So you want to develop a new electronic hardware product?
Let me start with the good news – it’s possible. You can develop a hardware product regardless of your technical level and you don’t necessarily need to be an engineer … read more
One of your first decisions for your hardware startup is to go it alone, or work with a team. What’s best? Should you work on your hardware startup on your own, or is it better to have a team of … read more
You need a wide variety of skills in order to build a successful hardware startup.
Engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales – they are all required skills. But they can also be outsourced (although marketing is usually best done by the founders). … read more
It’s a long journey to take a hardware product from idea to market. That journey becomes even longer, more stressful, and more expensive if you end up taking the wrong path.
So I want to share eight tips with you … read more
Before you begin the long journey to bring a new product to market you need to first determine if your product is a good idea for you.
I get asked frequently by entrepreneurs if I think their product is a … read more
There are countless barriers that you will need to surpass in order to bring a new physical product to market. This is especially true for an electronic hardware product.
The best way to make it past these barriers is to … read more
It all starts with an idea. Many hardware entrepreneurs then spend months (or even years) specifying and mentally analyzing their product.
Once their product vision is solidified their next step is to protect their hypothetical product. So now they spend … read more
This article is written by Marty Zwilling who is an angel investor and startup business consultant. He is also one of the experts in the Hardware Academy.
As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that … read more
I want to discuss something that I’ve come to realize is one of the most important early steps that a hardware entrepreneur can take. That step is to simplify your product without compromising on the key features that your customers … read more
Most electronic products require multiple certifications in order to be sold. Which certifications you will need depends on your product specifics and the countries where you will market and sell it.
Don’t overlook the cost and time you will need … read more
Although hardware is known for being “hard” for good reason, it has never been easier to turn an idea in your head into a real-world product ready for sale.
Don’t get me wrong, hardware is still hard, in fact any … read more
As a designer for Texas Instruments, and through Predictable Designs, I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the smartest engineers in the world.
I’ve worked with or hired people from India, China, Russia, the U.K., Germany, Mexico, Malaysia, … read more
Creating a new hardware startup is an overwhelming process and it can be quite confusing to know where to even start. In this article I want to highlight what your top 6 priorities should be when forming a hardware startup. … read more
Choosing your product’s optimal price is an extremely important decision that should be made as soon as possible. In general, if your product is priced too high then it won’t sell well. If your product is priced too low, you … read more
My name is Dave Millman and I help high-tech startups find their first customers. John Teel asked me to share some of my first-hand experiences so as to help you avoid many of the first timer manufacturing mistakes.
During the … read more
One of the most frequent questions I am asked is, “how long will it take to develop my new product?”. Everyone, of course, wants to know when they can expect to have their product ready to go on store shelves. … read more
This is a guest post by industrial designer Christian Theill.
The design of electronic devices almost always requires a multitude of professional skills: electronics, mechanics, production techniques, aesthetics, ergonomics, finance, commerce, communication, marketing and others. The conscious coordination of these … read more
In a recent blog I discussed the path to market for entrepreneurs with a strong technical background. I started that blog by telling a story about an engineer named Gary, and his marketer friend named Paul. You eventually learn that … read more
I’m going to start with a story about an engineer named Gary.
Like many engineers and makers, as a child Gary always loved playing with electronics and computers, so it was no surprise that he ended up with an electrical … read more
Developing a new electronic product is never cheap, but in this article I’m going to share with you 12 tips to significantly lower your costs.
Minimizing your costs is even more important in the early stages of development. Goal number … read more
It’s a long, rough, expensive journey to take a hardware product from idea to market. That journey becomes even longer, rougher, and more expensive when you end up taking the wrong path.
So I want to share eight tips with … read more
The odds are you are going to need some sort of outside funding at some point in order to get your product to market. If you are lucky enough to get your product to market without outside funding, you will … read more
What if I told you that it was possible to build an army of salespeople around the world, and that you only had to pay them if they actually sold your product?
And, even better, that you only had to … read more
I’m going to share with you the three steps I followed to get a manufacturer to invest over $100,000 in my product without me having to give up any equity in my company.
By following these three steps, you will … read more
There are many types of prototypes that you will hear about when developing a new hardware product. Each stage of bringing your product to market has different prototype requirements.
Unfortunately, a single prototype is never sufficient for bringing a commercial … read more
Determining the right type of business structure for your startup is critical. It affects how much you pay in taxes, your ability to raise outside funding, the paperwork you need to file, and your personal liability.
Unfortunately, choosing the right … read more
Most makers or enthusiasts know what a boost or buck converter does, and have used them before. However, they typically just follow a canned approach to designing one without fully appreciating exactly what it is doing.
