The EK-DZ Advanced Laser Router!

[White-Light]

On the subject of DMX out, this might not be a realistic suggestion as it's hard to tell from the photo, but it looks as if the ILDA sockets would just about mount vertically instead of horizontally on the rear panel. If that were the case, it should free up enough real estate on the back panel to allow the fitment of a DMX out and maybe an estop port.

Just a suggestion...

[luxilid]

Vertical dimension of a 1U rack component is 1.75" and an ILDA DB25 connector is 2" wide so you can't mount those vertically in that form factor.

[White-Light]

Ok. Thought that might be the case, it just looked possible from the pictures but then again pictures can be deceptive. Only other space saving solution I could think of in that case would be:

1. Mount them diagonally. Whether or not people would want them not to be straight is another matter but it would reduce the footprint in the horizontal plane

2. Use flat screwdriver adjusted trim pots instead of knobs and move them onto the top of the rack unit instead of the face (this also achieves the aim of putting them beyond reach once the unit is mounted on site), and then you could go for a similar setup to the laser matrix where you have ports both front and back. If you wanted to keep the front clean as clean as possible, then you could just move the DMX ports to the front which would also create enough space on the back for the addition of an estop port when the DMX in was.

[Laserhobbit]

As I think a few of you know on the forum, I moved away from being a classically trained theatre lighting designer to working on industrial design a number of years ago, being head of product development for a very large Japanese electronics company. One thing I have learned over the last 30 years of being involved in technology design and development is to listen to the initial feedback of your prospective user base. Here I am talking about real users, not armchair experts, who gain their experience from Google and spend all day posting comments based on their own theoretical research. One area where research is definitely worth the effort in terms of product design and spec finalisation is to look at the various published interviews with Sir Jonathan Ive, for me the man who has turned the Apple into the company it is today, no disrespect to Steve Jobs meant. it is, in my opinion, his ability to take feedback and consider the nuances of a product's finalisation stages that make the Apple products not just good, but great. So this being said, in my opinion, I see the following as being very valuable feedback from this discussion and I would suggest the 2 great pioneers and innovators responsible for this wonderful product concept should consider carefully. It is my very strong opinion that in doing this they could turn a great product into the greatest product, but just that's my opinion and not a criticism.

1) Most of the issues with adding the features being requested are limited by the form factor and availability of panel, both back and front, real estate. Therefore ditch the limitation and make the unit 2U. I have never not bought a product because it won't fit the rack I wanted to put it in.

2) It seems that safety and security are not only desirable, but key in our market. Use the additional space to add the eStop options, if someone doesn't want to use them then let them disable them, by using the suggested blanking plug or maybe lock the devices configuration so it is disabled.

3) Add the ability to password lock the configuration and move away from the idea of having multiple versions of the product with trim pots or knobs, pro and "normal". Different product variants become very difficult to manufacture and hold inventory for. Make one version, the device is good enough and the application well enough specified that you only need one variant. This will not only simplify things from a manufacturing standpoint, but will also cost less to manufacture in the long run.

4) Include both 3 pin and 5 pin DMX, this is a great idea and also add the ability to terminate the DMX chain with a switch on the back for those people who would want this at the end of the chain.

5) Add a USB port to allow the upgrade of the firmware in the field. Changes happen to all products and one of the greatest thing about today's pieces of equipment is that you can update and re load firmware in the field. This will reduce your support infrastructure and increase confidence that the product is reliable and robust enough for use on the road and in a major touring environment.

6) Appoint distribution in each of your major markets, that offer support and hardware repair etc. Please don't become members of the PL community we would all love to buy from, but the support offered becomes a lottery.

7) Please listen to the very valuable feedback you have received on this forum and consider the product you have as a beta version, it's Ok to sell to some who want to be early adopters, but use this valuable feedback to make the final and very crucial design tweaks to make a "Great" product "The Greatest". I know from experience that the feedback over the last few days is worth thousands of dollars and is something which most designers would embrace.

