Backer's surveys are coming!
over 3 years ago – Sat, Apr 24, 2021 at 11:35:41 PM

Backer's survey

In the next few hours, you’ll receive an email with a special link to your BackerKit survey. It is important to complete the survey as soon as possible, as your rewards cannot be fulfilled without this information.

You do NOT have to create a BackerKit account to fill out the survey. When you receive the email, simply click the survey link to respond. Please make sure to answer all the questions about your reward preferences, and provide your shipping information, along with the optional add-on items purchase if you like. All the survey links will be sent out via email.

After you complete the survey, you will still have time and opportunity to review or revise your responses before we close the surveys and start our final count. 

If you need to review your information or pledge status, please return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting the survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://retio.backerkit.com.

If you used your Facebook/Apple ID credentials to log in to your Kickstarter account, the BackerKit survey will be sent to the email address associated with the Facebook/Apple ID account. If you prefer to use another email address, please contact support at https://retio.backerkit.com/faq.

Pick your style

For Retio's style options, please refer to the photos below. Please note that the wood grains on each and every one of them are different and unique.

Without your suggestions and support, we couldn't have gone this far and wouldn't be able to offer so many great options. If it's hard to decide, you will still have the option to purchase additional Retio's in the backer's survey. 

On top of that, we are excited to announce that we are also launching the Retio Lite (Satellite). 

Retio Lite (Satellite)

This was suggested by many backers as a great addition to our Retio collection, which will make Retio a stereo system to provide more superior sound quality. It will not only work as a satellite speaker for Retio, but it also works as a standalone BT speaker with ~10 hours battery life.

You will be given the options to purchase the Retio Satellite in your survey.

That's all we want to share with you so far. 

Please submit your survey responses ASAP to help expedite the entire production process.

Till next time~~ Thank you all so much!

For Duo Backers interested in switching to Retio + Retio Lite
over 3 years ago – Sat, Apr 24, 2021 at 10:41:57 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Behind the Scenes: Wood Making
over 3 years ago – Tue, Apr 20, 2021 at 12:24:47 AM

We have been overwhelmed by your trust, support, and the constructive suggestions for Retio. One of the greatest joys of this project is being able to make the journey with all of our backers. In future updates, we will bring you along and share how we are making this happen.

In today’s update, we will be sharing the story of creating the wood enclosure.

Prototyping

Before and during the kickstarter campaign, we’ve made a couple dozen boxes of various sizes, colors and feet. Maple, oak, walnut, wenge, zebra; wide, tall, narrow; we’ve tried them all in the hunt for the perfect balance to match Retio to your home. The two little feet prop the box up, adding a curious pet-like look.

Ramping up the production

As you may know, manufacturing differs largely from prototyping. In addition to all the details we should pay attention to, we also need to take all efficiency, repeatability, quality control, automation, and cost into our consideration. There are more than dozens of challenges we face along the way into mass production.

We simplified the making procedures using decoupled subroutines, optimized machine parameters, custom jigs and creative thinking. This way, we are able to reduce the manufacturing time to deliver Retio on time while still maintaining the highest standards.

Milling the box sides

In our early trials, rough lumber was cut into pieces on a table saw for the box sides, with a couple more passes for the rabbet slots. Although the outcome looks promising, this approach is labor intensive, hard to keep the grains matched and lacks accuracy.

We came up with a better way to get around this.

We designed a single station vacuum pod to hold 8 sets of box sides at a time. The pod will hold stock flat on a CNC machine with a venturi pump underneath, while accurate milling of sides and rabbet slots are made feasible. It is much easier this way for grain matching as the box sides are from a single board.

Glue-up station

It take iterations to make a good idea great, and here we show the evolution of the clamping stations we build to glue up the box.

This version uses much less vertical support piece, and the clamping surface is now cut out in the middle, so the clamping force is concentrated on the edge where the gaps need to be closed. A more powerful piston was used than the first version. A top clamp was added so we can glue 5 pieces together (4 sides and 1 back panel) in one setup.

A 15w bulb was added to heat up the box to speed up the gluing process. We also improved the clamping surface so it is less likely to misorient. The base is also doubled up so the whole station stays straight and flat under clamping pressure.

Making the wood feet

You may have already seen the video of brass feet cutting from our previous update. That setup is based on the horizontal spindle CNC we built, with a rotary spindle integrated to efficiently cut the feet. Solving a problem is not always about expensive machines; it’s about finding a readily available component and adapting to your needs.

Progress on manufacturing

We've started preparing the materials for Retio. Wood pieces were handpicked, cut to length, re-sawed, planed, and finally sanded to +-0.2mm accuracy.

We’ve also cut hundreds of those little feet to give ourselves a good head start.

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New wood type! Wenge

We are excited to announce that the new wood option, Wenge, was added for you.  

