buildfor.life — Where Quality Meets Purpose. Open-source hardware R&D from Chiang Mai, Thailand.https://buildfor.life/https://buildfor.life/blog/led-lamp-evolution/https://buildfor.life/blog/led-lamp-evolution/From green round PCB to square aluminum heatsink — a look at the design iterations behind our long-life smart LED lamp.Sun, 22 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://buildfor.life/blog/infineon-arrow-visit/https://buildfor.life/blog/infineon-arrow-visit/We welcomed representatives from Infineon and Arrow Thailand to our Chiang Mai R&D lab to discuss our GaN-based 48V MPPT converter design.Fri, 20 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://buildfor.life/blog/hpcs6500-reverse-engineering/https://buildfor.life/blog/hpcs6500-reverse-engineering/We used Claude to sniff and decode the USB protocol of our HPCS 6500 integrating sphere, replacing the vendor software with an open-source Python driver.Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://buildfor.life/blog/inventory-system/https://buildfor.life/blog/inventory-system/Our inventory system uses InvenTree, barcode scanning, and automated part import to track 833 unique parts and 290K total components.Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://buildfor.life/blog/automated-test-bench/https://buildfor.life/blog/automated-test-bench/We built an automated efficiency test system for our LVSolarBuck MPPT charger using open-source SCPI drivers and Claude.Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://buildfor.life/blog/german-consul-visit/https://buildfor.life/blog/german-consul-visit/We hosted Sebastian-Justus Schmidt, German Honorary Consul of Chiang Mai and founder of Enapter AG, at our R&D facility.Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://buildfor.life/blog/chiang-mai-flood-2024/https://buildfor.life/blog/chiang-mai-flood-2024/The October 2024 Chiang Mai flood hit our interim lab with 50cm of standing water. Here's what happened, what we learned, and why vendor lock-in is dangerous.Sat, 05 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT