Compute Blade: Your rack-mountable ARM cluster

Update 9.2
about 3 years ago – Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 06:21:45 AM

Hey there, fellow Bladers! 

It's time for our regular update – hope you're as excited as we are! First off, we've got some great news to share. Thanks to the awesome work of the social media squad of our payment provider, we're making solid headway. Thanks to X. The best part? Funds will flow, allowing us to keep our promises and keep things moving forward smoothly.

We get it, things hit a snag and we're a bit behind, about two month-ish. But we're on top of it. Working closely with our partners, we're crafting new shipping estimates for all pledge levels. Expect those fresh estimates in the next update, just 2 weeks away. Look forward to receiving them between September 1st and 3rd. Just before this, we're excited to provide you with real-time glimpses from the factory – keep an eye out for the link on Discord.

We're all about quality, and that's why we're flying into an on-site visit with our manufacturing partner. We'll be doing the nitty-gritty quality checks and sketching out our next moves. Once that's done, you'll have those highly anticipated new estimates.

Now, for something cool – the heat sinks. You asked, and here's a sneak peek, exclusive for you. The colors are popping, and we're stoked that our custom heat sink is in full-on mass production mode. Even though we didn't have all the colors nailed down during Kickstarter, we're thrilled to say all heat sinks are done.

Here's what's cooking on our end: taxes (yeah, we're dealing with those), testing shipments with our awesome 3PL partners, fine-tuning quality systems, and setting up component level tracking. We're also giving our 3PL warehouses a once-over, getting inventory management system on point, preparing a smooth onboarding + tools and setting up a lean B2B ordering system.

When it comes to logistics, we're prepping pre-registering shipments for specific countries, making sure everything's set. Oh, and the pièce de résistance ;) – bringing our first AI-modules prototypes to life. Exciting, right?

Huge shoutout for your support – you rock! We're committed to keeping you in the loop without the jargon. So, stay tuned, keep the enthusiasm flowing, and let's keep building something amazing together!

_

Uptime Industries team

Update 9.1
about 3 years ago – Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 09:37:22 AM

Hello, everybody!

We have decided to switch to a 10-day update cycle and publish all news about the project every ten days. To keep you informed of the situation, delays, news, etc. However, feel free to ask in Discord (https://discord.gg/uptimelab), where I or community members will answer your questions (hello to all those already in Discord :) )

And as the first update:

• As all Kickstarter members know from the last update (it was for participants only), we had problems with our payment provider. We even had our account deleted (And they've almost started the returns). It was a pure misunderstanding due to the many payments initiated after Backerkit surveys were sent out. After a long communication with support (It took over two weeks), it seems that all issues were resolved, the account was restored, and almost all payments for shipping and addons were processed.
  For now, our account is still partially blocked because the payment provider is checking our company additionally. But I believe that everything will be fine.
• Almost all invoices to corporate clients are ready and sent (90%).
• Unfortunately, delays with the payment provider caused delays in the production and shipment of devices as the factory schedule is very tight. We are working on agreeing on new windows for shipments.
• We have arranged with Noctua to customize the fans for the Fan Unit. It will just be a shortened wire, but I think it's pretty cool and worth mentioning.
• After signing a bunch of documents, we got the necessary datasheets and prototype circuits of the Ai module for the Compute Blade ready. It's pretty complex, but it should work. I hope to talk more about it in the next updates.

Sincerely,

Ivan and the Uptime Industries team

What a roller coaster week!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Jul 20, 2023 at 06:04:24 AM

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

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
about 3 years ago – Sat, Jun 24, 2023 at 02:36:10 AM

Dear Bladers,

We're waiting for around 250 backers to complete their surveys and approve shipping details. Simultaneously, we're actively working on finalizing all add-ons. Our latest accomplishment is the successful development of the AI module, which has undergone multiple reviews, received approval for prototype manufacturing, and passed pre-certification tests. Creating the PCIe x1 -- 2x USB3 -- PCIe nvme solution posed significant challenges. However, we persevered to find a solution that satisfies the requirements of all involved parties for worldwide shipping, certification, and mass manufacturing. 

Product certification for all components, excluding the AI module, is in its final stages and is almost complete, with progress exceeding 90%. We encountered a setback in the past weeks regarding the shipping of the V1.0 blade prototypes due to tax issues with Uptime Industries (US) and various private and commercial recipients of the V1.0 blade prototype. Consequently, we had to establish a triangle agreement between Partners, Uptime Industries and all other parties involved to ensure smooth handling of future prototype and validation shipments, maintaining compliance throughout the process.

Backerkit Survey 

Unfortunately, we are currently in a region where we cannot finalize orders or provide final numbers to our partners. We have noticed that several large orders are still pending. We are making every effort to contact them through all available channels, although the retention rate has been disappointing thus far. However, we cannot confirm that there is no progress at all, which would allow a different approach. As of today, we have reached 84% completion.

