Professional assembly mishaps

[Yellofriend]

All manual insertion and manual soldering. All old ladies chatting as they were working.

That's what we did when I worked in an assembly factory in China a long while ago. All manual, each person maybe 3-5 parts. Only difference, our ladies were young. Zero problems with missing parts or polarity. The method can work, but nowadays too expensive I guess.

[zeqing]

All manual insertion and manual soldering. All old ladies chatting as they were working.

That's what we did when I worked in an assembly factory in China a long while ago. All manual, each person maybe 3-5 parts. Only difference, our ladies were young. Zero problems with missing parts or polarity. The method can work, but nowadays too expensive I guess.

Agree, the salary in China doubled, or even Tripled in the past 10 years.  manually soldering is expensive and only suitable for the prototyping 1~5 pcs production.

[nanofrog]

I'd add rework or repair of high-value products.

[Ice-Tea]

Partially my own fault but:

I once made a small mod to a design while on holliday in France. Send out Gerbers without checking (only a small change, just this once it will be fine!). The outjob was bad and two layer were 'blank'. The assembly house produced it and everything was shorted together as every via would be connected to two solid sheets of copper on the mid layers.

Still can't believe nobody at either the assembly house or board house caught it.

[JuKu]

My favorite assembly mishap:

[capt bullshot]

Some time ago, I had this one



Inappropriate manual handling of the boards after reflow

[Leo Bodnar]

Few more from today.

[Mr. Scram]

That first one looks like someone got fed up with it and threw some parts in the general direction of the board.

[l0wside]

No pictures, but still my very first assembly run (mid-size PCBA company in southern Germany) cost me a bunch of nerves:

• I had sent them an extra picture of the board, showing polarity or pin 1 for each component. Result: out of 100 parts, 100 had the electrolytic caps the wrong way round. They fixed it manually at their cost, but I still lost at least two weeks.
• The design has a tactile switch. Roughly half of the switches did not work. Turns out they washed the PCBs after assembly (which is not uncommon). Washed-out flux got into the switches and blocked them mechanically. The datasheet states clearly "Washing: Not possible". They fixed it manually at their cost...
• From previous tasks, I am used to using no-clean flux. I have a sensor on the board which has a protective cap...that was washed off in the process.  Some covers were still on, some dangling around, most had been washed off. QC seems not to have cared. To be honest, it was at least partly my fault - I had simply not considered washing.

[fcb]

They can't possibly have gone through AOI or any form of inspection.

[sokoloff]

No pictures, but still my very first assembly run (mid-size PCBA company in southern Germany) cost me a bunch of nerves:

• I had sent them an extra picture of the board, showing polarity or pin 1 for each component. Result: out of 100 parts, 100 had the electrolytic caps the wrong way round. They fixed it manually at their cost, but I still lost at least two weeks.

It would be more disturbing if only 63 (or 17 or whatever) were the wrong way 'round!

[asmi]

My own oopsie that happened this weekend 
Decided not to fix as it's a 0201 cap which is too close to the DDR3L IC so that I couldn't get in there with an iron without risking damaging the IC. The module works at full speed just fine even without one cap

[zeqing]

My own oopsie that happened this weekend 
Decided not to fix as it's a 0201 cap which is too close to the DDR3L IC so that I couldn't get in there with an iron without risking damaging the IC. The module works at full speed just fine even without one cap

0201 is indeed risky for some soldering factories, avoid to use 0201 package unless you are design PC/phone....

[zeqing]

No pictures, but still my very first assembly run (mid-size PCBA company in southern Germany) cost me a bunch of nerves:

• I had sent them an extra picture of the board, showing polarity or pin 1 for each component. Result: out of 100 parts, 100 had the electrolytic caps the wrong way round. They fixed it manually at their cost, but I still lost at least two weeks.

this kind of problem occurs some times, when i make the PCBA, my vendor makerfabs will make a sample and take detailded picture for me for checking. although very rare i found mistakes,  it make me ease...

