Tige TouchPad Upgrade Project Thread

[mcosenz]

Thanks IDBoating. I messaged TheGerman my info. I knew my speedset was on its last leg, so made sure to test it first thing, just glad it will be up and running again shorty. After you put in the order how long till you expect to receive them? Thanks again for saving my summer!

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[IDBoating]

After you put in the order how long till you expect to receive them?

Hoping to order all components, and schedule with the assembly house, next week. Pacing item is the assembly backlog; last project we had (about a month ago) took 3-4 weeks and that was with expedite fees. It's nice to have a backlog but by definition it delays everything. A mixed blessing.

So if we presume 3-4 weeks until assembly is complete, that puts delivery in mid to late June. I promise we will push to accelerate that; from an electronics assembly perspective the boards are pretty simple. The complexity on this project comes with insuring their physical compatibility with the existing OEM panel and its various components (bezel, elastomer, dash cutout, etc.). Hence the spacers, backing plate, and so forth. None of those things perform any useful electronic function, but they're necessary to make things work mechanically.

Thanks!

[IDBoating]

As promised, component ordering has begun. The PCB's and backing plates have been ordered and should be here in 10 days. Production has the paperwork in hand and is scheduling now. We've pressured them for mid-June delivery, keep your fingers crossed. Might need some sharp elbows to shove some other projects aside.

We have committed to 30 pieces in this production run. TG618 says we're at 23-24 committed orders. We added a couple for internal consumption, plus a couple more as insurance in case folks experience failures during the summer.

Order forms will be finished in a few days and we'll get them out to everyone. Stay tuned... thanks!

[Thegerman618]

Headed back to my house tomorrow and will get everyone that contacted me their information to IDB. Super stoked about all this!!

[IDBoating]

Update: We have booked a production slot with delivery ~3 weeks out. The assembly house ran the fastest quote we've ever gotten from them and gave us two options: 3 weeks and 6 weeks. The 3 week timeframe incurs a ~$20/unit expedite fee, which we are going to absorb to honor our $250/unit promise to everyone.

However, going forward, the price must go up. Having to maintain compatibility with the OEM panel has added a lot of cost to these units beyond their basic functionality. We've had to add a custom backplate, custom spacers (to use the existing elastomer and bezel), flying leads and connector (to use the existing harness connector and avoid requiring cutting into the dash), etc. That original design continues to haunt us! Also, building less than 100 units at a time means we see a big increase in component costs (100 pieces is a magic threshold in small volume electronics). Even the 6 week ARO quote was substantially more than we had hoped, due to low volume.

So, after this order, the unit price will increase to around $350. The exact number will be determined by volume in each order. We still think it's a much better deal than 3X that much for an OEM unit just as likely to fail as the one being replaced.

We also got word this morning that the snapdomes are shipping ahead of schedule. FedEx will have them today and we should have them next week.

We'll keep everyone posted as things come together. Thanks!

[Jetdriver]

Update: We have booked a production slot with delivery ~3 weeks out. The assembly house ran the fastest quote we've ever gotten from them and gave us two options: 3 weeks and 6 weeks. The 3 week timeframe incurs a ~$20/unit expedite fee, which we are going to absorb to honor our $250/unit promise to everyone.

However, going forward, the price must go up. Having to maintain compatibility with the OEM panel has added a lot of cost to these units beyond their basic functionality. We've had to add a custom backplate, custom spacers (to use the existing elastomer and bezel), flying leads and connector (to use the existing harness connector and avoid requiring cutting into the dash), etc. That original design continues to haunt us! Also, building less than 100 units at a time means we see a big increase in component costs (100 pieces is a magic threshold in small volume electronics). Even the 6 week ARO quote was substantially more than we had hoped, due to low volume.

So, after this order, the unit price will increase to around $350. The exact number will be determined by volume in each order. We still think it's a much better deal than 3X that much for an OEM unit just as likely to fail as the one being replaced.

We also got word this morning that the snapdomes are shipping ahead of schedule. FedEx will have them today and we should have them next week.

We'll keep everyone posted as things come together. Thanks!

IDB-you are truly a Tige' Jedi sir! Well done indeed. I sent my info to The German, I'm good for one as well. Hopefully I'm not to late. Regardless just wanted to say thanks to ALL you guys for offering up your expertise to the benefit of the group! Killer effort

[Thegerman618]

Got you down JetDriver and sent email reply! Up to 27 panels


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[IDBoating]

Update: The snapdomes arrived today:
SnapDomes.jpg

This is a custom order (size of snapdome, configuration and number of legs, dimple, etc.) for which they have a minimum quantity of 1000 pieces. Thus we now have 1020 snapdomes in stock, enough to make 145 panels (!!!).

If you look closely, you can see that each snapdome is surrounded by a cut edge. Those are the 0.5x0.5 squares of 3M adhesive backed mylar mentioned earlier.

Things are coming together. We'll keep you posted!

[Frosty_Power]

Can I get in on this run or am I too late? Everything looks awesome!

[Thegerman618]

List is sent Gents 28 panels total. IDB will be reaching out to you all individually so keep an eye on your emails should be receiving paperwork to complete soon.

[IDBoating]

Can I get in on this run or am I too late? Everything looks awesome!

I'm on the road right now, if you haven't already contacted TG618 here (he's been maintaining the list) I will reach out to you Monday. Thanks!

[IDBoating]

List is sent Gents 28 panels total.

It will be close. We have 30 scheduled in the production run. We need several for internal purposes. If we get more prepaid orders we'll try to bump the quantity.

[IDBoating]

The latest:

* The PCB fab house has finished the PCB's. They are in FedEx's hands and we should have them in a few days. We'll build up the first one (the pre-prod) manually, then toss it and the rest of the boards over to production.

* We have a commit date from production of 21 June. We are pressing to shave a few days off that if possible. Otherwise we'll have them then and ship them out within a day or two after.

* We will be emailing the order form tomorrow to the folks we have on the list. There are two on the list for whom we only have their TigeOwners username; they have been sent a PM asking for their email address. To make it fair, if requested quantities exceed this build, we will ship in the order that we receive forms+payment. Keep in mind that we must keep a few units for internal purposes, so the actual number of shippable units is something less than 30.

I'll post again when the order forms have been emailed. Thanks!

[IDBoating]

As promised, order forms have been emailed to everyone on the list (except one user who hasn't yet responded to my PM request for their email).

One has bounced back, which suggests we have an incorrect email for them. I'll send a PM their way too.

[IDBoating]

We have been asked if we accept PayPal, particularly for international orders. We prefer checks or money orders (and they're cheaper for you, too), but to make things easier for those who prefer PayPal we have set up a PayPal account.

If you're interested in using PayPal to purchase the upgraded Tige TouchPad, please send me an email or PM and I'll cover the details.

Thanks!