In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, we explore the concept of the "bus test", a critical measure of an organization's knowledge sharing and resilience to sudden, unexpected change. Join Stephen and Lucy as they discuss the implications of team members being suddenly unavailable and how to prepare for such scenarios. Drawing from personal experiences and recent challenges, they explore the importance of standard operating procedures (SOPs), cross-training, and documentatio...
Jun 19, 2025•39 min•Ep. 41
In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, we explore the influential media that has shaped our journeys as engineers and entrepreneurs. Join Stephen and Thea as they dive into the books, documentaries, and creators that have left a lasting impact on their careers. From the lessons learned in the world of open source hardware to the entrepreneurial spirit ignited by unexpected sources, this episode is packed with insights and inspiration. If you would like the links to these rec...
Jun 05, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 40
In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, we tackle the daunting yet exhilarating journey of starting a hardware company. Join Stephen and Lucian as they share their insights and experiences, breaking down the essential steps to kickstart your venture. From embracing failure to navigating imposter syndrome, this episode is packed with valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs. We discuss: The importance of accepting failure as part of the learning process Strategies for overc...
May 15, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 39
In this episode of the OHM Podcast, We explore the critical phases of product development: Engineering Validation Test (EVT), Design Validation Test (DVT), and Production Validation Test (PVT). We discuss the importance of each phase in transforming a bare-bones concept into a market-ready product and emphasize the need for structured validation processes to ensure that products meet their intended specifications and can be effectively mass-produced. Join us as we delve into: The significance of...
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 38
In this episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast, we dive into keeping sales up while managing production demands. This is an "unofficial part 2" to the last episode, where we discuss keeping up with orders . From the importance of understanding your customer demographics to the delicate balance of marketing channels, we share our experiences and lessons learned along the way. Whether you're a startup or an established business, this episode offers valuable tips on effectively stoking ...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 37
Keeping up with orders is an underrepresented problem that has been intrinsically tricky for us to solve. We cover everything from keeping lead times down and managing orders in the queue to avoiding stockouts and using stock management tools. This can be one of the most challenging aspects of manufacturing, and we have spent significant time figuring out what works best. We hope you enjoy! Note: To find out more about the FTC rule that was mentioned: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resour...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 36
Join Stephen and Lucian as they wrap up this year by giving a year-end review of the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2024. From Prusa closing their source to FreeCAD 1.0 squeaking in at the last minute, they cover quite a bit while enjoying the memories. We can't thank all of you enough for a very successful 2024, and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year. Happy Holidays! Here is the link to the blog post about licensing mentioned in this episode: https://www.opulo.io/blogs/news/fewer...
Dec 27, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 35
Managing a print farm may seem like it shouldn't be that complicated. It is tricky in ways you wouldn't expect, and it certainly comes with some life lessons! From choosing the right printer to optimizing filament and settings, we share our journey and lessons learned in building an efficient 3D printing farm. Whether you're running a single 3D printer or managing a fleet, this episode is packed with practical advice to save you time, money, and frustration. YouTube video about the print farm ma...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 34
Join Stephen and Lucian on an exciting episode of the Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast as they chat with Bar Smith, the innovative mind behind the Maslow CNC. We hope you enjoy this talk about the world of open-source hardware and community building as Bar shares his journey from a random thought to creating a revolutionary CNC router, the Maslow 4.1. You will learn about the struggles of developing a large-format CNC router that allows anyone access to fabrication tools while keeping everyth...
Nov 21, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 33
Writing documentation is like a Greek tragedy, where you are both the best and worst person to write your own docs. In this episode, Stephen and Lucian dive deep into the art of creating effective documentation for open hardware products. Join us as we explore the balance between text and images, the downsides of video documentation, and the ever-evolving nature of keeping your docs up-to-date. Whether you're a seasoned doc writer or just getting started, you'll find valuable insights and practi...
