I haven't given too much news in recent weeks. We'll put that down to Christmas, New Year, fatigue... All that, what.

In short, we are in 2015. Here we go again.

There is still tons of work to do, but we can say that the site has nevertheless progressed well.

Good news: I finally have a working prototype of the new Pioupiou.

Well, actually for now it's still hooked up to my computer. But he will be able to take to the air tomorrow.

Finally. Before that, we had to spend a few hours there…

Plastic, It's Fantastic

Already to draw the box:

It looks quite silly. But in reality, it's a real battle. There are lots of constraints to be able to make an easily injectable part: thickness which must be uniform, minimum inclination to allow demolding, and so on…

Beyond these constraints, there is the second important point: everything must fit together correctly. There, I admit that it took me a few tries and adjustments.

The good thing is that I almost finished my roll of plastic Rose for the 3D printer 🙂

It beep beep

Finally, it works fine. The card, batteries, solar panels, and everything:

So I was able to take the opportunity to actually test the electronics.

There, no bad surprise (for the moment). A good dozen small adjustments to make, but nothing serious. THE " worst is the beep that sounds not loud enough when the on/off button is pressed. But we will find a solution.

And even, good news: the magnets placed on the propeller do not disturb the compass. (Well, actually I had already done the theoretical calculation. But it's always good to have experimental confirmation). So that's great. Pioupiou will always give us the correct direction of the wind, without having to check that it is well aligned with the North.

The beautiful tail

In the previous episode, I had started the development of the antenna. So to test, I had new cards made for the queue.

That's when I realized that " oh shit! it's Christmas ". And suddenly, it was not easy to find a factory that could order the cards on December 23 to receive them on January 2. But I found it, and the result is pretty cool!

So here is Pioupiou's tail, almost final version:

And I took advantage of the screen printing to put a text that scares the bad guys:

Well, on the other hand I have absolutely no idea how these drawings will hold up to UV. Basically, these are paints intended for making markings on electronic cards, not for Pioupious exposed in direct sunlight. No way to do otherwise for the moment. You have to make compromises… We will see in the long run what happens.

But personally, I think it's a good solution. Because in addition to being ultra easy and reliable to manufacture, it is also super light:

Here, the complete cue set weighs 35 grams, while still being quite strong. (carbon rod + fiberglass card)

Technical specifications

As the project progresses, I am bombarded with emails. And in general, it's often the same questions.

Especially : " What are the technical characteristics of the beacon? " or " Do you have technical documentation? »

If there is one thing to understand about this project, it is that we are not in a classic pattern. Usually a manufacturer works " secretly to develop a product and then market it. It is therefore easy for him to give specifications, since the product already exists.

Here, we are still at the design and experimentation stage. I made the choice to do it publicly, because I think it's more interesting for all of us.

But suddenly, the product evolves every day. It is far too early for me to commit to specifications or a technical solution to use or not. I can very well completely change the design tomorrow, if I find a great idea that will make a more solid Pioupiou.

Since I am in a research and development phase, it is completely impossible for me to know in advance what will happen. That's why we say " research ". If I'm looking, it's because I haven't found yet...

Today, I sell Pioupiou as being " a small, affordable device designed for windsurfers and paragliders who want to know live how the wind is at their spot ". For now, that's the features.

I've been working on the subject for a year, well over 35 hours a week, without pay and with an extremely limited budget. I'm doing my best, because the subject is really close to my heart, and I'm sure we'll have a good result.

For those for whom these characteristics are enough, it's perfect. You can Order a Pioupiou right now, and suddenly allow me to develop this project without having to take out a loan from the bank or seek shareholders.

For those for whom these characteristics are not enough, no problem. You are under no obligation to order today. You can wait a few months until the release " opening " of the product. At that time, you will have all the detailed technical specifications.

In any case, remember that ordering a Pioupiou is not like buying an iPad on Amazon.

Question existentielle : to mold or to print ?

After this long speech, back to practical questions to illustrate the kind of choice I have to make.

There will be 5 plastic parts on the current Pioupiou: the propeller, the upper and lower hulls, and the two (identical) parts that make the connection between the stem and the tail. The idea for now is to do this by injection molding. Like most plastic things we have around the house.

As it stands, it should cost me between €10 and €15 to make the molds. (It's really cheap, actually). It's not a problem, it was what was planned, and I will probably do it.

The idea is that all the same, it's a lot of money. Above all, it's a lot of money to make molds that we may want to change after the first series, because we will have found lots of little details to improve. And once you've slammed €15 into the moulds, you don't necessarily want to change the design...

So, by dint of making my prototypes with the 3D printer, I really ask myself the question… Should I mold or print?

Knowing that 3D printing is still very slow: ~ 24 hours for all the parts of a Pioupiou...

Knowing that it will be less clean than injection. But that all the same, what I've seen so far seems to me to be quite robust...

Knowing that Pioupiou is a product that will be installed in nature, at the top of a pole and that suddenly it is perhaps not so serious if the external appearance is not perfect...

Knowing that printing and electricity costs remain reasonable.

Knowing that making printable parts is much less stressful than making moldable parts.

Brief. If I spend €15 on 000D printers rather than molds, that gives me a production capacity of at least 3 pioupious/month. Except that there, the advantage is that I can improve the design when I want and even make other products...

On these volumes, the question really arises. Obviously, if afterwards we sell thousands of Pioupious, we will make moulds. But now I'm not 100% convinced. What do you think ?

(For the propeller, it will be molded in any case. We have no choice if we want a good calibration).

Well, apart from all that, I'm going to try to make several prototypes next week. That way we'll be able to take advantage of the winter to put this Pioupiou to the test.

bye