You could bring this https://www.theverge.com/22801890/sunbeam-radiant-control-to... back to market.
Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
311–320 of 464 posts
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#312Toasters cook food so be aware of the many regulations in that area.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#313I do this for a living. Setting up a small operation and doing the physical actions of designing, manufacturing and selling the toasters is the easy, fun and obvious part. I figure what your looking for, advice wise, is what's not obvious. A few things you'll need: -Product liability insurance, this isn't isn't easy or inexpensive to get. You need to have a lot of the below in place to get it. - UL certification (or…
Everything is regulated these days and it usually costs a fortune and helps nobody except incumbents. Makes everything feel rigged and makes me not want to participate in the economy. I wish we could go back to a time when everyone takes their own risks and has to do their own research. Manufacturers could optionally pay some standards company to add some safety label to it to help boost customer confidence but it sh…
Here’s the thing, electricity will kill you.
> I wish we could go back to a time when everyone takes their own risks and has to do their own research.
Trust me, you really don’t.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#314Earlier quoted context omitted.
Gosh I didn't know there were toaster chips but it seems so. One here 8 pin package with pin 3 being the bagel pin. https://www.diodes.com/assets/Datasheets/PT8A2514A.pdf
Intel makes pretty good toaster chips too. https://www.overclock.net/threads/worried-about-13900k-tempe...
Yes, but too expensive for my taste.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#315Earlier quoted context omitted.
Very true. Most of these things can be contracted for, there are people like me that do these things. But it's not cheap. It's become somewhat of a litmus test for me. If potential clients are are surprised by the time, cost and effort if these things, it's usually a sign they're not a well thought out venture, and therefore not a great client.
> It's become somewhat of a litmus test for me. If potential clients are are surprised by the time, cost and effort if these things, it's usually a sign they're not a well thought out venture, and therefore not a great client. This is a pretty good litmus test also for consulting. The amount of companies out there who think they can get an entire mobile app integrated to an existing companies infrastructure (that its…
Lots of [fairly inexperienced] developers feed the perception.
I don’t know how many times I’ve given someone an honest, thoughtful estimate, and had them come to me, saying “I found this whiz kid, who a gamer friend recommended, who will do it all in a week, as a PWA!”
Eight months later, I’m usually asking “So… how’d that work out for you?”
We are a few days away from submitting an app I’ve been developing for about a year and a half (but the project has been under way for over three years).
The reason that I took it on, was because a [non-technical] friend of mine had created a nonprofit, and was soliciting bids for development of the tech.
He didn’t have a particularly detailed plan, but his original idea would have required a massive development effort.
The “studios” he was talking to, told him that they would have a fully-functional MVP, in three months.
The only person he talked to, that I respected, was a relatively older chap, who basically said "It will be at least six months, and six figures, but come back, when you have a better idea of what you want."
--
"We do what we do, not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy."
- The Programmer's Credo
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#316I do this for a living. Setting up a small operation and doing the physical actions of designing, manufacturing and selling the toasters is the easy, fun and obvious part. I figure what your looking for, advice wise, is what's not obvious. A few things you'll need: -Product liability insurance, this isn't isn't easy or inexpensive to get. You need to have a lot of the below in place to get it. - UL certification (or…
Everything is regulated these days and it usually costs a fortune and helps nobody except incumbents. Makes everything feel rigged and makes me not want to participate in the economy. I wish we could go back to a time when everyone takes their own risks and has to do their own research. Manufacturers could optionally pay some standards company to add some safety label to it to help boost customer confidence but it sh…
The Earth's too small for that. One way to solve it is GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR and another is bunches of space habitats. Personally I prefer the latter.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#317Earlier quoted context omitted.
I did, but he just keeps trying to cut the corners off all my paper.
I really like this comment, and am now trawling DanHulton.com for more
I went hunting on DanHulton.com for some more gold. I was fascinated by the "I Paid The Most" site, and was disappointed it wasn't a real thing (anymore).
@DanHulton - tell us all the tale.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#318Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are already companies that make nice-looking, higher-end kitchen appliances though - Breville comes to mind, there are probably others. Speaking from personal experience, I have a toaster oven from them that’s lasted close to ten years with zero problems; I’d have a hard time being convinced to pay more for a “made in USA” one unless there was something truly exceptional about it.
I bought a Breville toaster and microwave when I was moving into and furnishing a new NYC apartment from scratch, and I decided to get something a little nicer, more aesthetic, etc. They were on a major after-Xmas sale so I figured why not. What I was not prepared for was how much better quality they were by a mile. It's not even close, they're so much more sturdy and well made and they work so much better than the o…
Note for other readers: due to old licensing deals for names, the brand sold as Breville in Europe is not the same as the one in US, CA, and AU. The one being talked about here is known as Sage in Europe.
And they really are superior-quality devices.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#319Earlier quoted context omitted.
Although I don’t want random delay incendiary devices either, I do have some sympathy with OP. The net effect of all regulations like this means large classes of business are not feasible unless you have substantial capital. And availability of capital for good ideas is not at all evenly distributed in our society (the UK at least). This is just one more way that we are going to entrench low social mobility. Note als…
> Note also, it’s not just electronics regs that act in this way - our societies have become much more regulated and rule bound in my life time. Often things for good reason. After WW2 we were in a high-trust, low-barrier society state across the Western world [1]. You could leave your door unlocked and no one would come and rob you, your children could roam free as they pleased, you could start what could become a m…
The low trust part could mostly be a (percieved) race thing. I wont claim to understand human psychology.
But I dont think thats enough to explain this. Something relevant, a lot of the houses that were allowed to be built in the 40s would be illegal now. I could probably build a decently sized small house with a garage with a cousin for 20-30k. But it would be illegal to live in. Even in the countryside... and eventually the taxman would find me, which forces us to not build something to use, but build something that functions as an investment.
Re: Ask HN: Should I try to manufacture toasters?
#320Earlier quoted context omitted.
Gosh I didn't know there were toaster chips but it seems so. One here 8 pin package with pin 3 being the bagel pin. https://www.diodes.com/assets/Datasheets/PT8A2514A.pdf
Intel makes pretty good toaster chips too. https://www.overclock.net/threads/worried-about-13900k-tempe...
Intel is tame. My Ryzen 9 operates at 90C and is considered normal