Summer Updates
Hi everyone!
I wanted to give you a quick update from all the progress I've made this summer. In short, everything is coming along really well! Here's an update from each aspect of the project.
Design
The design is fairly similar to what it was before, with a few key differences. First, I reversed the direction of the screws keeping the case together. To fit the screw holes in the top case, I needed to add some bumps that should typically need to extend all the way up through the top (because of drafting requirements on injection molding parts), adding weight and getting in the way of the columns. To avoid this, I angled two of the sides (so the top is now a trapezoid shape), which lets these bumps end after about two inches as well as leaving more area for a clear view of the columns. Making these changes allowed me to greatly simplify the design of both the bottom and the top, leaving the bottom much lighter and simpler, and the top much flatter and clear, as well as removing two of the screws I was using before. Below is a 3D model of the current design. I'm planning to keep this design for the production run, but it could still change slightly after the sample boards and cases arrive in early September.
Current 4Play design after the changes I made this summer.
Code
I've made great progress on the code both for the physical board and (with the help of my brother) its companion iOS app. Both now feature fully playable 4x4x4 tic tac toe games, and the board already has a fairly strong algorithm written to play against human users. I've already been able to play test games between my phone and the board over Bluetooth, though that work is still in its infancy. The app is already looking fairly clean, and I'm hoping to push a beta version to the app store in the next few weeks. After that, my priority will be the boards and getting the program ready for production, since I'm planning to order the processors with the program pre-loaded onto them, to decrease the labor I'll need to do for production. Here are demo videos of what gameplay looks like on both platforms:
Boards
The electrical engineering for this project may be finished! This summer I've been working with the test boards that you saw in the video above. However, changes needed to be made for the final iteration of these printed circuit boards (PCBs). First, the shape needs to change to fit in the plastic case. I also need to eliminate all the external wires that are currently being used to connect signals from the columns to the processor. Finally, a few smaller changes have been made in the final boards, including adding a hardwired debugging connector for the processor, as well as a powering change that will dramatically improve the efficiency of the boards (so that you don't need to change the batteries as much) while allowing the top buttons to act as the power switch. I've finished making these changes, and ordered sample PCBs using this new design, so that I can guarantee that the new design works before ordering thousands of units. I'll likely have a few small bugs left to fix in the sample PCBs that I ordered, but hopefully none of them prevent me from testing and certifying the design. I'll know the status of that next week, when the PCBs are delivered and I can test them in earnest. I am ordering these sample boards through the manufacturer that I plan to use for production, so if everything works now there should be few hiccups in the full run. Since the PCBs and the components on them are about 80% of the project, there will be significantly less risk once the PCB design (and production process) is finished and approved.
Manufacturing
That brings me to manufacturing. The manufacturing part of the project is currently the riskiest, most unknown part, as one might expect. But a lot of progress has been made this summer to nail down the suppliers I'll be using for production and exactly which parts and processes will be used. As I mentioned in the previous section, I have decided on the supplier I want to use for PCB manufacturing and assembly. I have also decided on the supplier I'll be using for injection molding the clear plastic cases for the boards. The same supplier is able to supply pad printing for displaying the 4Play logo and required markings on the case. With these two suppliers decided on, the only remaining question mark is the sourcing for individual components, which are difficult to find in enough supply for the quantity of boards I am hoping to ship by Christmas (3,000 units). Worst case, if a couple components fall short of the required amounts, I should be able to ship a few thousand boards on time with the quantities that are available right now, with the other units shipping soon after as parts become available.
I've made a lot of progress this summer, and I'm excited to keep pushing hard this fall as I publish the app, start the kickstarter, and enter production, provided everything keeps working as well as it has been. I'll keep everything up to date here as it happens, so be sure to check back often so you don't miss anything, or drop me an email at [email protected] if you want to be notified when the kickstarter and app go live!