeter Clocks. The bare sheet metal cases were delivered last week to our powder coating house. I ...

Surface Mount Prototyping

by Sam Feller

Surface Mount Prototyping

A big theme with this board is designing for flexibility. For example, depending on our supply chain, the buzzer might be soldered directly to the circuit board as a surface mount component, it may have short lengths of wire called “flying leads” that get soldered to the board, or the wires might have a connectorized plug on the end. We’ve designed in the various “footprints” on the board so that we can adapt to what’s available.

Awkward (Engineer) Valentines and the Cutest Story Ever

by Sam Feller

Awkward (Engineer) Valentines and the Cutest Story Ever

Hey Everyone, We just released a new feature to the Awkward Engineer Store. Gift cards! A lot of customers requested them and now they're available...

Adding USB Power to the AWK-105

by Sam Feller
Many people requested USB power and back lighting for the clock. We didn’t want our SKU’s exploding with combinatorial options, but we did want to ...

Voltmeter Clock Final Assembly

by Sam Feller

Voltmeter Clock Final Assembly

Just a bunch of pictures of the Clocks going together.

Case Painting

by Sam Feller

Case Painting

Here's a peek at the painting / screenprinting process

Progress Update: Case Manufacturing

by Sam Feller
Once the sheet metal forming is finished, the cases get shipped to the powder coating house, who will paint them and screen print the graphics on. ...

Circuit Board Production Photos!

by Sam Feller

Circuit Board Production Photos!

This morning 600 circuit boards came off the line at WAi/Circuit Hub! We brought some test equipment along to check the first pieces as they came out of the machine and when that passed, the rest were cranked out in about 2-3 hours. (That’s slightly longer than it took to hand solder the first prototype.) We spot checked as they came off the line and everything went as expected!

Steady Progress!

by Sam Feller

Steady Progress!

Hi all! We’re making steady progress on the Clocks now. At this point, we’ll mostly just be waiting for electronic parts to arrive.

A number of backers have asked about shipping surveys. Don’t worry, you haven’t missed anything, we’ll be sending out a shipping survey as we near the end of the fabrication process.

Here’s the quick rundown on progress in the last two weeks:

Meters Are On Order!

by Sam Feller
We placed a purchase order with the meter factory! It took some work to make sure the factory understood what we were asking for, but we feel pretty good that they’re going to deliver the right stuff. Here’s the quick summary of what we went through