Update on Hermes the Circular Hat Machine 3/25/25
We are happy to say that Hermes is well along its way to production, albeit a bit behind our original projected release dates.
Performance results have been astonishing honestly, with testers pushing it easily beyond the yarn abilities I had envisioned. So, big hooray there!
Wear and longevity- specific testing has been ongoing and results have been really encouraging and firmly inside the design scope for these timeframes. The goal was to produce a 3d printed machine with specifically reinforced wear points, with hopes of getting the "mean time between failure" (MTBF) of these to be more like the metal machines out there.
And with this lofty goal driving the final production design, I have really dug deep and redesigned some key parts to really put it over the top in lifespan and reliability. This redesign on these items, and their subsequent development and testing process, is the stage we are in now. Sadly this is a very time consuming part of the development process. It requires complex CNC parts to be produced and delivered, and then each iteration gets tens of thousands of hours of rigorous torture and wear analysis.
I know this may sound corny, but I genuinely didn’t expect to fall in love with this project. Meaning, I thought it would be quick to design and perform decently enough for this price range. But at some point I saw how good it really could be.
I wish I could give an honest estimation of when this will all be complete and Hermes will be ready for the public, but with festival season soon upon us, I’m afraid I can only say it’s on hold for now. Although these delays are discouraging, be assured it's to make sure these new products are truly worthy to stand beside our current product line, and provide many years of reliable service.
We are going to close the queue for new names and once we return to this project and are ready for sales to begin, we will reach out to those on the queue first to let them know. We want to thank you all for supporting us as we develop these new products, things don't always go as planned, and time is fleeting, but we try to deliver our best.
-Dave