Hi everyone. I’m starting this thread to log our progress and keep people updated with regards to the EtcherPro project. I’ll keep posting live updates so everyone interested in this product knows where we stand.
Our intention is to bring the product to the market as soon as possible. We thought we could start shipping products around the end of August but this doesn’t seem to be possible. We want to apologize for that and assure you that we are delaying the production only to make the product better. Our next big step is to test the device in an independent lab to ensure we comply with US, EU and UK regulations and obtain all relevant certifications. We have already placed bulk orders for components with long lead times and we’ll kickstart assembly once we validate the product. Our new estimation is that preorders will open around October aiming to start shipping devices before the end of the year.
EtcherPro has received a lot of support and interest so far and we want to thank you for that!
Current situation
We have received samples of the main PCB. We are happy with the quality but we need to make some minor changes to the design.
We have also received some samples of the card readers. The single card speed testing is great and we are waiting for more samples to be able to verify our speeds in scale.
The enclosure shells are ready and validated.
Within the next 2 weeks, we’ll receive production samples of the injection molded parts.
We are collecting all the necessary documentation to start the certification process. This takes around 2 months but it doesn’t stop us from starting the production in the meantime.
The BoM is complete and tested but it is crucial for us to validate the hardware performance. Once we verify we can deliver what we promised we’ll open pre-orders (around October) and we’ll order the rest of the components that have shorter lead times (packaging, standoffs, magnets, screens, etc)
We received new card reader samples from our Chinese manufacturer and the quality and performance is great!
Unfortunately, we detected a power related issue on our mainboard. He have already worked out the solution and we are preparing a new prototype to validate performance.
We also received the injection molded inserts. The finish and colour is great but we have to make a small modification so the light guide emits the LED light better. This should be a quick and easy fix.
@konmouz Do you guys have any rough timeline for release of the EtcherPro? We are in need of a duplicator, and really like the EtcherPro, but availability timeframe will inform (and drive) our decision process. I understand you may not be able to give definitive dates, but any information you can provide would be most helpful. Thanks!
Hi @rgstech, thank you for getting in touch. Unfortunately, we aren’t in a position to provide an accurate estimation of the release date. At the moment, we are preparing to go through certification which should take 2-3 months. We plan to open pre-orders when we are ready to go to production as we’ll be more confident about our timeline. I’ll keep updating this thread with all the latest news but feel free to contact us with further questions.
Despite the unsettling situation with COVID-19, we keep working towards releasing EtcherPro as soon as possible. We are somewhat affected on the hardware side since the shipment of physical products has noticeably slowed down and therefore the hardware prototyping process. However, we are a distributed team, so working from home is not new to us
With our current setup, we are limited to about 600MB/s data throughput. Our goal is 720MB/s and we are slightly modifying the USB hubs architecture to achieve that
After a few months of trouble, we ended up using a combination of a MIPI screen and an i2C touchpanel
We successfully passed the device safety pre-compliance
There is still a lot of work on the OS side to optimise the performance of the board
iMX8 tends to overheat a lot. An active fan heatsink can take care of that but as a b-plan, we are looking for a sufficient passive solution to increase reliability
We recently got a new space in Athens to set up and run our assembly line
Finally, you can enjoy a demo video of EtcherPro using 1 source drive to flash an image to 3 target drives at an average speed of 76.7MB/s
We decided to add an extra PCIe USB hub to increase the bandwidth and increase the average writing speed 10-20%
We are facing an issue with the PCIe USB hub recognition but we are positive it will be resolved soon. Fingers crossed this one is the last issue that holds us back from production
We managed to heavily improve the thermal performance of the device by adding a simple fan blower
The OS is also heavily optimised and the device works flawlessly during our tests
We are considering releasing some beta devices for selected users to test but this is not confirmed yet
The assembly line in Athens is under construction and will be ready in a few weeks
The ultimate goal is to open preorders in September and start shipping devices before the end of the year
During the extensive testing of EtcherPro we managed to detect and improve numerous issues and add new features on Etcher that are already released in the latest versions. We’ll be adding more as we go
Below you can enjoy a photo from the latest shooting of the special edition EtcherPro in metallic grey
Just wanted to let everyone know that we are still busy behind the scenes getting EtcherPro ready, and provide a little progress update and some pictures and video to show you what we have been up to…
The case design is finalized and we have placed an order for the first production batch as well as the limited edition batch of 50 units.
The electronics design is mostly finished, however there are some small updates that need to be made in order to improve EMC compliance (more on that below). We have ordered some of the long lead time components from the BoM, in order to shorten the lead time of production once design is finalised.
Orders have been placed and are starting to arrive for things such as the power supplies, touch screens, fasteners and other items needed for the assembly in Athens.
We have been doing lots of pre-compliance testing and identified some issues in the design causing some EMC spikes that would cause issues. We have identified various ways to fix these and have re-designed the boards to incorporate these updates. Shortly we will have prototypes of the new electronics ready to be tested and once these pass the pre-compliance checks we will then take them to the “official” certification tests. This should be finished before the end of 2020, and we are currently waiting for this to be completed before launching pre-orders so that we have a more definite shipping timeline.
The packaging design has been finalised and we have already received the first production batch of packaging (see photos below)
The production line is starting to take shape nicely in Athens and is mostly ready to begin assembly when parts arrive - we will obviously need to optimise this setup as we progress to full manufacture.
We are in the process of sorting distribution setup in Athens - both direct and through resellers / distributors to make sure we can get EtcherPro to your doors quickly and safely.
We are preparing the shop system and processes for beginning to take pre-orders…we hope to be able to start taking pre-orders before the end of 2020 if possible, but this is still TBC at this time.
I knew there was one thing I forgot - for those of you who, like me, have a geeky obsession with anechoic chambers and things like that - here are some neat pictures of the EtcherPro undergoing some compliance testing…
@hdtechk thanks for joining the forum! Good to have you here
Glad to hear you have been pleased with the experience with Etcher and are looking forward to EtcherPro. If you don’t mind me asking, what do you plan to use the EtcherPro for?
Mostly plan on personal use for EtcherPro. But also to help make it easier installing software update on flash drive for my co workers. We update all vehicles that come in our shop. Most of them don’t understand what root directory means. When manufacturer comes out with new images every few months. Lots easier for me to make one and copy it for them.
