AXIOM Team Talk Season 15

This is the first part of a 'Series 15' of AXIOM Team Talks shot in summer 2019. Resident hirsute AXIOM enthusiast, Max, again paid Sebastian a visit at the AXIOM offices in Factory Hub Vienna to get an update on latest development topics and preparations that are being made for production. AXIOM Team Talks are short videos to provide insights into sometimes complex and very technical aspects of the community project to create the first fully open source cinema camera: AXIOM.

Factory Hub Hardware Production Preparation Progress

A PCB test panel was designed which, whilst it won't be part of the camera, contains all the various component sizes that are intended to run through the industrial electronics pick-and-place-lines of Factory Hub Vienna very soon. The purpose of this is to evaluate, among other things, the optimum amount of solder paste required, reflow properties or behaviours, and also component placement data hand over processes and formats. This may involve extra effort now, but it will save time when mass production of AXIOM Beta boards commences, in fact. Better solder results can also be expected, in the long run, from these kinds of precautions being taken.

First AXIOM Beta Compact Enclosure Prototype

Big news! The first CNC milled and anodised AXIOM Beta Compact (ABCP) enclosure prototype arrived (... well, most of them were anodised - see Team Talk video above). Individual component parts were assembled immediately and found to fit like a glove. A few highlights are the solid-steel thread insert and the recently added front shield plate.

Compact Enclosure Next Steps

Having a physical prototype in hand has inspired new ideas and made it possible to identify areas that may need improvement. A list of minor modifications has been compiled and many of these have already been executed in CAD design (rubber sealing for the optical assembly, two optical filter holders by default instead of one, the ability to attach two rosettes at the same time, using long M3 screws instead of the M3 threaded rods, etc.) Once all design changes are complete, another all metal prototype will be produced.

Up Next

The next AXIOM Team Talk episodes will cover the progress that's been made with packaging, the hardware and software inside the AXIOM Remote, a new small image sensor camera developed by two German students called AXIOM Micro, our 2019 Google Summer of Code projects, UV/IR optical filter measurements, new firmware and a few other topics.