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YC for Hardware

blog.ycombinator.com

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Re: YC for Hardware

#101

Post by kfihihc »

joshvm wrote: post #78
bravo22 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't mill any serious PCBs. Not for prototype and certainly not for production. What about vias, or soldermasks?! That machine is great for CNCing plastics and metals however.

Why not? I've used milled PCBs for commercial prototypes as they're an order of magnitude cheaper than a fab given the turnaround time. You can get down to 0.5mm pitch easily. You don't get soldermasks and vias are normally riveted (good enough). For most people, two layers is enough and if you can design the board well you shouldn't need much routing on the second layer.

There are huge gap between Hobby and Productization

Re: YC for Hardware

#104

Post by trsohmers »

madengr wrote: post #98
trsohmers wrote: post #74

Is there any interest in (fabless) semiconductors? Traditionally thought as ridiculously capital intensive, there are a lot of new developments that have brought the time and costs involved down dramatically... My experience trying to fundraise for one shown there are a lot of misconceptions and (10-15 year) old ideas in the silicon valley investment space regarding fabless semi.

Cadence is only $1E6 maintenance/seat/year?

They provide great deals to startups

Re: YC for Hardware

#105

Post by robwormald »

aknalid wrote: post #95
robwormald wrote: post #90

This can't come soon enough. I'm helping out on a hardware 'startup' (though I guess we don't really use that term) - coming from software its an incredibly challenging realm to work in. Simply getting a functional prototype without easy access to a 3d printer, $$$ in compiler licenses for BT stacks, freakin custom batteries, etc etc. Our thing: https://www.fitguard.me/

Neat. What kind of a sensor is it using? Also, why IG instead of Kickstarter?

We've experimented with all manner of MEMS sensors, but at its core its (currently) an accelerometer and a gyro + an MCU.

Not sure on IG vs KS, not my department :D

Re: YC for Hardware

#107

Post by robwormald »

FD3SA wrote: post #94
robwormald wrote: post #90

This can't come soon enough. I'm helping out on a hardware 'startup' (though I guess we don't really use that term) - coming from software its an incredibly challenging realm to work in. Simply getting a functional prototype without easy access to a 3d printer, $$$ in compiler licenses for BT stacks, freakin custom batteries, etc etc. Our thing: https://www.fitguard.me/

Hi Rob, just saw FitGuard for the first time and it's a phenomenal idea. I'd recommend getting in touch with motorcycle helmet manufacturers (particularly MotoGP and WSBK sponsors) because concussions are a huge issue in motorcycle racing. As your site states, concussion severity is very abstractly diagnosed without data, and your product can make a big difference. The doctor has a tough time deciding whether the ath…

Can't take credit for the idea, one of the founders is a Rugby player and had his clock cleaned on the field one too many times.

Data is my thing - there's a number of these types of products out there (Shockbox et al), the issue is that they all keep the algorithm quite close to their chest (fairly, I suppose!)

My role (in addition to helping out with the hardware) is the ecosystem around it. It's BLE capable, so while we can't make a diagnosis (all kinds of legal issues there), the hope is to aggregate impact data, improve the detection algorithm and be able to feed it back to the device as it improves - We're currently using a TI MCU that allows us to OTA update from the app.

Re: YC for Hardware

#108

Post by CamperBob2 »

joshvm wrote: post #78
bravo22 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't mill any serious PCBs. Not for prototype and certainly not for production. What about vias, or soldermasks?! That machine is great for CNCing plastics and metals however.

Why not? I've used milled PCBs for commercial prototypes as they're an order of magnitude cheaper than a fab given the turnaround time. You can get down to 0.5mm pitch easily. You don't get soldermasks and vias are normally riveted (good enough). For most people, two layers is enough and if you can design the board well you shouldn't need much routing on the second layer.

vias are normally riveted (good enough).

Not even close.

Re: YC for Hardware

#109

Post by jfb »

I would love to start a hardware startup (I even have an idea!) but I have no idea how to assess the feasibility of my idea, or how to hire h/w engineers. And it's not a billion dollar idea, so maybe it's not in the YC wheelhouse, but I sure as hell think it'd be fun.

Re: YC for Hardware

#110

Post by sounds »

trsohmers wrote: post #89
super_sloth wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very interesting.. Do tell. What kind of misconceptions are there and how have they changed? I still labour under the assumption that NREs make doing anything like that _extremely_ expensive.

NOTE: I am the founder of REX Computing (check my submission & comment history for more info), and thus a bit biased for this. The standard thing I have heard from VC's that don't know anything about semiconductors (Or have not been involved in it in this century): "It will cost $100 million and take 3 years to have your first silicon. You have a 50% chance of even making it that far, and even then you only have a 10…

Put this in a blog post and it should rise to the top of HN tomorrow. Thanks for posting it!
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