PnP, pipes, planes… and a long overdue check-in

[kkissinger]

Hello to all!

I realized the other day that I’ve been pretty quiet here since the start of the year, so I wanted to pop in and say I’m still very much alive and thinking of you all. I’m hoping to be around more again as things settle down a bit.

The past few months have been a bit of a whirlwind. Between developing a product for pipe organs, flight instruction, and ongoing organ work, I’ve been deep in the trenches — and somewhere along the way I realized I’m making a pretty big shift: moving from mostly one-off DIY builds into something that looks a lot more like actual production. That’s meant learning to set up and calibrate a professional pick-and-place machine, dialing in reflow oven profiles, and figuring out how to organize 3D printing jobs so they run efficiently and repeatably instead of just “whenever I get to them.”

I’ll be honest — that transition has been one of the biggest technical (and mental!) challenges I’ve taken on. There’s a lot to learn, plenty of opportunities to get things wrong, and a constant need to refine the process — and I’ve definitely had my share of “well, that didn’t work” moments. But at the same time, it’s been exciting in a very real “this is actually happening” kind of way.

The current focus is on tools to support pipe organ maintenance, but I definitely have my eye on bringing some of this back around to synth DIY as well. It feels like two worlds that are starting to overlap in interesting ways.

One thing I’ve noticed, though — I’ve been building a lot more than I’ve been playing. I do miss performing, and I’d really like to get back to making music with the things I’ve been working so hard on.

And I just want to say — I really appreciate this community. It was this place, about 20 years ago, that helped rekindle my interest in synth DIY and set me on the path I’m on now. That’s not something I take lightly.

Anyway — just wanted to check in and say hello. I hope everyone is doing well, and I’m looking forward to catching up.

[blue hell]

Hi Kevin - take it easy