The Counterstand and Glow Lamp
With the introduction of the Farmstand and Farmstand Nook, Lettuce Grow allows anyone to grow their own healthy, fresh food, regardless of the size of their home, access to direct sun, or a green thumb. The Farmstands also bring design to a product space littered with clever but inelegant solutions. With the Counterstand, they have […]
Integrating Basic Electronics into Prototypes
Believe it or not the Arduino is about to turn 20 years old and Pump Studios is nearly 18. An entire generation of young engineers, including many at Pump, grew up with the tools to prototype control circuits regardless of specialization. At the same time we got low cost microcontrollers, there was an explosion of […]
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is an intensive group problem solving exercise. It is widely understood to be useful in bringing fresh perspective and more brainpower to a problem, but there are no consensus techniques for how to most effectively run a brainstorm. Over the years, we at Pump have really worked to refine our brainstorm process to maximize […]
VotingWorks: Precinct Scanner
VotingWorks is a non-profit on a mission to increase trust in elections with transparent, simple, and secure technology. The VotingWorks system is designed to meet the most recent federal standards for election security, well ahead of any other voting system on the market. The technology is open source, meaning all code and documentation are freely […]
Prototyping without 3D Printing
When we purchased our first 3D printer over a decade ago, it changed our approach to prototyping. The real time feedback the printer gave allowed us to evaluate things we wouldn’t have otherwise tested until much later in the design process. Over the years, our printer farm has grown, and the quality of the prints, […]
PowerEdge XR4000z Server
The PowerEdge XR4000z is an edge computing device designed to enable restaurants, retailers, and other small to medium- sized businesses to establish local computing for data-intensive workloads. It can support applications such as point of sale, security, AI inferencing, and more. Its form factor, expandability, customer support, and flexible mounting options make it an attractive […]
Cathodic Protection Rectifier Simulators
Protecting miles of underground pipe from corrosion requires rectifiers placed periodically along the pipeline, providing thousands of watts of DC power. American Innovations’ Bullhorn Remote Monitoring systems (RMUs) keep a close eye on these rectifiers in remote and hard-to-reach locations to ensure ongoing, safe operation. Demonstrating the use and functionality of the Bullhorn products in […]
Proof of Concept Prototyping
Proof of concept prototyping is, at its core, a quick and dirty mock-up, intended to validate a fundamental idea or overall product architecture (Primary Feature). Sometimes these prototypes are used in an effort to get a sense of scale for a product, other times to validate a mechanism approach or even to test usability. The […]
Go! Big Die Catcher
Leveraging the popularity of the Go! Big Motorized Cutter, AccuQuilt wanted to complement the product with the Go! Big Die Catcher. Pump provided mechanical engineering design support from initial concepts through production ramp-up support. Working with AccuQuilt and their industrial design partner, the team created a stylish and stable product that catches all sizes of […]
Tools: A Love Story
Let’s take a moment to give a shout-out to an important part of Pump’s team. No matter what needs to be done, they’re always in the shop (sometimes even working outside in the Texas heat), ready to go, and they never complain. A few of them have been around longer than anyone remembers, and will […]