BFL ASIC Production Updates 2013 (Updated May 13)

[Xian01]

(Rather than posting new threads, figured I should probably start one long master thread of updates until they start shipping singles. Will aim to keep these first two posts full of "official" information culled from the BFL Forums until Singles start flowing out to customers. Will aim to keep this thread troll-free as there are plenty other troll threads in this sub.)

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https://forums.butterflylabs.com/announcements/692-bfl-asic-status-3.html#post32585


BFL_Josh: 13 May 2013 Update

We just got off the phone with our testing facility... they will have ~100 chips in Chicago tomorrow. What configuration of boards all those are going in, I'm not sure yet as I haven't gotten that far, but I wanted to post an update. We should have more chips in Chicago by the end of the week. The chips going through mounting tomorrow should arrive in KC on Wednesday and we'll be shipping out some units then.

We are having some trouble with the new Single board and we are working through the issues now and should hopefully have a a resolution before the end of the week. Right now, the board is having trouble powering up the second bank of chips, so we are poking and prodding to figure out where the problem is and get it corrected. When we make a change to a board, we can have a revised board the next day, so it doesn't really set things back when we make revisions to an already existing board.

That said, we'll likely be creating a few Singles boards with this set of chips and a number of Jalapeno's. The expected larger quantity of chips later in the week will probably go more towards LS/S/MR boards.

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[Xian01]

(Reserved)

[smoothie]

So only 100 chips?

I was under the impression they were ordering a ton more via wafers of them.

It is unnerving that almost every detail they specify is vague. They do not know what larger quantity of chips they will be getting. The "shoulds" and "hopefully's" are getting old. A development company should not be based on faith and hope. But that is what is expected right now.

All trolling aside, this update does not give much hope for shipping of their back orders en masse to be done anytime soon (i.e. in the next 30 days).

[Bicknellski]

100?

Wow... that is not an update at all that is an apology.


Right now, the board is having trouble powering up the second bank of chips, so we are poking and prodding to figure out where the problem is and get it corrected. When we make a change to a board, we can have a revised board the next day, so it doesn't really set things back when we make revisions to an already existing board.


It doesn't REALLY set things back ??

[ninjarobot]

Good to see that BFL is significantly ramping up chip production. With 100 chips they should have no issues cranking out 400 units per day. Delays are sure to be a thing of the past from now on!

[ninjaboon]

"poking" - that's what I used to do with my car tyres.... I wished they would ship my 2012 orders now....so tired of waiting.

[mezzomix]

Don't worry, BFL will ship "next week". 

[smoothie]

Another busy week here at the labs. We continued to refine the LS/S/MR boards while waiting for our next delivery of chips. We expected them today, Friday the 10th, but the packager has been dragging their feet in the process (and one of the reasons we initiated the switch to a new packaging facility, as mentioned previously). The first bulk shipment from the new packaging house is expected on Tuesday and should consist of several hundred chips, which we will be building into all the product lines, assuming no snags are encountered this weekend on the latest rev of the LS/S/MR boards. If there is a blocking problem, we will build them all into 5 GH/s units, but we don't expect any blocking issues at this point.

The rest of the wafers are expected at the bumping facility the following week, and once bumped, they will head to the new packaging facility which is capable of a much higher volume, so we expect them to be packaged pretty quickly and ready for use after they arrive at the facility.

[MAY 10] "Several hundred chips" ------> [MAY 13] "100 chips"

So even with the May 10th estimate, now it has changed. So much for forecasts on anything.

(Rather than posting new threads, figured I should probably start one long master thread of updates until they start shipping singles. Will aim to keep these first two posts full of "official" information culled from the BFL Forums until Singles start flowing out to customers. Will aim to keep this thread troll-free as there are plenty other troll threads in this sub.)

---

https://forums.butterflylabs.com/announcements/692-bfl-asic-status-3.html#post32585


BFL_Josh: 13 May 2013 Update

We just got off the phone with our testing facility... they will have ~100 chips in Chicago tomorrow. What configuration of boards all those are going in, I'm not sure yet as I haven't gotten that far, but I wanted to post an update. We should have more chips in Chicago by the end of the week. The chips going through mounting tomorrow should arrive in KC on Wednesday and we'll be shipping out some units then.

We are having some trouble with the new Single board and we are working through the issues now and should hopefully have a a resolution before the end of the week. Right now, the board is having trouble powering up the second bank of chips, so we are poking and prodding to figure out where the problem is and get it corrected. When we make a change to a board, we can have a revised board the next day, so it doesn't really set things back when we make revisions to an already existing board.

That said, we'll likely be creating a few Singles boards with this set of chips and a number of Jalapeno's. The expected larger quantity of chips later in the week will probably go more towards LS/S/MR boards.

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[dan99]

100?

Wow... that is not an update at all that is an apology.


Right now, the board is having trouble powering up the second bank of chips, so we are poking and prodding to figure out where the problem is and get it corrected. When we make a change to a board, we can have a revised board the next day, so it doesn't really set things back when we make revisions to an already existing board.


It doesn't REALLY set things back ??

Josh is a clown---

[smoothie]

Josh doesn't view their current timeline of delays as "setting things back".

Meaning they are "on track" as previously planned? Planned delays? lol

[tempt]

Good to see that BFL is significantly ramping up chip production. With 100 chips they should have no issues cranking out 400 units per day. Delays are sure to be a thing of the past from now on!

you had me crackin with this one! haha!

