MEP EP#80: The Brick That Shall Not Be Named: A Joe Broms Story

Podcast Notes

• August Hardware & Electronics Engineering Meetup by MacroFab & Mouser Electronics event is live! Come grab some food, beer, and socializing if you’re in the Houston area.
• Joseph Broms
  • Joe received his B.S. at the University of Illinois in Computer Science
  • He has worked in numerous industries including, medical device, security, professional audio, broadcast, and education
  • One central theme to Joe’s career is successfully turning ideas into sellable products
  • Has worked on many projects ranging from a FDA approved cardiac simulator to a critically acclaimed instrument tuner, APTuner
• Joseph is releasing a product called ProtoBricks on Indiegogo
  • Protobricks are LEGO compatible building blocks to lower the entry level of how electronics work
    • Purpose is to remove how much ancillary gunk is needed to understand how it works
    • It has been Joesph’s hobby for the past seven years with many different revisions
  • Mold design and plastics
    • LEGO stud pitch is 7.986mm, 2.54mm on solderless breadboard = exact factor of pi difference
    • Used modified LEGO bricks as initial tests
    • 3D printing has gotten good enough to prototype injection molding
  • Electrical Contacts
    • Copper tape and sheets pressed into the plastic did not work
    • Spring loaded pogo pins everywhere!
    • QUANTITY DICTATES EVERYTHING
• Stephens Game – Room for of balloons. How do you get rid of them.
  • Joseph – Blowtorch
  • Stephen – Pull a vacuum on the room
  • Parker – Throw cats into the room
  • Combination – Flamethrower vacuum cat