I am looking for a way to earn money online on the side. I have skills in PCB design, IoT and microcontroller programming. I feel very confident in the languages C++ and Python, but I can also familiarize myself with other systems. The sidehustle does not necessarily have to be scalable but would be a nice side effect. Of course I know about fiverr/upwork but I would like to look at other possibilities or hear about experiences. In addition to an additional income, I am also interested in simply continuing to learn/immersing myself and working to expand my own knowledge. Maybe we can connect if you have the same goal/study in the same field.

I’m a woodworker and saw an industrial version of a tool that I thought I could design my own version in fusion360, 3d print, order an electric motor and a PWM speed controller off amazon and make for much cheaper. Made it, it worked great. I put it on the woodworking forums and got a good amount of traction and people asking me to sell them.

I’ve decided to make them (in my garage) and sell them on my woodworking website where I currently sell cutting boards. I’ve been doing some reading and wondering what certifications are needed for something like this? The only electronic step in the process is soldering the motor to the speed controller (both sourced off of amazon). Any advice is greatly appreciated! This is all so new to me so forgive my ignorance about this whole process.

Hi everyone, I’ve been working solo on a few projects, including some robotics kits for students. I’m also brainstorming ideas for a new startup focused on creating IoT products and robotics solutions. The robotics kits are a big part of this vision, and I’ve been putting in work on an idea I’m really excited about.

But here’s the thing: it’s been 7–8 months now, and I feel like I’m not moving forward as I should. It’s starting to feel more like a series of hobby projects rather than the foundation of a company. I haven’t achieved the results I was hoping for, and I’m struggling to figure out how to approach this more like a business and less like a passion project.

If anyone’s been in a similar spot, I’d really appreciate your advice on how to transition from a solo tinkerer to someone running a proper company. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone,

Thanks for reading my post! A few weeks ago I posted on here about my project, Autolith (original post). In short, it’s a device that attaches to the back of any display and adds autorotation functionality, so if your display is on a rotatable stand (e.g. monitor arm), you can just grab your display and rotate it, and Autolith automatically rotates your displays content for you, creating a more adaptable workspace that you can change in under a second.

Since then, I’ve refined the website and improved the way the product is described. I’m at a stage where I’m looking to essentially run a beta test with people who are interested. It’ll help me find out how people like using the device that are outside of my original base of testers. Like I said in my last post, the people here have been awesome to me throughout this process, so I’m only posting this hear for now. Any feedback would be super useful as I refine the software and get a better understanding of how people may use it.

I’m planning on giving away around 30 free devices (shipping included) to anyone who may be interested, and who have a setup that can use this. All I want is honest feedback on what you think.

If you’re interested, fill out the Google form at the bottom of this post, which includes some basic questions about your setup, asks for your email etc. I will reach out later though email to give you a code for my website which allows you to get the free device + shipping. Feel free to share this with anyone you know who may be interested as well, all are welcome!

Id love to hear what everyone thinks of Autolith as you test it in real world scenarios. Again, thank you all for the support and suggestions you have given me so far! Also, like in my previous post, if anyone has any questions about what it took to create this, from hardware/software to legal and certifications, don’t hesitate to ask!

Google Form

Autolith Website

Hope everyone is doing well!

Hello,

I am looking to network with individuals with RFID, NFC UWB projects and maybe manufacturing in the US only.

DM

Consumer audio especifically.

For the past year, I have been working on a handheld espresso machine. I have primarily used the 3D resin printer in my garage and a few metal pieces machined through JLCPCB to get this thing working. I got about 3 tests out of the prototype before the pressure was too much for some of the printed pieces to handle.

https://preview.redd.it/eua47310ry2e1.png?width=700&format=png&auto=webp&s=6a486102a9fbd10d7b6192502715b0d32681347e

Two questions I have:

1. Where would someone suggest I look for a few more advanced components like a pressure chamber that has a vacuum sealed wall similar to a thermos, but clear like the design above.
2. After you have the prototype done, is there a place that you go to get your design stress tested or made to more every day use cases rather than just benchtop model? Or are there some next steps that some of you would recommend I take to get this to production?

Hello,

I've worked on this product (exercising product) for around 2.5 yrs now. I took it really slow, and spent around +$15k in the development, all done by myself (and I have no prior experience developing an electronic product). the product consists of a PCBA + Enclosure + Rubber parts + Fiberglass parts. I worked directly with manufacturers in China. and after so many iterations, we were able to make the final samples.

a Quick breakdown:

PCBA + Firmware - I hired a freelancer to make it, then manufactured it with both JLCPCB + a CM that i found in Alibaba.

Enclosure - I hired a freelancer to design it - then 3d printed it.

Rubber parts - I gave the requirements + drawings to the manufacturer - it took several molds and attempts till we got it right.

