I Don’t Have a Pick-and-Place Machine, and That’s the Real Problem with the World
- Rich Washburn
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
There’s a guy on YouTube — a seemingly innocent man — who builds these tiny remote-control cars in his garage.
They're adorable. They’re fast. They corner like little rally demons. He even programs them with wireless remotes and custom PCBs and prints the enclosures on what appears to be a farm of 3D printers.
He’s smart. Creative. Focused. Wholesome, even. I hate him.
Now to be clear, my hatred has nothing to do with the cars. The cars are great. I hope they go to nationals. I hope they get little helmets and health insurance.
No, this is deeper. This is about a pick-and-place machine.
If you’re wondering what that is, congratulations on not falling down the same YouTube rabbit holes I do at 1:30am. A pick-and-place machine is a magical robot that precisely drops tiny electronic components onto a circuit board like it's playing Tetris on performance-enhancing drugs. It’s usually reserved for high-end manufacturing facilities — the kind where engineers wear lab coats and the air smells like burned silicon and ambition.
And this guy has one. In his garage. Like a psychopath.
Do you understand the cosmic imbalance this creates? I have dreamed of this setup — of designing a board, printing it, watching tiny capacitors get placed just right, and then soldered into a functional prototype while I sip my coffee and pretend I’m Tony Stark. But I can’t. Because I don’t have the machine. He does. Which makes him, as far as I’m concerned, the villain in my origin story.
But Here's the Twist: It’s Not Just About Me and My Deeply Personal Grievance
What this guy is doing — and what so many others are starting to do — is rewriting the rules of product creation. The idea that one person, in a home workshop, can:
Design a circuit,
Manufacture the board,
3D print the case,
Program the logic,
Assemble it robotically,
Test it,
Package it,
And sell it online...
That used to be science fiction. Now it's a weekend.
And you don’t need a PhD in electrical engineering. You don’t need a team of 20. You don’t even need to fully understand how everything works. Between AI tools, no-code platforms, and an internet full of tutorials, you can be a fully functioning R&D department from your living room. Or your garage. Or your kitchen table. That’s the real story here.
The truth is, anyone can make anything, anywhere, at any time — and get it to market faster than most companies can book a meeting to talk about it.nAnd that’s wild.
Enter: Creators Café (Alpha)
This is exactly the kind of shift I’m trying to support with a platform I’ve been quietly building called Creators Café.
It's a place where curious people — people who want to build AI tools, automate workflows, or turn weird ideas into side hustles — can:
Learn how to use no-code and AI tools (without feeling dumb),
Build real projects (without having to reinvent the wheel),
And eventually monetize what they create.
Right now, it’s in alpha. That means it’s live, but not done. Not polished. Definitely not pick-and-place level perfect. But it’s usable, evolving, and I’d love for you to take a look.
If you’re the kind of person who enjoys building things, breaking things, or just asking “what if I automated this entire process with a chatbot and duct tape?” — you’ll probably feel at home.
Also, if you want to collaborate, contribute, or just talk shop — hit me up. There’s a lot of room for smart minds and builder brains to help shape what this becomes.
TL;DR
This isn’t about a guy and his cars. It’s not even about pick-and-place machines. It’s about the moment we’re in — a shift where tools are cheap, knowledge is free, and the distance between idea and execution has collapsed.
And yeah, I’m still bitter about not having that robot.But if we’re entering a world where everyone can manufacture like a factory...Then I’m excited. I’m building. I’m in.
And if I ever do get that pick-and-place machine? The universe better watch out.