Nov 08, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 32
Surprisingly, there are many other reasons why an event can benefit a company besides selling units at your booth. From making industry connections to gauging what your customer demographic wants, it can be a great place to gather data that could help you shape your company's direction. In this episode, Stephen and Lucian tell you about the trade show that opened their eyes to the fact that people wanted the LumenPnP for something we were not even considering, leading to a whole new branch of cu...
Oct 24, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 31
Packaging requires considering what you might need in the future, which is not as easy as you think. You don't want to bottleneck your future products because they won't fit in the packaging, nor do you want to buy all new packaging for every change you make. You'd be surprised by some of the design choices made in the name of packaging. Did I forget to mention that a horse kicked, bit, and stomped a LumenPnP? You never know what your packaging might go up against. YouTube video we did about pac...
Oct 10, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 30
Finding the right way to offer customer support can be tricky. You can't run everything yourself forever if you intend to continue your growth. There are so many ways this can go wrong, so make sure to take the time to plan this out as best as possible before you dive in. In this episode, we will dive deep into how we handled building our support team and the hurdles that came with it. ---------------------------------- Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podca...
Sep 26, 2024•58 min•Ep. 29
It's here! The LumenPnP V4 is finally here , and we wanted to share some of our design decisions and explain why we made some of the choices we did. From wants to necessity, it wasn't easy. It took years of feedback, but we couldn't be happier with what has come from all of it. We wouldn't be where we are without the help of our community and the hard work they put into this as well. Thank you! To learn more about the brand new LumenPnP V4.0: Opulo.io ---------------------------------- Do you ha...
Sep 12, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 28
You did it! You worked hard to prepare everything for launch day, but now it is time to put it all into action. Take what you have learned from the last two episodes and prepare for one of the most fun and stressful days you will ever have. Stephen and Lucian have experienced their fair share of ups and downs with different launch days and are ready to share their best practices with you. If you thought the hard work stopped here, guess again. ---------------------------------- Do you have any q...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 27
As we gear up for launch day, listen to the conclusion of Preparing for Launch. (If you haven't listened to Part 1, we highly recommend doing so before diving into this episode!) Stephen and Lucian will cover topics like internal work instructions, setting up your PLM software, press kits, and so much more. This is really fun to talk about because we are also in the middle of this right now. It's been fun and quite meta. We hope you enjoy this episode! Do you have any questions, comments, or top...
Aug 08, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 26
What actually goes into launching a hardware product? What can be worked on in advance, and what has to be perfectly timed with the launch date? We'll explore how to structure the necessary planning and share some of the things we have learned through multiple launches we have done ourselves. There is so much to unpack here that we had to break up this episode into two parts! Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io. We'd love to hear from you! To f...
Jul 25, 2024•56 min•Ep. 25
What does it mean to license something in a way that works for you and your project? Does this fall under copyright or a patent? (The answer may surprise you!) The president of the Open Source Hardware Association, Thea Flowers, stopped by to school us on open hardware licensing, and it was much needed. We start by going over the scope of permissivity regarding licenses, beginning with the most open type of license available and progressing from there. There is a lot to unpack here, so get ready...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 24
It is challenging to succeed with open hardware while keeping it sustainable and still making enough money to pay the bills. But there are ways to do it! In this episode, we dive into how you can succeed in doing open hardware. Plus, we talk about how vastly different open hardware is compared to open software. Do you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions? Email us at podcast@opulo.io. We'd love to hear from you! To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.io To see everythin...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 23
Pricing your product can be a daunting task. Set the price too high, and you risk alienating potential customers. Set it too low, and you may find yourself struggling to sustain your business. While there's no "one-size-fits-all" formula, our experience in this field has given us some perspective on how to approach it! Adafruit Blog Post: https://learn.adafruit.com/how-to-build-a-hardware-startup/pricing-your-product Also, Stephen was super wrong in this episode: DRM is not "Digitally Restricted...
