A status update has been posted on the official site. If any clarifications are required, we’ll add updates below. If you’d like to join the forum discussion, jump in here.
References have been added to the text and listed below. Much of this is pretty basic information, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned recently it’s that we shouldn’t assume that everyone knows every detail! As stated, this will be updated as necessary over the next day or so.
Without further ado, here’s the juice you’re waiting for…
Hi,
as everybody is waiting, I thought I’d post some status informations. I’ll keep them up-to-date here, so everybody knows what’s happening 
To-Do:
* Get the final CNCed case (ETA Feb25) [1]
* Wait until the mould of the keymat is finished [2]
* Design the final keyboard layout [3]
* Create mould of final case (can be done once the case fits) [4]
* CE / FCC testing (can be done once the case is here) [5]
* Mass Production testrun for the final boards [6]
* Stability testing (this will be fun) [7]
* Wait for the last remaining pieces for mass production (LATEST deadline is second week of March) [8]
* Mass Production
* Test the boards
* SHIP THEM!
Please keep in mind that it also takes some time to ship.
It won’t help if the case is finished in China, it has to go to Michael and then to the CE / FCC testing company, etc. [9]
Okay, some more info about the mass production:
We want to have a 48 burn-in test for the boards. [10] The failure rate on the first boards depends on how many we’ll test! [11]
In worst case, we have to test ALL boards, which will take a month – don’t worry however, as we can have weekly shipments of the already tested and working boards so the first guys who have ordered don’t have to wait so long.
Let’s cross our fingers and hope there won’t be many problems from now on!
Notes:
[1] The CNC is the final prototype. About CNC
[2] The mould is the “cast” the factory will use for mass production. The physical keypad design is final, so the mould is being made.
[3] “Layout” refers to the key labels, fonts, etc. As per [2], there are no more physical design changes required.
[4] “Once the case fits” refers to the CNC case fitting together nicely.
[5] “Case” refers to the CNC case. Update: ED has posted some minor info on FCC/CE timeframe. The tests themselves only take a day or so, so they’re looking for a company who won’t make them wait too long. source
[6] A small number of Pandoras will be run off on the actual production line. (Exciting!)
[7] We’ll add details on this if/when we can.
[8] We’ll add details on this if/when we can.
[9] Corrected typo. “Case if finished” changed to “case is finished”.
[10] “48″ should read “48 hours”. This is common practice for burning in new PCB designs, as any bad components will generally show themselves in this period.
[11] Re-worded for clarification: “The failure rate on the first mass production test boards, will determine how many we will test during full production.” If the component failure rate during burn-in is high, they’ll have to do extended tests on all the boards that come off the line. If the failure rate is only a few percent (an accepted level for electronics), they’ll know the hardware is robust and won’t have to do 48hr tests on every board.
