Pikkolo Assembly

Heard from a few manufacturers in Shenzhen that they're also frustrated with JCLPCB, feeling squeezed out.

Just Monday morning buying chips on WeChat.

@charlythuo Kinda curious where you've seen this in practice! Touring Shenzhen currently, and while the robots are impressive, vibe manufacturing hasn't been my impression so far.

Just spent a week in China deep diving the general-purpose robotics ecosystem. Key takeaway: while we’re vibe-coding… China is vibe-manufacturing ! A few things that stood out: 1) China has cracked “vibe manufacturing” Startups are spinning up hardware like we spin up code. AGIBot (3 years old) has already built ~10,000 robots. 2) The entire stack is being built in parallel. Every serious robotics company is full-stack: hardware + controls + foundation models. 3) Data factories are real and massive. Hundreds to thousands of people teleoperating robots 24/7 to generate training data. In some cases, the government is literally buying robots, generating data, and selling it back to companies. 4) The supply chain is overwhelming. Foxconn, BYD, LYitech - everyone is plugged into the same dense, hyper-responsive manufacturing base. This is why iteration speed is so high. 5) Structural paradox: Labor is both tailwind and headwind. Cheap, abundant skilled labor powers the supply chain… But it also makes automation harder to justify domestically. → Weak ROI for robotics inside China → Strong incentive to export 6) Hardware is impressive. Intelligence is not (yet). Amazing kinematics—dancing, acrobatics. But limited ability to execute simple instructions reliably. 7) Everyone is moving up the stack Every major CM/ODM is building their own robots—humanoids + wheeled. Today’s suppliers will be tomorrow’s competitors. 8) Dexterity remains unsolved Lots of prototypes. Very few real demos. So what does this mean? Physical AI requires strength in both bits and atoms. Right now: China → dominates atoms (manufacturing, supply chain, scale) US → leads in bits (models, autonomy, software) We are dangerously behind in atoms. If we want to compete, incrementalism won’t cut it. We need to: - Build depth and breadth across the electro-mechanical supply chain - Scale CMs / ODMs / JDMs domestically - Move 100x faster, think 100x bigger on scaling manufacturing infrastructure Hats off to those doing their part to advance domestic manufacturing supply chain - @makematterco, @VulcanForms, @brightmachines, @thebotcompany @gs_ai_ , @MytraUS, @mind_robotics, @tesla_optimus, @atomic_inc, @Senra_Systems, @pathrobotics, @machinalabs_,@figure_robot, @HadrianInc , @agilityrobotics

@willreil @usa_esp So... as an assembly company...

@usa_esp This makes me want to design a board where every component is angled differently

ICを8°傾けたらダイオード入った！ 新幹線でやってたから吐き気が......人生で乗り物酔いしたこと無いタイプだったんだけどな

Testing DRC tools that display and *resolve* errors quickly without another trip to the EDA (with user approval of course). Using an MCP service, we have simple tools to move offending traces, increase annular ring size, etc.

they left me unsupervised in the lab and now it’s a drone hangar

What's the point of a free tool that's better than the alternatives if it doesn't look sick? PCBMiller is going to be chudcore

the fastest way to raise global living standards is not to defend cheap labor as a development strategy, but to reindustrialize rich countries aggressively so the world can compete on capability instead of suffering

Stitch is actually pretty cracked. Free to use, but rate limited until it resets at midnight. @willreil maybe you can combine your tools into one site like JLCPCB does? Stitch does output html files so it might be worth a shot. Also works via MCP to Claude!

software is solved. now exploring hardware. lots to learn.

@troy_mccann We're aiming for the same-day assembly part!

How much would you pay for a service that could manufacture and assemble a prototype PCB within hours, instead of weeks? What if it could also perform comprehensive hardware testing, and provide a report immediately so you can iterate without waiting for a delivery and your own testing? And how much if those fixes could be automatically addressed, with a new order submitted, for another loop? Because it's almost here.

a year ago i would have been pretty happy that we can autoroute an arduino uno in 30s. But now I want more. realtime autorouting will totally change how people build circuit boards. We must go faster!

hardware is becoming cool again

Had a little trouble getting all the solder mask off - probably too thick. Made a stencil on the xTool using the aluminum business cards that come with it. I might try cleaning up the mask on the level shifter pads and giving it a go; or just making a new board. x.com/timbot/status/…

placing components on a PCB.

@willreil My best results were coating in engine enamel, removing the negative, and the hcl/ho-oh bath. Like 10 min, usually quick.

@willreil I also tried silver epoxy, but couldn't squeegee it into the small holes. Need like a vacuum table. It would be fun to crack the benchtop via plating system.

How I feel looking up the chemicals for making PCBs on Amazon

for people here that don’t know, WE DESIGN PCBS. REALLY FAST. I STARTED A COMPANY WHO’S ENTIRE PURPOSE IS TO DESIGN PCBS. WE WANT TO DESIGN YOUR PCBS.