News for Batch Four

I’ve just returned home from hospital, where my four-year-old son had a tonsillectomy.  He’s feeling better than expected: the biggest problem right now is that he keeps asking me for help playing Cut the Rope while I’m trying to work.  I’ll resume packing Batch Four tonight, finish over the weekend, and I’ll book the couriers for Monday.  Special orders will take a day or two longer.

I’m sorry for the delay.  The plan was to have packed and shipped everything before my son’s operation, but I could not do that because of the MakerSlide shipping confusion.

Batch Four and Five Update, and Other Orders

There’s been a snag with the delivery of MakerSlide. Harry is sorting it out, but it means I won’t receive it until later this week, instead of last week. Batch Four has been waiting only for the MakerSlide, so it will ship early next week.

A few things still need to arrive for Batch Five: MakerSlide (see above), laser-cut parts (due this week), bearings (half of them in stock, balance due by the end of next week), machined spindle mounts (on the 28th of March). We haven’t packed anything for Batch Five yet, but I’m preparing my little helpers for a few long nights.

NEMA23 motors are finally on their way to us from the factory, and should be here this week.

Lastly, I dropped the ball quite egregiously with the store orders. I haven’t posted anything ordered last week yet. I apologize. I’m packing them tonight, and I’ll post them tomorrow morning.

Change of Packaging

In order to save time packaging the eShapeOko kit, I’m thinking of eliminating some work that can be viewed as essentially pointless.  Specifically, I’m talking about the way we pack the fasteners, spacers, and the other small components.  Right now, with a few exceptions, every one of the about three dozen small part types goes in its own, individually labelled little zip bag.  I would keep doing that for a few parts (the washers, for instance), but everything else can safely go in a few larger baggies.

A few people commented that the packaging was “like LEGO”, but that’s not quite true.  LEGO pack all the parts in a couple of bags, not each part type in its own bag.  I would pack all the spacers in one bag; the screws in two bags (small ones and large ones); washers still each type in its own bag, because they’re hard to tell apart and fiddly to separate; and all other small parts in another bag.  I would include a 1:1 cheat sheet of all the parts, to help if someone had a hard time telling them apart.

Do you think this is a good idea?  I’m talking especially to current eShapeOko owners: would you have liked it less if the parts were in seven or eight bags instead of almost 40?

Please note that this is for Batch Five onward; Batch Four is already packed (for the most part) in the old style.