Fiberglass parts - I gave the requirements + drawings to the manufacturer - and we got it right pretty quick.

I assembled the product many times that i can do it blindfolded now. I tested every aspect physically, improved the design, and got rid of things that are not necessary.

I have shown the product to people around me for testing and feedback. They liked it and the feedback was really positive. The product is really good, and exceeded all expectations (there is nothing like it in the market).

I kept the product in secret mode the majority of the time, the only person who knew 90% of the functionality was the freelancer who made the Firmware/Software for me, and he is a person that i personally trust.

I'm currently preparing a provisional patent, to start sharing the full idea with the manufacturer that will handle the manufacturing + assembly.

The product is not complicated and is very easy to understand.. IP thieves will have to figure how we did the silicon + fiberglass + firmware, in order to bring something similar to the market. My main goal is to be the first to market and not worry about these.

Now, i have the product in my hands, and don't know what to do next. it might not be the perfect version, but i think its +90% of that. and honestly, i cannot improve it any further..

The CM i found in Alibaba said that they can help with PCBA + Enclosure + Final product Assembly (after receiving the parts) + Packaging + Certifications. But, i don't know if i can trust them (They are well-known and verified though).

I keep asking myself these questions:

- Should i go with one of these CMs? show them the product and start managing the process myself between factories ? (i don't want to give them the full responsibility - For IP)

- What certifications will we need (we used ESP32 Module)? and how are we going to obtain it? and how can it be verified? what if we make slight modifications later to the PCBA, will we have to re-obtain these again?

- What if the product/Assembly isn't 100% perfect? Will that matter for the first Batches? For Example: There might be a better and more reliable way to assemble certain parts and we haven't discovered it yet (even if its currently working fine).

I would appreciate any help from people who had similar experiences.

Thanks!

I’m working on a robotics product and need to import electronic components (like microcontrollers, sensors, etc.) in bulk from China (Alibaba and similar platforms). While I’ve done some homework, the entire process feels overwhelming, and I’m not sure where to start or how to optimize the costs.

Here are a few specific things I need help with:

1. Step-by-step Process: What’s the best way to handle bulk imports for components? Any gotchas or mistakes I should avoid?
2. Customs & Taxes in India: How do I navigate the paperwork and ensure I’m compliant with Indian import laws? What about duties and other charges?
3. Shipping and Logistics: Should I go for freight forwarders, or are platforms like Shiprocket/NimbusPost helpful for this? I’ve heard mixed opinions.
4. Pro Tips: Any seasoned importers or electronics folks who’ve been through this process? I’d love your insights!

This is super important for my project (developing a robotics kit), so any advice, resources, or even just encouragement would mean the world to me! 😊

Thanks in advance !!!

Hey everyone! About 2 months ago, I had this hair brained idea to build a "live" physical map of US passenger trains as an art / hobbyist product. The motivation came from recently moving into a new apt and needing to buy some wall art, but was turned off seeing how expensive it was. Because I was too cheap to spend a few hundred on decorations I decided to spend thousands on a prototype on this idea 😅😅

![img]("Prototype Rendering")

On a serious note - I did market research, mapped out data requirements for the software, and a few other things before spending my first dollar on the idea. I may dedicate a market research post later down the line. The product functions as a map, where LEDs are lit depending on if a train is present for that geographic radius. Basically, you can follow along as an Amtrak train makes its journey from San Francisco (Emeryville for the Amtrackers here) all the way to Chicago. For both railfans and Amtrak fans, I hope this would serve as a neat way to bring a twist to a paper map or a framed art piece. I am probably missing some details here, so please ask away! I expect my physical prototypes to arrive in about 2 wks 🙂 I'll plan to share some photos when it arrives.

Hello!

I’m working on prototyping a new project for an innovative device that mimics human olfactory sensing - essentially a “digital nose” that can identify and categorize smells. This device uses an array of sensors and machine learning algorithms to detect and identify various smells. The goal is to create a flexible solution that can be used in various industries, such as food safety, health monitoring, and environmental monitoring etc.

Regarding potential customers for this device, and I would like to hear your thoughts. Who do you think would benefit from a device like this? What industries or specific applications would be interested in odor detection and classification?

I would greatly appreciate any feedback!

Hi Everyone,

I have extensive experience in designing and manufacturing hardware products (in the USA/China/Vietnam) and would love to connect with some of you to help with your projects. Whether you're facing challenges in manufacturing or just need guidance, I'm happy to offer my insights.

In return, I’m hoping to learn more about the pain points you face when designing and manufacturing hardware. I'm currently working on a software platform to help users better manage their production, and your feedback will be invaluable in making it a great resource for the hardware community.

If you’re interested in chatting or have any questions, feel free to DM me or comment below. Looking forward to hearing from you!

