January 2026 Opulo Update

Hey folks, happy new year! Check out what we've been working on the past month:

Lead Times

We're still actively looking for more assembly techs to join the team! If you're in the Pittsburgh area and interested, please don't hesitate to apply!

As always, the official lead time on each product's product page is the most accurate metric for when you'll see your hardware ship. There's a good chance we ship early, internally it's about a 2-3 week lead time, but we keep it where it is to ensure we're able to stick to our estimate.

Feeder Loading Station

Message received: this is something y'all want! Thank you to everyone that weighed in on the Feeder Loading Station and it's usefulness. It's clear it's something we need to prioritize.

Since the last update, I've mainly been working on adjusting the CAD model for printability.

With these changes, the access port to the electronics is on the bottom, and the whole model is printed on an angled back face to keep it almost completely support free, while still maintaining strength. There's also an embedded channel for the power cable to the slot, so no cables are exposed.

I've also gotten custom PCBs made. There's a new slot PCB that is designed to be standalone, and the power distribution board has all the power conditioning electronics that come standard on a LumenPnP.

Barring any unforeseen issues, I'll be aiming to get these new versions tested and validated this month.

Wide Feeders

The Beta program for feeders is still moving along well! I'm doing some prep for production at the moment, like getting label stickers made, tuning firmware, and making PCB edits based on feedback.

Not much to report on these at the moment, just the normal tasks when going from DVT to PVT!

Feeder CAD / Photon Release

We're currently validating a new release for feeder CAD, set to land alongside an update to the Photon firmware that runs on them. CAD changes:

Small changes to the feeder frame to make assembly easier
Opening the hole in drive-motor-cover to support a potential integrated wheel assembly
Adjusted peel-worm-gear geometry to reduce engagement with peeled film

Firmware Changes:

Updated tick count for drive encoder based on @Analogy's microscope analysis of the gearbox
Adds UUID check before programming slot addresses
Increased peel time per tenth mm of drive motion

These are small adjustments that should result in improved consistency and accuracy for feeders. If you'd like to test the latest Release Candidate of Photon, you can download it here. And please be sure to send us feedback at support.opulo.io!

Reel Cassettes

Thank you all for your feedback on the Cassette system! Some super cool ideas about part management in general; this is a problem with a lot of variables.

I'm working on prototyping this system up now. When I have a demo unit built, I'll put it in use on our own production line for testing, and show y'all in the subsequent update!

Paste Extruder

Some folks asked in the last update about the Beta status of the Paste Extruder. And it's a great question; it's been in Beta for a while now.

It's not because it has issues or doesn't work well, it's just that it requires tuning to get right. Dispensing parameters depend on your paste, how well it's packed, and the temperature of the room you're in. It's not difficult to get your settings working well, but it requires some effort.

Beta might give the wrong impression; lots of folks use the paste extruder regularly (and many for some pretty unique applications!) I'm considering taking it out of Beta, but putting sufficient context on the product page about what usage looks like. But to answer the question, no, there's no issues with the design!

I also just pushed an update to the paste utility that now supports arbitrary Gcode to be run at the beginning and end of a job, primarily for folks that want to prime at start or retract to prevent oozing. There's also a setting that inverts the dispense direction for folks with custom extruder heads wired differently.

OpenPnP Update

As many of you know, we've been recommending a version of OpenPnP for users that is quite a bit behind from the mainline releases. We've done this for a number of reasons, mainly because manufacturing processes typically should prioritize consistency and predictability.

However, recently OpenPnP has switched to a formal software release structure, and we've been consistently testing them in an effort to switch to the newest release. We're really excited to say that we're aiming to support the upcoming 2.6 release of OpenPnP!

This version represents a number of incredibly cool updates. Not only a tremendous number of bug fixes and usability improvements, but updates to Photon feeder control that allows concurrent feeding with machine movement, auto-adjusting feeder pick position, retrying the whole pick/vision pipeline if vision fails, and a whole host of other features. We think this version is going to make PnP operation even more autonomous.

We're currently working on updating all of our documentation to support 2.6, but don't worry: if you don't want to edit your stable working system, all our old docs will still be available at docs.opulo.io. A tremendous thank you to all OpenPnP contributors, especially Toby for your help in this update process and Hugo for your various and killer contributions.

The OpenPnP 2.6 release is scheduled for late February, 2026. We'll be sure to let you all know when we make the switch!

The Office

Following up on last time, I mentioned that we're running out of space. I've been spending a lot of time trying to figure this out, touring spaces, running numbers, reading leases, etc.

We've found a couple places that could work, and we're currently in lease negotiations. Both of these places represent an over 4x increase in square footage.

One of my biggest considerations with this move is maintaining production throughout. I have a plan to pull a metaphorical "Indiana Jones Bag of Sand / Golden Idol Swap" when it comes time to move that shouldn't affect production. One week we'll be building in the old space, the next week we'll be building in the new one.

Us, hopefully.

Before we leave, I'll be sure to do a tour of our current space, so you all can see where things are at!

Job Postings

You can check out our careers page for all the details of the jobs we have available. If you or someone you know would be a good fit for any of these roles, please apply!