Do you remember Scotty Allen? Yes, the same enthusiast who hacked an iPhone to multiply its memory, restore its traditional audio connector, and build one from scratch, among other things. His crazy adventure in China continues, and in his latest video he shares his visit to a printed circuit board factory. This mini documentary takes us from the arrival of the original design files to the final circuit, passing through the raw materials warehouse, the cutting of boards, and the production line. If you are an electronics enthusiast, you might want to take a closer look.
Some years ago we shared here at NeoTeo one of the most effective methods for creating printed circuit boards at home, which involves an iron, magazine paper, a laser printer, and a lot of patience. If you don’t depend heavily on custom boards, the DIY route is very attractive. But if you are planning to commercialize a product or work on a project that requires dozens of PCBs at once, the most logical step is to outsource their manufacturing. When comparing costs, it is almost impossible to resist Chinese factories. And if you have ever wondered exactly how they do it, Scotty Allen from the Strange Parts channel has the answer:
Inside the Factory
Scotty visited a company called Shenzhen Jia Li Chuang Technology Development, where he had the opportunity to observe every step in PCB production. The circuit journey begins in the engineering department, where the integrity of the design is checked (for example, if any layer is missing or if drill references are incorrect).
The Production Process
The second step is printing the circuit onto a transparent film, which is then “developed” onto a fiberglass and copper board as if it were a photograph. The boards are cut into smaller pieces, and their edges are smoothed. In the video we see the machine can process two films at the same time in just a few seconds. If you are wondering about the yellow lights, it is due to the sensitivity of the films. Any strong light could cause an unwanted reaction, and yellow light minimizes the risk.
These are basically the first ten minutes of the mini documentary, which extends for almost half an hour. Scotty has to do the heavy lifting due to his hostess's limited English, but if you turn on the subtitles, you shouldn't have trouble following the conversation. The degree of automation is impressive, as is the discipline in the clean room, and of course, the speed. A design can be ready in 24 hours and reach the customer's hands three days later via DHL, while in other markets the wait can stretch for whole weeks.
