Pre-Order Update: April 2026
by My Store AdminThis update, directly from founder, Jean Simonet, has been adapted from the communication shared with our Kickstarter Backers and contains transparent, detailed information about Pixels production. Some details may have been adjusted to focus on Pre-order info vs Backer Rewards. These updates are published at the end of each month and will continue to be re-published on the Pixels Blog with information relevant to Pre-order customers.
Hello Backers, here is what has happened since last month.
Shipment Updates
US Backers
- No new development at this time.
Non-US Backers
- Almost all non-US rewards have been shipped. As of today, we still have ~100 packages either on hold for various reasons or waiting for a missing item. We are working on those, apologies again for the wait.
Production Updates
Although things have slowed down, there are a couple updates I can share this month:
The first is a tweak for improving yields. I have mentioned several times in the past that we literally have a few thousand dice that can't be used for final products because of LED misalignment, and in fact have tried a few different options to make sure the Flexible PCB stays in place during casting.
The best solution turns out to involve 3D printing!
Instead of relying solely on the Flexible PCB sticky back for it to stay on the caddy during the Epoxy casting process or trying to modify the mold to push down on the Flexible PCB, we instead use 3D printed clear resin shells that snap together and hold the Flexible PCB (and LEDs) in place.
I know it sounds crazy to think 3D printing can be a viable part of mass production, but it turns out that Resin 3D printing at the scales we're talking about (the size of a die) is surprisingly cheap. It is only a few times the cost of injection molded parts (i.e. less than $0.15) but has fewer restrictions (no need for drafting angles for instance) and doesn't involve any tooling costs (>$40,000 for the full set of dice because of how intricate the shapes are).
Plus the Clear 3D Printing Resin blends better with the final Epoxy Resin than injection-molded PMMA does, even on fully clear dice. The white-ish color you see is caused by the surface roughness of the 3D print, roughness that completely goes away when cast in more resin. :)
Pixels App Update
The second update this month is a new release of the mobile app, with a couple quality of life features and direct DDDice integration. I know I have been teasing that integration for a while, which is strange: why promote a virtual dice app? The fact is that integrating directly with DDDice is a great way to get Pixel rolls over to more platforms, do so without having to wrangle Web Bluetooth and its limitations, and comes with a ready-made visualization of your Pixels on your friends' screens.
In fact, I think it will be a great model for future integrations as well!
Regardless, I am very happy to finally be at a point where I can make faster progress on features and fixes. I think next month will be fun!
Until then,
Jean