Goals
We’re past building 10 Wheels per week. Our next goal is 10 Wheels per day, every day. We’re working hard to get there. Ultimately, we aim for 100 Wheels per week.
Developments and chips
To speed up production and improve overall reliability, we changed a few mechanical parts from Nylon to Polyacetal. Both are high grade synthetic polymers, but Polyacetal has a better dimensional stability and is easier to machine. This results in much better precision parts and streamlines our production. Inspired by the optical encoder in the plateau, we’ve also replaced the stick encoder setup for an optoelectronic system. All electronic stick components now fit on a single board instead of two, which makes assembly much more straightforward.
You might have heard of the global chip shortage. We haven’t been immune to that. But with electronics development in house, we’ve been able to control the damage pretty well.
For every change we weigh if the ends justify the means, time and money wise. We meticulously keep track of all changes, so if service questions might arise, we know exactly what’s in your Wheel.
Feet
In an earlier update we showed Wheel on its stand, with the wooden feet visible. We somewhat changed the design of the feet since then, and found that some backers were surprised by the change. Here’s what the updated feet look like now.
Wheel on the stand, rear view.
One of Wheel’s magnetic feet.
Wagner
Normally we don’t encourage visitors to come to our workshop, but if planning permits we sometimes say yes. This week we welcomed a senior gentleman and his wife. His Bang and Olufsen tangential record player, mostly used to play his Wagner records, needed to be replaced. After our demo, he ordered a Wheel, knowing he’s at the end of the queue. I told him he probably can’t have his Wheel before january, but he was okay with that. That’s the reassurance that keeps us going.
Let’s meet!
We're organizing a small meeting in the center of Amsterdam at June 17th. Our team will welcome you, share the Wheel story over a drink, answer questions and of course show off Wheels! Given the Covid-restrictions, there is room for a limited number of guests. If you want to meet us, just send a message with your backer/ordernumber before June 1th to meet@miniot.com.
We might add an additional meeting if interest is high. Obviously we can’t have meetings and build Wheels at the same time, so time and scale of the events are limited.
Thank you for your support!
Peter and the Wheel team
P.S. We’re hiring! If you like to work in an inspired team on unique products, just drop us a message at jobs@miniot.com