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Good to see that BFL is significantly ramping up chip production. With 100 chips they should have no issues cranking out 400 units per day. Delays are sure to be a thing of the past from now on!

you had me crackin with this one! haha!

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the third annual BFL 100, sponsored by Two Men and a Swarm of Locust: When it absolutely, positively, Honest Abe, has to be shipped out on time.

[PuertoLibre]

Another busy week here at the labs. We continued to refine the LS/S/MR boards while waiting for our next delivery of chips. We expected them today, Friday the 10th, but the packager has been dragging their feet in the process (and one of the reasons we initiated the switch to a new packaging facility, as mentioned previously). The first bulk shipment from the new packaging house is expected on Tuesday and should consist of several hundred chips, which we will be building into all the product lines, assuming no snags are encountered this weekend on the latest rev of the LS/S/MR boards. If there is a blocking problem, we will build them all into 5 GH/s units, but we don't expect any blocking issues at this point.

The rest of the wafers are expected at the bumping facility the following week, and once bumped, they will head to the new packaging facility which is capable of a much higher volume, so we expect them to be packaged pretty quickly and ready for use after they arrive at the facility.

[MAY 10] "Several hundred chips" ------> [MAY 13] "100 chips"

So even with the May 10th estimate, now it has changed. So much for forecasts on anything.

(Rather than posting new threads, figured I should probably start one long master thread of updates until they start shipping singles. Will aim to keep these first two posts full of "official" information culled from the BFL Forums until Singles start flowing out to customers. Will aim to keep this thread troll-free as there are plenty other troll threads in this sub.)

---

https://forums.butterflylabs.com/announcements/692-bfl-asic-status-3.html#post32585


BFL_Josh: 13 May 2013 Update

We just got off the phone with our testing facility... they will have ~100 chips in Chicago tomorrow. What configuration of boards all those are going in, I'm not sure yet as I haven't gotten that far, but I wanted to post an update. We should have more chips in Chicago by the end of the week. The chips going through mounting tomorrow should arrive in KC on Wednesday and we'll be shipping out some units then.

We are having some trouble with the new Single board and we are working through the issues now and should hopefully have a a resolution before the end of the week. Right now, the board is having trouble powering up the second bank of chips, so we are poking and prodding to figure out where the problem is and get it corrected. When we make a change to a board, we can have a revised board the next day, so it doesn't really set things back when we make revisions to an already existing board.

That said, we'll likely be creating a few Singles boards with this set of chips and a number of Jalapeno's. The expected larger quantity of chips later in the week will probably go more towards LS/S/MR boards.

---

To those who know about chips and wafers....100 chips means it is a sample of a wafer.

That means that BFL is still trying to tackle the issue of power consumption. Effectively (I think) it means that they are doing only samples. They haven't....and likely aren't....going into full scale production for quite some time.

Forget May. Aim for Mid June. We hope.

[PuertoLibre]

In case no one has figured out the subtle messages...It means BFL is still in the testing phase. A full wafer is 1,100 chips according to josh. You only package 100 chips when you are only asking for a sample. Meaning they are trying to save money and probably doing individual wafers. If you take that idea into account, the rest of their recent updates make sense as to why they are evolving so slowly. They are saving money at the expense of time, it seems.

For miners time is money.

Josh has also said that board revisions only take 24 to 48 hours. Recall that he said that last month. Did this revision of PCB's (boards) take 24 to 48 hours? No. It did not.

Learn to read past the bullshit and you will be a smart investor.

[Schrankwand]

In case no one has figured out the subtle messages...It means BFL is still in the testing phase. A full wafer is 1,100 chips according to josh. You only package 100 chips when you are only asking for a sample. Meaning they are trying to save money and probably doing individual wafers. If you take that idea into account, the rest of their recent updates make sense as to why they are evolving so slowly. They are saving money at the expense of time, it seems.

For miners time is money.

Josh has also said that board revisions only take 24 to 48 hours. Recall that he said that last month. Did this revision of PCB's (boards) take 24 to 48 hours? No. It did not.

Learn to read past the bullshit and you will be a smart investor.

I figure that once the boards are ready and the chips are tested, this means they need approximately 8-10 weeks BEFORE they can start PRODUCTION in full.

Because that is how long it takes.

[shapemaker]

I figure that once the boards are ready and the chips are tested, this means they need approximately 8-10 weeks BEFORE they can start PRODUCTION in full.

Because that is how long it takes.

Uh oh. More bad news for BFL customers

[Schrankwand]

I figure that once the boards are ready and the chips are tested, this means they need approximately 8-10 weeks BEFORE they can start PRODUCTION in full.

Because that is how long it takes.

Uh oh. More bad news for BFL customers

Well the other variation is they have ordered all the chips and are now sending faulty chips everywhere.

[yxt]

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than average. This bias is attributed to a metacognitive inability of the unskilled to recognize their mistakes.

Actual competence may weaken self-confidence, as competent individuals may falsely assume that others have an equivalent understanding. David Dunning and Justin Kruger of Cornell University conclude, "the miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others".

Dunning and Kruger proposed that, for a given skill, incompetent people will:


    tend to overestimate their own level of skill;
    fail to recognize genuine skill in others;
    fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy;
    recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill, if they are exposed to training for that skill.

[shapemaker]

[...]

Josh is a poster child for Dunning–Kruger effect...

[knybe]

Should have stormed their castle, torches and pitchforks in hand, weeks ago.