Shipping Soon!
I am excited to announce that all 200 Little Bee units are on the way to Crowd Supply's warehouse for final distribution! This means that orders will start shipping soon. Please take this time to check your delivery address, and update it through your Crowd Supply account if needed. Also, details on firmware updates and production testing. Read the full update.
PCBs Have Been Delivered & Manufacturing Continues
In this update I have some good news about the production progress of Little Bee and some interesting details to share about the manufacturing of the current sensing attachment. Read the full update.
Production Has Begun!
Over the past month, I managed to source the HMC1041Z sensors I needed from NAC Semi, which allowed me to place a PCBA order with MacroFab. They ordered all of the other parts for assembly and are currently manufacturing Little Bee PCBs. I should be receiving assembled boards on May 25th, which means that production Little Bees should begin shipping to backers well in advance of the revised July 1st delivery estimate. Read the full update.
Production Delays Due to Difficulty Sourcing Sensors
The production of the Little Bee involves significantly more sourcing compared to a product that is solely a printed circuit board. For many of the auxiliary items the production process is going well. However, assembly of the main PCB, which is the longest lead time item, has been delayed by the sourcing of the HMC1041Z magnetic sensor that is a core part of the design. Accordingly, we have pushed our estimated ship date back to July 1st. Read more about what we've been up to below! Read the full update.
Production Planning
The Little Bee campaign finished well beyond my expectations last week. The initial batch of 200 units sold out with 48 hours remaining. A big thank you to all of my backers! This update walks through the progress we've made toward production. Read the full update.
The Physics of Current Sensing
I have received a number of questions about the mechanisms by which Little Bee operates, so I am going to devote this update to talking about the ways you can use Little Bee sense current. Read the full update.
Ask Me Anything!
I am going to be hosting an AMA on Crowd Supply's Discord channel this Wednesday! Please drop by and ask me anything you can think of about Little Bee and its development. Read the full update.
Little Bee Development History and Shipping Update
Here's a quick update on shipping and a look at the history of Little Bee's design and development. Read the full update.
Our Campaign is Live!
I am very excited to be launching the Little Bee campaign! As a PhD student in power electronics, with my own small workbench, I understand the importance of affordable test equipment and wish that more than a small fraction of it was open hardware. Since I first started talking about this project, I have been surprised and heartened both by the level of interest and by the amount of feedback I have received. I am looking forward to being able to deliver Little Bee to my backers—and more broadly, to a future where important test equipment is more accessible to all. Read the full update.