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What Do You Do With Your Projects When You Have Finished Them?

rscasny

Since I've been with element14, it's been fun to watch our members report on the projects they have accomplished. It's even more fun to read what members think or react to other members' projects. And some of the projects you dream up are really quite clever. I would hate to think that after you did a project, they just ended up on a shelf gathering dust. So, I'm curious...image

 

What happens to your project builds (prototypes) after you build them?image

 

My guess is that some of the projects actually are being used or may end up as a product on kickstarter? I have corresponded with a few members who said they are actually trying to build something they can sell.

 

I also have a hunch that some of the projects are personal labs, that is, learning experiences because they plan on entering a certain field or industry where your project experience gives you some hands-on skills.

 

If you don't mind me asking you directly, what happens to your projects? If you have the time, share your specific comments or stories below. Thanks

 

  • I got interested in electronics after retirement from an unrelated engineering field (but of course all engineering fields use electronics these days, it is just that in my work we had project specialists and my specialty wasn't electronics).  Electronics interested me because it was an opportunity to learn new things.  Pretty soon a local educator learned I was an engineer and interested in electronics and before long I was asked if I would contribute some introductory course material.  And my grandson became interested in what I was doing, and I got more interested, and one thing led to another...

     

    This background explains what happens to my projects which can be broken down into a couple of areas:

    • Self Education:  I am self taught so a lot of projects are done solely for learning.  If similar material / projects are already out there on the internet I will normally disassemble the parts for use later and put them back in the drawer.
    • Personal Use:  Mostly this is something I will do for the grandchildren like make blinking tiaras, Halloween costumes and accompaniments, games, toys, etc.  I once made a Sous Vide controller that I still use but none of it is really saleable.
    • Broader Education:  If I am doing something that I haven't seen published elsewhere I like to write it up in a manner I hope others will find useful. An example is the experimentation I did with the Texas Instruments MSP430FR2xxx series microcontrollers and my AIS Ship alarm published here on e14. For these projects, the hardware isn't that important at the end of the day - it is the published documentation and ideas that hopefully helps someone else out.
    • Contests and RoadTests:  I have only recently started entering these.  I do it solely for fun and they have to align with my self education or broader education goals.
    • Saleable Product:  I did one project with a friend that sold in small quantity but am not actively looking to make a profit on what I do.

     

    I do have some stuff sitting on the shelf not doing anyone any good.  I have been looking to trade it or give it to someone who will put it to better use and recently gave some things to a neighbor kid.

  • Many things depends on the kind of project. Some prototypes are just tutorial and after a video has been completed to demonstrate what I have in mind, I recycle the parts in other project. In other cases like the project should stop for some non-technical reasons but then when it is finished it was for a specific purpose, like place it somewhere etc.

     

    Some of my projects instead meet a certain unexpected success so I will make small productions (10 pcs. a time) and put them on sale on tindie.com. Or I just keep them as I plan to reuse the projects as parts of more complex ones in the future.

     

    Enrico

  • I just spent the best part of an entire year on a personal project which ultimately went nowhere (due to non-tech reasons - it actually functioned really well, and there is demand, but it's nowhere near a complete product yet). I won't let it get me down though, in the words of Fu-Man-Chu image

     

    Otherwise mostly I make test tools which I can use. I'll give stuff to friends if I have spares. But I recently built a couple of probes (and then the FPC1500 RoadTest came along so I was able to use them for the review), I'm wondering if I should sell them as an experimenters bundle. It takes time assembling them though, so it might not be worth it unless I can persuade a family member to assemble them from time to time for me. I still need to think about that. I've given some to element14 members since I had spares, so it really depends if they think they are useful.

     

    The RoadTests helped a lot by the way - I used bits of circuitry based on some dev-boards, for proof-of-concepts, and then used those exact same parts in some prototypes. This applies to several dev-boards. The new technologies definitely  provide an edge. Customers find it mind-blowing when they hear of the possibilities with the new technologies we see here on element14 all the time.

  • Most of my projects are tutorial in nature, by that I mean I design the project in a way that it shows others how to do something. I typically pick a tangible theme like a DC Load or a Power Supply, or if it using an embedded computer (PI, Arduino etc) It will be demonstrating how to create an IOT Device, or Automate the kitchen Lights etc.

     

    Some of the older projects get re-purposed to help with new projects and some are kept to expand on at a later date

     

     

     

    Hope that helps, if you need more, let me know

     

    I look forward to seeing other folks feedback