That was interesting to see/read, thanks for the find, Franklin! Like the author, I always wondered it they actually tested each motherboard, or just 'slapped' them together. Just setting up the factory to go through all the steps to making a motherboard must've been a huge undertaking too!
I had read all about Gigabyte's Nan-Ping manufacturing plant three years ago when pretty much everything in this article was published with pictures on a local technology magazine..... But yeah, it is indeed very interesting
Hello, I've visited a FAB once (a 3 billion dollar monster!). Those things are scary! You have the silicon implanting, the printing etc, it looks like something out of a James Bond movie. All for tiny wafers full of billions of transistors... Mrk
You now have an idea what I do\run for a living. SMT. There are several types of machines that do the initial placement of the "surface mount" parts. There are not any FUJIs` but we do run Quads made by Tyco and several different models made by Juki. The company does contract work for the manufacturers of medical, communication, and some hi-end (BMW) automotive makers. No retail products so I do`t get an employee discount on PC parts.
I was an SMT operator at a contract manufacturer for several years as well. We used Mydata placement machines. My area started at the board stacker and ended at the 2nd reflow oven, and included 2 reflow ovens and placement machines that looked almost exactly like this. The whole process was inline. Some of the contract jobs did make a customized computer motherboard. If I remember right, it took about 40 minutes for a bare board to become a finished product with a board coming off the line every 90 seconds or so. There were no bored workers in these lines. Each step was set up to take about the same amount of time as the other steps in the line. When you finished your task on one board, the next one was arriving. A very efficient process as long as everything ran right. A small problem could idle 20 or 30 people for as long as it took to correct. The company had major financial problems and closed the plant last winter, like so many other places around here.
@ noone_particular. We have 6 lines. However 2 only consist of the single old Quads. The other 4 are in-line with a printer, and multiple placement machines. 2 lines even include old Meridians as well as the ovens. Have only been in SMT for about a year and a half but have found out the company works a bit different then most others. We (the Operator(s)) are responsible for their own line from one end to the other. Up to and including working the bugs out of any program we are given to run.
