January ’23 update

Hi guys,

It’s time to look back on 2022 and to talk about some of the really cool stuff I have planned for 2023. Essentially, this coming year is going to be the year of the brushless motors and some new machines driven by them.

In terms of my work, 2022 was actually a year of two halves. In the first half I spent most of my effort consolidating my two current designs, OSR2 and SR6, and adding a new twist mechanism. In the second half of the year I have put out some new content, but really most of my efforts have been behind the scenes and focused on learning to use some new motor technology.

Personally I’ve actually found this year quite challenging. When you work for yourself it’s difficult to know whether you’re not working enough or too much. It’s also been a difficult year for many people and I’ve seen that reflected in much slower growth than I’ve seen in my previous two years.

This is where I’m grateful to have such amazing people supporting me. I’ve had so many messages complimenting my work, and some of my favourites have been from guys who are really excited because through my work they’ve discovered a whole new hobby making things. One guy even told me that he’d had to give up computer games because he was having too much fun learning how to do 3d printing and programming Arduinos. It’s not the easiest of times, and I’m grateful that you guys have made it possible for me to be able to bring some fun and enjoyment into the world.

Going into 2023 I am now in a place where I think I can start bringing out some new stroker robot designs. It’s about time too: I can’t believe that the SR6 is already over 2 years old! I’ve been developing a working understanding of brushless motors, which have a tonne of advantages over hobby servos, not least in that they’re really quiet. I want to use them to design some new machines that you guys can build, just like OSR2, just like SR6.

That’s not the easiest thing, because these motors are harder to understand and can be more complex to build into a design. Getting them to work is one thing, but the real challenge has been finding the same kind of off-the-shelf part availability as we have been able to achieve with servos. I think we are nearly there now though.

If all goes to plan this month’s Maker ($8) release will be a really rough first build design for a single-axis stroker robot. Think Fleshlight Launch, The Handy, or Kiiroo Keon, though faster and with a 120mm maximum stroke length. Why single axis? Because this is an experimental design and I want you guys to be able to try putting this thing together without having to shell out on multiple motors, motors drivers, encoders, etc, before we know which components work best.

We’re on a journey and I want the destination to be a fully six-axis robot like the SR6 with butter-smooth movement that’s quieter than your breathing. This is just the first step.

For my Supporter ($2) tier this month I will be livestreaming twice this month, as I had to miss the livestream in December. My planned dates are Wednesday 11th and Wednesday 25th January at 11pm GMT (5pm EST). I intend to demo the brushless motor mechanisms that I’m working on.

Of course, my Benefactors ($16 tier) have been getting a behind the scenes view of these designs coming together. Illness delayed my Dispatches benefactor newsletter last month, but now things are getting back to normal I will be publishing November and December in the next few days.

All in all, I think 2023 is going to be a very exciting year. I want to say a big thank you to each and every one of you who has contributed to this project. It is absolutely wonderful to be able to do this work for you guys.

Happy New Year,

Tempest