Sigma Labs Inc (SASI)

[3dtdman]

Beta testing isn't only for squashing bugs. It's also useful for incorporating suggested customer changes.
I used to work for a, um, "large aerospace company" and we'd obtained a piece of test equipment on a trial basis. It was a receiver used for EMC emissions testing, but it was unlike any other on the market. It utilized 4,096 microprocessors operating in parallel (as well as digital filters for each) which, coupled with a sophisticated FFT algorithm they'd developed, performed in less than 5 seconds what took about 18 minutes to scan with a conventional receiver. The self-calibration actually took longer to run than the "scan".
But it had some shortcomings: it was designed for the European market, and the governing body there for such things (CISPR) mandated different bandwidth requirements that the MIL-STD and commercial (DO-160)standards here in the US. Also, the GUI was kind of kludgy, and we wanted more readouts along the X-axis (log scale of the frequency), as well as a larger font for better visibility--that kind of thing. We'd speak on the phone, and usually by the next day they'd supply an updated version of the SW, pushing it via Ethernet to the machine. So we helped them design a product better suited for the American market.
IMO, it's a brilliant idea for Sigma Labs to include this Beta version of DeformTM in the SW package delivered to the customer--which they are PAYING for, BTW--and listen closely to what they (the customer) has to say.
Anybody ever write a document that you thought was pretty darn good, then submit it for review, and have over a hundred comments about what you need to do to make it right? It's a humbling experience, but anyone who doesn't have an ego so big they trip over it when they get out of bed in the morning learns pretty quickly that NOBODY has all of the answers.
I take my hat off to MC and his staff, and wish them the very best. If any of us end up rich, it won't be because of our efforts, but theirs.