I think its safe to say that interest exceeded your expectations. Is there any chance of a price break?
I was counting a bit low to start with, but yes parts will be a bit cheaper in these amounts. No one has actually paid yet though, and it remains to be seen how many comes through on that part. I will probably order ~100 PCBs. They are one of the more expensive parts of this build. I got all the tiny bits in huge amounts by now, and I think I will order the larger components for 25 units at a time. That way I can build and ship completed units spreading the spending and receiving of money a bit =)
Solder ten or even twenty units I would probably have done just for the fun of it. But I think the appeal is going to be pretty much gone by the eightieth one =P Also I didn't know about all the pull-down resistors when I got myself into this... Pretty much doubled the components.
I was planning on using left over cardboard and a bunch of tape for packaging. That would have worked for twenty units perhaps. Now I have already ordered bubble mailers, address stickers, anti-static bags and such. They are not expensive either, but all small stuff adds up. Solder and flux, and the list goes on. Counting my time, I'm going to work below minimum wage for sure. I don't mind doing the fun part for free. (The fun part is going to turn a chore after a while though.)
I already promised a reduced price for un-soldered units, so you may consider that
Also, those SMD leads are awfully small. How on earth do you guys plan on soldering those by hand?
The 0603 footprint, or 1208 in "metric" is just that 1.2x0.8 mm. They are the hardest part. Not so much because of they are hard soldering, more because they disappear if you look away for a second =P The TQFP package is 0.8 mm pitch, and that is wide and nice to solder. The SOIC is 1.27 mm pitch and just a breeze =D It takes some care lining them up but after that it is quick to hit all the pads.
As other people have said already. It's all about equipment, hand support, and patience. And flux, flux is your friend =) I also need to figure out a good way to clean all the boards afterwards. Perhaps my mom has some nice ultrasonic cleaner at work...
JFC... I have a Weller WLC100 that I am pondering replacing with something a bit more modern. The Weller has issues retaining the tip and is a little slow to heat and the temp adjustment is brain-dead.
I was considering this unit when I bought my soldering station. I looks spiffy =)
http://se.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Apex-Tool-Group-Formerly-Cooper-Tools/WSM1/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMt%252biMJH3c40u4FNIuihPETkmwHJ24%252bzVfc%3dIt is a little cheaper than the one I finally got (this station but the WMRP pen)
http://se.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Apex-Tool-Group-Formerly-Cooper-Tools/WD1001/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMt%252biMJH3c40u3QdK2QEJSNOCMFkybXQJ00%3dBut I got that on a discount. I could probably have gotten their newer model for almost the same price if I had bothered to fix the 120/240V mains problem. Not sure I wanted to go there though..
http://se.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Apex-Tool-Group-Formerly-Cooper-Tools/WX1012/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMt%252biMJH3c40u4FNIuihPETklmKNJCCLGU0%3dI really like my station. The cord is very thin and flexible, and the tips are extremely fast to swap. I have the 1.2 mm chisel tip it came with, and got a 0.8 mm and a 2 mm chisel tip extra to have a good span of tip widths.
Yesterday I added the software routine for jumping to the bootloader as well. That was pretty easy actually =) I bricked a chip in the process though =P I think it may actually be salvaged with the correct programmer. I set some fuses to an undefined state... Never copy paste from the Internet x_x
I also tried out the Windows FLIP bootloading tool from Atmel. It worked pretty smooth after I finally managed to install it properly.