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Hardware Codex

Quality matching

Sometimes when I go through hardware projects, I find BOM lists that call for super expensive & quality parts. I.e for a cyberdeck:

  • 1x raspberry pi 5 8gb ($200)
  • 1x custom CNC’d case ($150)
  • 1x 240hz display ($300)

Which is really expensive! When I ask about why they need such expensive components, the rationale becomes:

I want to make a super high quality and powerful cyberdeck!

Meanwhile, the actual design looks something like this:

image exaggeration, somewhat

Notice the mismatch? Even if this project would technically work, and you put all these upscale parts together, it still wouldn’t actually meet the quality bar you’re aiming for. It becomes a waste of parts that goes towards a subpar design.

The solution of this of course, is to polish your project! Add filets, chamfers, cutouts, etc. Make your project have depth! Ask for feedback! The page on polish has an example of what you might do!

Then, you’ll end up with an amazing project that can actually get the full potential of the nice parts you got!

If you want quality components, you gotta have quality design. They go hand-in-hand and one doesn’t work with the other.