Luma Loop Service Notice
Earlier today, we sent an email to all of our customers who purchased a Luma Loop before June 1st, 2010 to inform them of a potential issue with the assembly of the Chicago screws on their loop. What’s a Chicago screw you ask? Well, here’s Wikipedia’s definition. Google has lots of images of them. But, for the purposes of our discussion, it’s the two screws on the shoulder pad of the Luma Loop. It’s the screw in this photo:
Chicago screws have a long track record of use in the assembly of leather goods, including belts, holsters, and bags. We use them because other assembly methods—such as using rivets—would permanently close the Loop, preventing replacement of the Loop’s webbing or reuse of the Loop’s components.
Because we expect that our users will use the Loop around the globe, sometimes in challenging environments with extreme temperature or humidity variations, we specify the use of a drop of Loctite thread lock adhesive on the Chicago screw threads for a bit of extra security.
Recently, we received a report from a customer using a Loop in the field who had one of the Chicago screws on their Loop unscrew after months of constant use. This report concerned us greatly and we immediately launched an internal investigation. As we examined samples from various production runs, we found that some units were not assembled with Loctite as per our specification. Unfortunately, there’s not an identifiable pattern that allows us to determine which Loops may be affected.
Frankly, we weren’t pleased. But, we put our feelings aside and instead of trying to sweep the problem under the rug, ignore it, and tell ourselves that it must be a few isolated incidents, we did what we felt we had to: inform our customers of the potential issue, tell them how to check, and let them know that we’re there to assist them.
The process to check is simple: check to ensure the screws are tight and don’t open easily. If they are loose, make sure to tighten them and then check them periodically. As a further precaution, we recommend that customers apply Loctite to any unsealed screws.
In our email to customers, we detailed what to do if you don’t happen to have Loctite handy. If you are a Luma Loop customer and didn’t get an email, please get in touch with us at support@luma-labs.com and we’ll be happy to follow up with you.
Finally, we don’t believe that this is a widespread issue. But, there’s no sense in taking chances. We’re not Toyota or some other huge faceless company. We’re a small company out of Portland, Oregon that truly wants our customers to have the best possible experience.
A pile of Pod Mounts right off the machine before they get finished with the addition of the rubber gasket. Photo by Greg.
Announcing the new PodMount
On January 23rd, just six weeks ago, we launched our first generation PodMount. The response was great. We sold out, had to make more, and sold out again. It was clear we had a winner on our hands. We did, however, get a few comments about the size of the PodMount being just a bit large. In particular, it was one of the things that Matt Buchanan called out in his Gizmodo review of the Luma Loop, published February 4th. So, we went to the drawing board, met up with an amazing set of machinists with the latest equipment, and explored what was possible.
One month later, the result is the all new, smaller and lighter PodMount. Here’s how it compares to the original:
We took everything that didn’t need to be there away and left just the essential, down to programming in some very sophisticated 3D milling to create just the right indentations to let your fingers easily tighten the PodMount.
Better yet, the surface quality of the new PodMount is amazing. They’re like little jewels in your hand when you hold them, but they’re tough enough to last a lifetime.
One of the big benefits to the new smaller size of the PodMount is that it works perfectly with smaller cameras, such as the new micro four-thirds wonders that are all the rage now. We have two GF-1s here at Luma Labs HQ and love them!
The best part? The new PodMount is available to order now and we should be shipping them to customers starting this Wednesday, March 10th. Get your new PodMount now!
The very first samples of the all new PodMount to come off the machine at Trillium last Friday. We’re super excited to get this new design out into your hands.