"Professional" Video

Hey, I posted in here with my design for a stock tracker that is a physical stock candle. I wanted to hear if my video gives an 'official' vibe since I'll likely use it as my campaign video. Like many of you I'm just a random guy making a thing so I am not entirely sure what I'm doing

I had a PCB designed by a freelancer, with schematics reviewed by the SoM manufacturer and a professional engineering firm, and manufactured overseas. The design uses a System-on-Module (SoM) with an NXP processor that has eMMC integrated on the SoM.

For some reason, the SoM won’t read the eMMC when mounted on our custom carrier PCB, but it works flawlessly on the evaluation kit. Both the PCB designer and the engineering firm have reviewed the design and logs remotely but have not been able to identify the issue.

Is there anyone in the Bay Area with the experience and equipment to help troubleshoot this issue? I’d greatly appreciate any recommendations or support.

To be clear, I am not looking for free work. This has been a challenging problem, and I’m hoping to connect with someone who has the right expertise to help.

Thank you in advance for any guidance or resources you can share!

Hi everyone,

I’ve developed a 600W portable battery pack and inverter, and we have a functional prototype. The team in China we’re working with wants us to invest in a mass production mold costing over $70k. That’s beyond what we can afford right now, as we’d prefer to start small with a 100-unit pilot.

We explored 3D printing, but the material isn’t fire-resistant, which is critical for safety. Does anyone have advice on alternative manufacturing methods or strategies to produce a small batch without committing to a large upfront tooling cost?

NPI consulting

Hey guys, looking for NPI consultants or design firms to help with a customers product. Are there any specialty consultants that help for things like this? I know there’s not too much skill when it comes to designing something for manufacturing, are there still loads of people out there who have worked in product design to procurement and production? Especially within being able to help design something for the first iteration, and then the others where it’s designed in mind for production?

Thanks a ton!

I'm looking into creating a service that collects data from an API and would help users control a local electrical relay based on the current status returned by the API. I'd like to focus on the cloud service first and tie into an off the shelf device "Shelly PM Relay" which is already certified UL, etc. I would likely ask local electricians to install the device which would connect to my system's endpoint on a regular basis.

I figure start with an approach of pre-configure the devices before sending them to customers (or to a local friendly electrician to install it) and have my HTTP service setup for those customers. I will sell locally at first and can head onsite for these early customers if needed for learnings. But I want to scale to other locales over time. I may need to build out a network of electricians to install these devices - currently the end-device that are powered by my Shelly PM, are usually installed by a handyman/electrician anyhow, but they use manual user controls (like a light switch) to control them.

Questions I have:
- I realize this may not scale well, and am looking to find out the interest in this sort of service - has anyone else used an off the shelf device to bootstrap your HW idea? I realize I will be pitching to early-adopters with this approach (because I'd likely need them to configure Wifi settings in a shelly UI for example).
- What sort of liability am I looking at for this sort of setup where the device isn't mine, but it is controlled by my backend? Do I need to worry about this?
- anything else I should be considering?

Hey, I just launched broblems dot com

> WTF is borblems ?

We're like a search engine for complaints, but actually useful. We scan Reddit, Twitter, and other platforms where people love to bitch about stuff, then serve it up to you in a clean dashboard along deep market analysis.

> How it works

Type in what you care about (e.g., "coffee machines", "dating apps", "productivity tools")
Get a feed of real people losing their minds about problems in that space
Each problem comes with dive-in reports backed with statistics:

- How ~ many people are bitching about it
- Who the existing products are?
- What people are begging for
- Trend data (is this getting worse?).
- And more…!

> Who needs this:

Entrepreneurs tired of building solutions nobody wants
Product people who need real problems to solve
Anyone who wants to spot opportunities before they're obvious
People who enjoy a bit of schadenfreude (we don't judge)

We’ll show you what actually needs solving, backed by real data, real complaints, and real people—the rest to you.

I've been working on making a physical stock candle and just recently got the first prototype working. I was wondering what thoughts were on the general look.

I'm considering changing the diffusion plate from the transparent black acrylic to something else if anyone has any suggestions!

https://preview.redd.it/7c2youunti1e1.png?width=695&format=png&auto=webp&s=1302e6f6150a844efc1ad495e607aac11a061d2f

https://preview.redd.it/1ar8temoti1e1.png?width=695&format=png&auto=webp&s=6d5493781ab8d7ec73795da3dc9bda88b36db7e2

https://preview.redd.it/fcur6uixti1e1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=549f8f7e56eb123a1ab3ba4842ad9ba8bf09f5fe

Hello everyone. I work with the team at RocketDevs, and we’ve noticed that hardware startups face unique challenges when it comes to hiring skilled developers, especially for specialized tasks in prototyping, IoT, and embedded systems. We connect startups with pre-vetted developers from emerging tech markets in Africa, making it easier to find affordable, high-quality talent that can bring your vision to life without the typical hiring headaches.