I know I will get slated by some on this forum, as I am just a product designer and not an LD. To answer this today I am both and just add these words in the hope that they put the thread in perspective. This is not criticism it is very valuable feedback and made at a time when changes can be made which will only delay the product by a matter of days, but will make it as successful as I believe it should be. The price point from what I can gather will not really be a hobbyist price point, even if these people buy it. the products functionality is at a pro level anyway, so just sell the product based on its professional application and add the features which are a requirement in this context..

Finally this is just my opinion and experience and I must respect the opinions of the designers if they decide not to follow this advice. It will not stop me buying the device or using it. All I hope is that the feedback from all who have contributed is at least considered useful.

Great work guys and I look forward to owning one of these great splitters. If you need my help at all please just PM me, as I think I have added all I can from the general discussion perspective.

Congratulations on adding something really new and innovative to the market

Steve

[luxilid]

Yes, and I think that all the folks making these extraneous suggestions don't really realize that what they want to add/change to the design will actually INCREASE the cost of the unit!! And more than they think! Also adding things will also delay when we can get one into our hot little hands. Everyone has their own opinion on what will make this device the greatest/best, but lets just have them release this thing without distraction from feature-creep. Nobody wants something designed by committee, there is genius within this box, let's experience it first without tearing it apart.

Am I the only one actually looking at what this device has to offer without tripping all over at all the minor form factor/cosmetic nonsense that seems to be taking up a huge amount of bandwidth in this thread??

For instance, Nobody has mentioned how cool it is to have RDM where you can change the DMX address, reset the device and change personalities remotely.
Let the guys release it, let's see how it works in real life, THEN lets chime in on our ideas for 'improvement'.

[Bradfo69]

June 1st..... 16 hours 58 minutes....

[DZ]

Hi everyone! I'd first like to say thanks to everyone that responded in this thread, it has been eye opening and we consider the feedback as invaluable. Ed and I have discussed the ideas and have decided to make a few changes to the Router before it's released. This will push the release date back a couple weeks while we work to deliver a better product.


I'd like to share the changes we are going to make to the Router and see what kind of feedback we receive on the new changes:


1. DMX effect ordering, this will change to a more logical ordering. So for output channel 1, the first 10 DMX effects will always be same no matter what personality the Router is running.


2. We are removing the front panel potentiometers and replacing them with trimmers as a standard feature. This has proven to be quite a safety concern and I believe that recessed trimmers will mitigate this issue.


3. The VGA port will be relocated to the front panel. We suspect that the VGA port will be mostly used while programming and not so much while on the road. While on the road if you need to attach a monitor, the port will be conveniently available on the front of the enclosure.


4. Adding the e-stop capability. On the rear of the enclosure will be a DB-9 to attach an external box with e-stop and/or key switch. This port must be occupied with either an e-stop or loopback plug in order for the interlocks to be satisfied. On the front of the enclosure we've added an e-stop button. Pressing this button will interrupt the interlock loop. This is a button that will require being rotated and pulled to return to the normal operating position.


5. We plan on shipping the Routers with a power cable, DB-9 interlock loopback plug and a DMX Y cable.


With the new configuration, we've been able to place the fuse back on the rear panel.


Below are a mock up of the front and rear panels. Please note the these are only mock ups and were quickly thrown together as a proof of concept. You may notice alignment issues in the pics.







Thank you again for all the feedback, you guys rock!

[luxilid]

Looks great! I think you guys did a fantastic job with the requests and changes, It will be worth the extra wait for sure.

[Stuka]

Ditto -
The redesign & added features look great!
Looking forward to the final product!

Although I have no doubt you could come up with enough features to fill a 2U cabinet, I'm glad you were able to stick with the 1U footprint for this version. I'm saving a slot in my laser media rack for it!

And please do keep your logo on there ~
That looks TOO cool

You and Ed are doing an awesome job with this router

[Laserhobbit]

Well done guys, a great finalisation of a great product. I look forward to hearing about revised availability and costs etc.

Cheers

Steve