With its unique grain and dark lust, this beautiful and rare tropical wood is another great match to our Retio. Two common grain patterns on Wenge include straight (as shown on the sides of the box) and feather (on the back of the box). Due to the coarse porousness of the wood grain, Wenge is more difficult to manufacture compared to other wood types. We have to use a special carbide-tipped bandsaw blade to process it and add additional sanding passes to bring out the natural beauty of the wood. So there will be an additional material+labor fee of $40 and the quantity will be limited for this wood option. We are really happy with the end result and can’t wait to hear your feedback.

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Made in USA

C6 design is our in-house design woodshop located in San Jose, California. Founded by a passionate woodworker and Google veteran, this shop has created many creative and unique furnitures. We love working on new concepts and we enjoy taking on challenges. Combining deep understanding of modern technology such as CNC machines with enthusiasm of traditional craftsmanship, we keep refining and optimizing our workflow, to free up our mind and hands to work on more creative parts of the project.

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What's next

Backer’s survey is on the way

We are going to send out the backer’s survey next week. In the backer's survey, you will be given the desired options to choose from, including wood types, charger plug types, brass leg and satellite speaker add-ons. You will also need to provide your shipping address so that the Retio can find its new home.

Next manufacturing update

We have our hands full finalizing the internal of Retio. This is a peek of what’s coming up on our next update.

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Thank you all! The production clock is ticking.
over 3 years ago – Sun, Apr 11, 2021 at 09:27:33 PM

Thank you all backers, not only for bringing this project to life, but also for the beliefs in craftsmanship, for the love in nixie tubes, and for remembering the good old times.

We've never imagined that we can get this far. To us, it means much more than the numbers. In our minds, this is the trust we have collected from those who believe in great products; this is the faith we hold together to delight the glories of the past; this is the memories we stitched together for more precious moments ahead of us.

Many of you have shown appreciation for our prompt communications. The feeling is mutual. Thanks for all the great advice and tips! It is super helpful for making Retio better. Those constructive feedbacks from our end users are a gold mine for us; it is the best way to improve products. But when it comes to making a product, there are always trade-offs. We sincerely apologize for not being able to deliver all the features you guys may have suggested in this version.

Backer's survey:

In about two weeks, you will receive the backer's survey where you can select:

1. Wood types: Walnut, Rift Sawn White Oak or Zebrawood

2. Brass legs (for walnut type only*)

3. FM/AM or FM/DAB+

4. Type of your charging adapter

5. Satellite speaker add-on

*Options are still pending: brass legs for zebrawood type; more choices for wood type.

Production:

Please be rest assured that our production schedule is right on track. We will share more details with photos or videos in our next update. In the future, updates will be mainly about production progresses we make. When it comes down to it, there is only one way to achieve excellence: execution, execution and execution.

Thank you! Till next time~~

Retio team

Behind the Scenes + More wood types are coming!
over 3 years ago – Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 03:24:12 AM

Behind the Scenes

Nixie tubes are true vintage products. They are warm, gorgeous and sophisticated. We love how arts in craftsmanship is beautifully presented on Nixie tubes, and the entire history behind it. And we would love to share how we carefully handle and select the best nixie tubes for Retio.

This is a box of IN-12 nixie tubes manufactured in 80s, and hasn't been opened ever since.

IN-12 Nixie tube Instruction

Each box contains 50 IN-12 nixie tubes.

First step: clean up the dust on the surface. 

Second step: clean up thoroughly with alcohol.

Third step: make sure the pins are in the right position. 

Last step: We built a special testing board to make sure all the digits are working and each tube is in good shape. On top of that,  we make sure 4 tubes (3 IN-12A and 1 IN-12B) in each set will match with each other.

New Wood Options! 

In our last update, we got tons of constructive suggestions and votes on the wood types we offered, at the same time, received quite some new wood type suggestions. Thank you guys!

Based on the poll, we've decided to make 2 new wood types: 

Rift Sawn White Oak + Aluminum

We believe white oak will fit well for your light-colored wood furniture, and Rift Sawn lumber is the most elite of the cuts. Hope you like this wood type and there will be no additional charge for it.

Zebrawood + Brass

Zebrawood is an exotic wood; it is expensive and hard to find, especially when you want to get it in large quantities. Additional manufacturing process is also needed to handle this type of wood. So there will be a $35 additional material/labor fee if you select Zebrawood.

You may select preferred wood types in the backer's survey after the campaign ends. It'll be also much appreciated if you would share the project to your family and friends(free upgrade to brass leg for successful referral).

Retio is a genuine handmade product. And this manual process gives us the privilege to craft every detail and we put our hearts into it. We will share more behind-the-scenes stories along the journey, and we are so grateful that you stay together with us.