If you’re a hardware founder looking for developer support to tackle tough technical challenges or speed up your project’s timeline, we’d love to hear from you.

Let’s build solutions that solve hard problems, together!

https://preview.redd.it/afgd2gxqrl0e1.png?width=2714&format=png&auto=webp&s=8b5df7bf928834d9ff0f1ecbccc0763deff5700b

I am working on https://crawlora.com tool not so long ago.

But i am looking for few highly interested beta users to improve this product

How can i find them? Whom i can market to?

Ideal customers?

Business personnels

Is there any way i could find them and market it to

After 14 months of experimenting with growth on Twitter, I launched a tool that grows Twitter faster than ever.

After 14 months of experimenting with growth on Twitter, I was disappointed because there were no results. I decided to implement my very old idea. I created upvote.club, a service that solves the main problem for aspiring Twitter users: how to gain initial reach for their posts and grow followers as quickly as possible.

The main issue is that social media algorithms only show posts to a broader audience if they get engagement in the first "golden hour" and from a relevant audience. Without initial likes and comments, a post just sinks. I also found a tweet by Natia Kurdadze mentioning that X Blue gives a 2x boost to posts, while likes give a 30x boost, comments give a 50x boost, reposts a 20x boost, and visual content a 2x boost. This is spot on—until you hit your first thousand followers, engagement is as vital as oxygen. Every like on your post is worth its weight in gold."

In fact, there are two ways to get Twitter followers:

1. Posting endlessly (which becomes a full-time job—ask anyone who’s grown their profile about the time they invested at the start).
2. Getting a lot of reactions on your posts. I decided to focus on this aspect because it seems to be the most impactful.

My top priority for the service is real users, no bots or spam. I've implemented strict moderation thresholds for starting to use it.

How it works section should be:

1. Register and add your Twitter account
2. Create a task for what you need: likes, reposts, comments, followers
3. Real users from the community immediately start doing what you ask
4. In return, you help others, earning points for doing so
5. We do not show completed tasks to users who complete them
6. You get only new, clear, and fresh actions

I spent several weeks talking with influencer marketing agencies, and 9 out of 10 told me that they support each post their influencers publish with likes, comments, and reposts within the first hour. They go all-in on the post as an agency.

would be glad to hear your feedback. I have a promo code that gives you 30 extra points, which is worth approximately 15 followers, likes, reposts, or comments.

https://preview.redd.it/aeh1i2am3f0e1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3668ffb420103a4afc953b4d6a05ac58ae65486

Hey everyone,

USB VSense is a USB voltage indicator, meant to give you insight into USB Power by giving you a quick voltage read out

https://preview.redd.it/oalbbq2zs80e1.jpg?width=1846&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=28996927489af5d7fb41fd746957ab0ab54e55f9

Link to Crowd Supply Pre-launch page: https://www.crowdsupply.com/meticulous-technologies/usb-vsense

Edit: Recently USB VSense got covered by Hackter.io: https://www.hackster.io/news/usb-vsense-makes-sense-of-all-the-voltages-available-from-usb-c-8fd21a49fbb7

Key features:

• individually color-coded lights — one for each USB Power Delivery fixed voltage mode
• Fully capable of the latest USB PD EPR specifications (48 V, 5 A, 240 W)
• Distinct alerts show > 5% and > 10% deviations from the fixed voltages. This feature is also helpful in approximating PPS voltages
• Fully open-source; stacked PCB "Oreo" construction; the entire device is made of PCBs. Therefore, easy to customize

https://preview.redd.it/ac4w9e34t80e1.jpg?width=821&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=999bb44e1816fcb76b1897e0af2856e22ea30b21

https://preview.redd.it/r0fjbus5t80e1.jpg?width=4430&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d34e5d7794655632a12257f67f7eca2911ecdddd

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated, Also don't forget to subscribe to the pre-launch page if you are interested in the project.

My product contains electronics and the casing is made out of UL94-V2 certified 3D print filament (to start with for the first batches, later would be injection molding).

Can I sell this product in USA/EU?

Articles mention "UL94-V0 would be best", but what can I do in case of UL94-V2?

The device itself contains low power components (20mA max) and is powered by a li-ion battery.

Hello!

Looking to get the UL 1741 SB Certification (inverter safety certification) on a product. I've heard how important it is to have a consultant to help you with that process. I was wondering if anyone here had any consultant recommendations?

As the title suggested, my team is trying to build a crowd meter for a college campus that monitors how crowded the facility is. It's a basically Google map crowd meter but with finer monitoring down to different rooms and facilities(dining hall/ gym), etc. We are planning to use the NFC reader as a counter and have the user tap when they enter/leave for monitoring. And I'm wondering how much would such a reader cost on average. Any suggestions/knowledge would be appreciate