Jun 13, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 22
Trying to find the best way to incorporate community feedback can be tough, especially when that feedback is criticism. You have to be the director of your project's path, know where it has to go, and be opinionated. You have to assume they mean well in their criticism and you need to really show off the work that was done when a community member adds something to the project. To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.io To see everything else we do, including social media, check out Op...
May 30, 2024•59 min•Ep. 21
When do you decide to sign a commercial real estate lease? Do you truly need one? These are challenging questions, but in this episode, we're here to help. Stephen and Lucian will walk you through what's acceptable, what's not, what factors to consider, what could be deal breakers, and all the other aspects of this decision. Getting this right is crucial, and there's a lot to consider. We hope to help you make this decision a little bit easier with this episode. To find out more about what we do...
May 16, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 20
What is the process of reducing costs in your supply chain without making your product worse? This is a tricky subject and needs to be handled with care. Luckily for you, we have already gone through this many times and can help you successfully cost down your supply chain by helping you find another way to potentially save money and what to look for when picking a vendor. We also give advice on what things you should choose to cost down and more. Learn what we did to get better pricing without ...
May 02, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 19
Ever wonder if your product is truly worth the time and effort it takes to bring it to market? How can you ensure it resonates with your target audience? This episode delves into the significance of a PRD and discusses how it can pave the way for your product's success from the very beginning. PRD Template: https://github.com/opulo-inc/prd-template To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.io To see everything else we do, including social media, check out Opulo.start.page Google Podcast...
Apr 18, 2024•52 min
A few years ago, we chose to rebrand our company and open source project. From talking with lawyers to pitching awful name ideas, this was not an easy process. We get into the list of potential names, and how Opulo might have been named Crabapple Industries. To find out more about what we do, check out Opulo.io To see everything else we do, including social media, check out Opulo.start.page Don't forget that Google Podcast is going away in a few days! We will not be on YouTube Music , so you may...
Mar 28, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 17
In this episode, we sit down with Thea Flowers , a huge advocate for open source who has done many things to be a beacon of light for others who believe in open source and open hardware as well. From running her own open-hardware synthesizer company to working at Google, Thea has contributed to many big projects and has even been a paid musician. She really has done it all. Oh, and did we mention she is the president of OSHWA ? She is very impressive yet too humble to admit it. We hope you enjoy...
Mar 14, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 16
How do you make yourself obsolete? That question may sound odd at first, but as Opulo continues to grow, how do Stephen and Lucian handle offloading their tasks to others while maintaining the speed and precision needed to keep up with demand? This topic was a user-submitted topic from our O.H.M. Podcast Channel found on our Discord. Thank you, appaog, for the great question! To find out more about what we do: opulo.io Instagram Twitter Music by: Otis McDonald Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...
Feb 29, 2024•54 min•Ep. 15
What does it take to own your data, and when is it okay to hand over the reins? Should you self-host or not? Stephen and Lucian discuss topics like when it is okay to give up some control for convenience and how to walk that fine line. Plus, they talk about what would happen if Discord or Google went belly-up tomorrow and how that would affect your business (Even if it is very unlikely). This topic has sure been an eye-opener and has since caused changes to how we look at what we do. Tune in to ...
Feb 15, 2024•48 min•Ep. 14
Stephen and Lucian are asked to divulge more detail about how they handle making a new hardware release and how it is much more involved than a software release. Software is changeable, but hardware is permanent. That makes a big difference when considering what goes into a hardware release, including what you should do between prototyping and releases. As always, let us know what you thought of the episode on Discord in the #ohm-episode-discussion thread for Episode 13! https://discordapp.com/i...
Feb 01, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 13
In this episode, we're excited to have guest Brad Collette! Brad is the cofounder and CTO of Ondsel, an Open-Core company working to improve FreeCAD. Ondsel is also building features on top of FreeCAD that are aimed specifically at commercial applications. We hear how Brad has been involved with FreeCAD development for over a decade, started Ondsel, and has been balancing them both! Lots of great discussion about open software UX, and what the future holds for FreeCAD. You can find Ondsel on Twi...
Jan 18, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 12
