Hardware is Hard
summary
Hardware development lists exact pain points: PCB stackup tolerances like a 10-layer PCB with DDR traces matched to the micron, manufacturing quotes such as $13.63 per PCB for 150 three‑inch boards with a 3‑day fast option, and real failures — Zano ships ~500 units that mostly don’t work, a microview run ships thousands bricked for missed bootloader flashing, and the PG printer loses ~$750k to embezzlement. CAD/toolchain realities improve (notably KiCad getting differential routing) but timelines still stretch months.
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chapters (28)
- 0:00Introduction
- 2:37Why hardware feels easy
- 4:45Hardware manufacturing timelines
- 8:42Open-source x86 computer board
- 10:06Simple board production time
- 13:20Hardware design tools stuck
- 16:53PCB vias nightmare
- 19:00Manual reviews derail projects
- 21:29Physical world delays schedule
- 23:15Hardware starts wrong
- 24:38SeuS V phone delays
- 27:06MicroView manufacturing failure
- 29:10Zano drone Kickstarter disaster
- 31:41Peachy Printer fraud
- 34:13Hardware failures non-technical
- 35:37MinnowBoard eight-month ordeal
- 36:42Audience questions about hardware experience and soldering
- 38:50PCB exploded in lab
- 41:21Cheap factory horror stories
- 42:46Pick-and-place machine failures
- 44:08Kickstarter warning signs
- 45:56Backing hardware projects
- 48:46Non-Asian manufacturing costs
- 50:10PCBShopper for affordable boards
- 51:12Kicad open-source CAD
- 52:59High-end CAD costs
- 55:06Kicad vs Eagle CAD
- 1:00:21FPGAs prototyping limits
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