This article provides an … read more
This article was written by Steven Szymeczek who is a mechanical engineer that specializes in product design for manufacturing. He is one of the many experts available to help you in the Hardware Academy.
How do we determine if additive … read more
There is a perception that a real-time operating system is closely connected with high-end technology and complicated devices that perform life or death operations. This is just partially true.
Today, an RTOS can be used in almost every chip to … read more
Comparing ATmega and STM32 microcontrollers is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. At a very general level, they are both fruits, in this case they are both microcontrollers. To take things a bit further, there are many variants of … read more
This article is about using the STM32CubeIDE to develop applications for STM32 microcontrollers. Why develop an application using the STM32Cube IDE, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of using this method?
The STM32CubeIDE is a complete development system to … read more
There are many different implementations of an Analog to Digital Converter, or ADC. This article provides an overview of the main types, their characteristics and limitations.
Almost all microcontrollers have built-in ADC’s. Even the small Arduinos, based on the AVR … read more
If you are planning to use an Arduino module such as the Uno for your project, then you should consider an STM32duino instead.
Commonly referred to as the STM32 Blue Pill, this board has nearly all the capabilities of the … read more
The battery type of choice for most electronic equipment running on batteries is the li-ion battery.
Of the other types that were used previously, NiCad batteries for use in electronic equipment have been banned in the EU, so the overall … read more
Modern smartphones are marvels of technology, and it is really impressive how much technology is crammed into such a compact device. The product that the customer holds in their hands is certainly the result of many compromises made to satisfy … read more
Microcontrollers are great for implementing the smarts behind a given product. However, one thing that they cannot do is directly control anything other than, maybe, a single LED. That’s because the output drive of most microcontrollers can directly source or … read more
Embedded applications often need to reproduce sound. Whether you need simple prompts, chimes, rings or music clips, having the ability to reproduce pre-recorded audio can greatly enhance the UI (User Interface) of many embedded applications.
This article explores the ways … read more
An oscilloscope, frequently referred to in the trade as a scope, is an essential diagnostic tool used in any serious electronic circuit design activities.
A scope provides a time-stamped, running clip of a signal at the point of measurement. The … read more
An embedded system is a stand alone, intelligent system dedicated to running a set of tasks, or an application, from the moment it is powered on.
This is in contrast to the way an application is started on a desktop … read more
The ESP32 is a powerful, feature-packed, SoC that can be effectively used in many applications. For all its features, it is surprisingly affordable.
While generally known for its WiFi and Bluetooth ability, it can nonetheless be used as a general-purpose … read more
Given the explosion of Internet-of-Things (IoT) capable products, I wanted to go into more detail on how to add wireless sensors to your new product.
This article describes a simple system, and a communication protocol, that can be used to … read more
If you are a maker or engineer planning to develop your own electronic product, then you’re going to need a way to test, program, and debug the electronics. In this article we will discuss how you can construct your very … read more
The STM32H7 is the most powerful member of the popular STM32 family of 32-bit microcontrollers based on ARM Cortex-M cores, and offered by ST Microelectronics.
This microcontroller can be clocked at speeds up to 480 MHz with a benchmark performance … read more
The ESP32 is a very versatile System On a Chip (SoC) that can be used as a general purpose microcontroller with quite an extensive set of peripherals, including wireless capabilities.
Manufactured by Shanghai based Espressif Systems, the ESP32 costs less … read more
There are numerous applications where detecting the presence or absence of an object is required. This article will explore the different methods of object detection, how they are implemented, and their major advantages and limitations.
Before getting in to the … read more
Developing a wearable electronic product involves juggling design constraints and compromises in ways that are quite a bit different from a conventional non-wearable design.
In this article, I’m defining a wearable product as a body-worn device, with its own power … read more
Thanks to Amazon, Google, and Apple, voice recognition has finally gone mainstream.
I’ve personally dreamed about intelligent voice recognition since I was a kid tinkering with electronics and programming my Commodore 64.
Listening to my son interact the other day … read more
An Arduino, or more specifically an Arduino architecture, can be successfully used in some embedded designs. This can provide a less technically complex path to market for many makers.
However, the proliferation of Arduino and Arduino-compatible boards, each with its … read more
The purpose of this article is to provide an understanding of what is needed to successfully provide a suitable display for your product. The focus will be on mainstream, or relatively recent, graphical video display systems, with historical references to … read more
In my years of working with hardware entrepreneurs I’ve seen too many cases of poorly designed Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) that would never be of sufficient quality for commercial production.
In some cases these boards were designed by the entrepreneur … read more
Choosing a battery for a given application involves more than just knowing the application requirements. An understanding of the underlying technology of each battery type, its characteristics, limitations, and advantages, is required in order to select the right type of … read more