Meanwhile, we do not want the progress of further shipment preparations to be blocked any longer. We are actively seeking responses from approximately 40 larger orders and handling the remaining cases differently, as they have been frequently communicated with regarding deadlines in the past days/weeks. For these orders, we have explored the option of shipping to their provided address on Kickstarter and having them handle all duties and fees on their side, which unfortunately will result in higher costs for them.

The cut-off date will be no later than July 14, or the day we receive a response from the remaining 40 large orders.

If you haven't completed your survey yet, please enter your email address here to ensure you can access and complete it directly. 

Shipping

As mentioned in our previous updates, the team clusters, including any ordered CM4s, will be prioritized for shipment. Those who pledged for a team cluster along with additional add-ons will receive a separate shipment later in the process specifically for the additional add-ons.

The shipment for team clusters is scheduled to occur within a maximum of two weeks after the cut-off day.

AI Module

Bringing the concept to a producible, certifiable, and functional product involved significant additional effort to meet all requirements. One of the key challenges was enabling the necessary two USB3 lines and additional full PCIe NVMe support in a reliable way. The two Coral TPUs require two USB3 lines for their operation because their PCIe access is currently not functioning with the Pi due to a hardware issue.

Access to the documents, components, and software for most of the main components required signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and lot of additional paperwork.

Post-Campaign 

Exciting news! The Compute Blade project is set to continue and expand beyond Kickstarter fulfillment. We are currently started establishing partnerships and onboarding distributors worldwide, and the feedback has exceeded our expectations. We are diligently preparing the necessary business documents and credentials to become trusted partners with these companies.

If you have any potentially interested distribution partners or B2B companies in your network, an introduction would be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, blades and their add-ons will be available and expand after the campaign is fulfilled. While we cannot provide specific dates for when the products will be accessible through distributor channels, please note that there will be a downtime between Kickstarter fulfillment and access to post-campaign blades due to onboarding processes, production planning, and component sourcing.

Some Stats

• There are 702,750 items to ship.
• 21% of backers opted for a 19" metal enclosure.
• 29% of backers chose to upgrade their fan unit.
• Backers are from 928 cities.
• 57% of backers selected homelabs as their favorite topic, followed by smarthome with 11%.

_

Uptime Industries team

Shipping, logistics, and distribution update
about 3 years ago – Wed, May 31, 2023 at 09:05:18 AM

Dear Bladers,

We have an important shipping, logistics, and distribution update to share with you.

Our manufacturing partners are strategically located on two continents to ensure efficiency, speed, and cost-effectiveness for you. We are pleased to confirm that all electronics/PCBA are manufactured locally in the US and within the EU.

In the EU, we have a dedicated electronics manufacturing service provider who acts as the Master for all prototypes and new products. They handle the production, testing, and manufacturing setup. Once the prototype batch production is confirmed, the EU location promptly shares all the necessary manufacturing information with our US location. This allows us to quickly respond to any required changes or production parameter adjustments.

We collaborate with two 3PL shipping providers for product distribution, offering comprehensive logistics, warehousing, and distribution services. Within the US and Canada, they utilize UPS or FedEx, while DHL is used for shipping within the EU and most other countries.

Once your product is next in line for shipping preparation, you will receive an email notification, similar to those commonly sent by modern online shops. We have ensured an agreement with both 3PL service providers that they will make three delivery attempts and try to contact you. In the worst-case scenario, if they are unable to reach you or if the address is incorrect, the package will be returned to their closest warehouse or local warehouse partner until the missing information is provided by you.
This scalable setup efficiently handles individual product packages and provides comprehensive delivery services, including insurance coverage for your shipment.

Next, we will verify the latest V1.0 prototype, produced under the same setup and parameters as the scaled production. This ensures that the most recent adjustments, serving as the final modifications, are implemented correctly. The adjustments are:
- higher, 100-pin connector
- higher, +1.5mm cm4 stand-offs
- added test points for critical lines
- solder parameter for 30W PoE module adjusted
- updated silkscreen graphics
- improved PCB finishing for edges
- latch mounting improvement

The prototypes with the resolved 100-pin solder issue are currently undergoing the final external testing steps today. We are pleased to inform you that they will be shipped tomorrow. This brings us one step closer to completing the verification process and moving forward with the next stages of production and distribution. The prototypes are undergoing testing, and once both sides have completed the testing phase, we can proceed with the final PCB assembly steps. After that, the product will be handed over for automated testing and afterward get shipped to our 3PL partner warehouse for distribution.

Based on the estimated timeline, we anticipate shipping to occur approximately two weeks after the final prototype approval. Once all orders are locked, we will obtain precise shipping dates from our partners. In the meantime, we can provide you with estimates for shipping:
- Team Cluster, 2 weeks after prototype approval  
- Compute Blade DEV (batch 00), 4 weeks after prototype approval
- 10" Rack Cluster, end of July
- 19" Rack Cluster, August
- Basic Compute Blade (batch 01), +4-6 weeks
- Build your own Cluster, +4-8 weeks

We appreciate your understanding and support as we continue to streamline our processes and ensure the best possible outcomes for our products.

_

Uptime Industries team