Could this help with Amiga DIY hardware projects?

[Lurch]

Seems like an interesting idea, could see more people working on new Amiga hardware? Combine this with 3d printing, exciting times ahead.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/voltera/voltera-your-circuit-board-prototyping-machine?ref=category

[yssing]

That is cool and could be really usefull for homebrew stuff

[crasbe]

HELP? That thingy costs AT LEAST $1200. You can get maaaaaaany PCBs for that professionally manufactured! That's just a toy..

[EvilGuy]

HELP? That thingy costs AT LEAST $1200. You can get maaaaaaany PCBs for that professionally manufactured! That's just a toy..

The last one we bought had an extra zero on the left-hand side of the price. This isn't too bad.

[trekiej]

One could build a minimig in a short time.

[midway]

Its probably great for prototyping. Dont think it would give you long lasting hardware.

[Duce]

Would be super useful for initial prototypes, but I'd be worried about lifespan on the PCB's (and more specifically, the solder joints) it does.

Curious how much the "refills" are for it.  The consumables aspect is a real racket in most makerspace industries, not to mention in the traditional printer world, refills are more expensive than unicorn tears.

[ChuckT]

Seems like an interesting idea, could see more people working on new Amiga hardware? Combine this with 3d printing, exciting times ahead.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/voltera/voltera-your-circuit-board-prototyping-machine?ref=category

Spending $1,200 on your goal usually puts you that much away from your goal when you can get a circuit board made and shipped to your home in two weeks.

Electronics takes a lot of time and money so things will change before you have a finished product.  I actually was going to build a project I found off of the web and one of the manufacturers listed in the bill of materials discontinued one of the parts.  You don't get anything by being consumers instead of makers.  In this instance, the only people who will get rich are the makers of Voltera.

There is no guarantee that you will get a crowd funded product delivered and there is a history of crowd funded failures.

So buying a machine doesn't turn us into masters of electronics but it will make some of us broke.

[Lurch]

I can see this being the future, no need to leave the house just fire up your 3d printer and the Voltera (or whatever the best option is at the time) and make what you need.

Consumables are always an issue, but I've noticed prices are not too bad for 3d printing. Would be great for a standard to come about but with consumerism this is a a hard task.

Of course the makers will become rich this is how the western world has set itself up as, which is flawed in the long run.

The ideal state would be something similar to Star Trek but that's sci-fi :-)

Sure it's $1200 but instead of just making that one prototype you could make several. If they price the consumables at reasonable price it could be a win.

[ChuckT]

You could make a board with it but what it lacks is an X-Ray machine.
If I had a board made by certain companies, they X-Ray the solder looking for cracks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_X-ray_inspection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_grid_array
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rework_%28electronics%29

So if you make anything serious, it requires X-Ray inspection.

[QuikSanz]

@ thread,

I have a circuit board guy off shore that can make any board, inexpensive if an initial batch is made.

CS

[ChuckT]

@ thread,

I have a circuit board guy off shore that can make any board, inexpensive if an initial batch is made.

CS

http://dirtypcbs.com/

[QuikSanz]

@ChuckT,

Actually he does good quality work and has his own factory. In addition he is a supplier for many companies. definitely not that guy.

Chris

[Iggy]

@ thread,

I have a circuit board guy off shore that can make any board, inexpensive if an initial batch is made.

CS

Yep, done that myself.
For the price of this machine, I could have had over 2 dozen different boards prototyped with at least a dozen boards included in each order.
And we aren't considering the cost of time of use, consumables, or the life span of the printing device.

I'll stick with my Chinese supplier.

[curtis]

I can see this being useful for a one off type project.

Most pcb producers have a minimum of 3-10 units.  That can be expensive if you're still early in the design stage and need to produce a board to check for mistakes with parts and voltage applied.