Hardware Ideation Process

This is a blog about an ideation process for hardware inventors and startups to support them in commercialising their ideas.The process is provided by CW Applied Technology in Shannon as a free service to support the hardware ecosystem.

6 ways you can change the gender ratio

The reason to change the ratio is simple – it makes financial sense. Diverse teams make better decisions and having women properly represented at a management level create companies of higher value. There is a resurgence of Feminism, and rightly so – Jennifer Lawrence is speaking out about Hollywood actresses receiving substantially lower paychecks than their male counterparts, and last week the Irish Times told us that in Ireland male voices make up 72% of all news and current affairs programmes.

Printed Circuit Board Types

Rigid printed circuits boards (PCBs) are manufactured by bonding many layers of materials and creating copper layers for connectivity. The layers are rigid in nature.

Makers: Why everyone should pay attention

What exactly does “DIY” mean these days? Traditionally, it’s been related to “how-to” content, including things like “how to change a tire,” but over the past couple of years, it’s been coined much more broadly to describe any activity that uses an element of creative skills to make or design something on your own. Using this definition, DIY can stand for everything from baking a cake, to decorating a bedroom, to creating handmade products like jewelry. Some also use DIY in a more technical context as it relates to making gadgets like robots, printers and other programmable devices hacked together using free software and tools found across the web. Finally, I know people who would even claim that they “made” products such as their custom Nike iD sneakers, even if that meant they personalized the colors and design online and had the production take place elsewhere.

Getting the attention of potential investors

Startups often run into trouble when facing the process of finding and securing potential investors for their business. Investing provides millions of businesses with much needed capital, and of course hopefully a way to increase sales, allowing for further growth and profitability. We have outlined below a few points to take into account in regards to dealing with investors and seeking the right investment for you.

What You Need To Know About Maker Faires

We call it the Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth. Maker Faire is part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new! As a celebration of the Maker Movement, it’s a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness. Faire gathers together tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, food artisans, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. Makers come to show their creations and share their learnings. Attendees flock to Maker Faire to glimpse the future and find the inspiration to become Makers themselves.

Everything You Need To Know About Vias

The following are some simple tips for designing vias on printed circuit boards which will improve performance, increase the stability of the product and help cost efficiency.

7 secrets of startup success

We’ve based this article on startup success on the experience of our co-founders, and the many startups we’ve talked to along the way. They are numbered 1 to 7 but they’re not in any order – we think they could all be equally important!

3D Printing

3D printing also known as additive manufacturing is any of various processes used to make a three-dimensional object.

PCB Schematic Software

there is various software available for creating PCB Software Schematics as well as the software listed above, but your choice is all your own, if you can live without some features and not others you need to make the decision which software suits your needs.