• The design has a tactile switch. Roughly half of the switches did not work. Turns out they washed the PCBs after assembly (which is not uncommon). Washed-out flux got into the switches and blocked them mechanically. The datasheet states clearly "Washing: Not possible". They fixed it manually at their cost...

it needs experience for the vendor,almost impossible for the soldering man to check the datasheet, but it is really very basic knowledge that most of switches can not be washed by flux

• From previous tasks, I am used to using no-clean flux. I have a sensor on the board which has a protective cap...that was washed off in the process.  Some covers were still on, some dangling around, most had been washed off. QC seems not to have cared. To be honest, it was at least partly my fault - I had simply not considered washing.

most of factory use the soldering that need to be washed after the soldering, or the PCBA would be looks urgly- as they may think so normally they will wash after the THT soldering.  most sensor for the Environment can not be washed ... that you should remind them, unless your soldering vendor themselves is electronic engineers and know the notes. i suggest you my long-term PCBA vendor Makerfabs, really help me a lot in the DFM and solves my problems in their side. 

[Kean]

@zeqing Almost every other post of yours you mention the name of your "vendor".  Please stop with the shilling!

[zeqing]

@kean  here's not your personal back garden and stop shouting to others with your uncivilized manner.

[wraper]

@kean  here's not your personal back garden and stop shouting to others with your uncivilized manner.

No, it's you who treats this forum as a personal spam garden. Frankly, after reading your posts, I have strong suspicion that you could be makerfabs marketing shill and should be banned if that turns out to be true.
Edit: Actually you are a shill and admitted it in one of your posts and just got reported.

nice to meet you here,   how is the project krunch king now?

I stopped selling them, putting it through a redesign after all the hardware issues I had. Where do I know you from? 

i run a PCB assembly studio in shenzhen called makerfabs with some friends, and once i quoted for you.... your name really special that i still remember you after 3 years...

[zeqing]

yes, i have been there for half an year and still now we have had good cooperation on my PCBA and good relationship personally, and i try to help them but without bribery. i do not think the word "shill " impartial for me. strong attitude not works but report me as spam, unless your words nonsense.

[wraper]

yes, i have been there for half an year and still now we have had good cooperation on my PCBA and good relationship personally, and i try to help them but without bribery. i do not think the word "shill " impartial for me. strong attitude not works but report me as spam, unless your words nonsense.

Keep lying. Look your quote in my previous post from which is obvious you worked there at for at least last 3 years. You are shill because you said you were ordering from them while actually are working there.

[zeqing]

you confused and Biased. as i know, the makerfabs only created for about 1 year ago(check their site with alexa!), how could i work there 3 years ago..
"your name really special that i still remember you after 3 years... "
that is to say many years ago when i was in another company .  do you want me open my resume for you?

[wraper]

you confused. as i know, the makerfabs only created for about 1 year ago(check their site with alexa!), how could i work there 3 years ago..
"your name really special that i still remember you after 3 years... "
that is to say many years ago when i was in another company .

i run a PCB assembly studio in shenzhen called makerfabs with some friends

And I also should believe you are from Germany  . It could be different Chinese company back then, but it doesn't matter. The fact is you claimed yourself in that post you are running this business. While in the rest of your posts you claimed you buy things at makerfabs.

[zeqing]

maybe you should firstly answer my questions. have you checked the site registration date, as  you believe i have been there for 3 years. 
i have answer your questions with "left".

[wraper]

maybe you should firstly answer my questions. have you checked the site registration date, as  you believe i have been there for 3 years. 
i have answer your questions with "left".

I checked, 2016. But it does not change the fact you wrote yourself that you are running makerfabs.

[zeqing]

maybe you should firstly answer my questions. have you checked the site registration date, as  you believe i have been there for 3 years. 
i have answer your questions with "left".

I checked, 2016. But it does not change the fact you wrote yourself that you are running makerfabs.

OK, so you have admired your mistakes? how would i explain the "left"? please check my above posts.

this is "Manufacturing & Assembly" and the post  for "assembly mishaps", i think this is a good place to share my  experience, and caught as a "shill"

[Kean]

@kean  here's not your personal back garden and stop shouting to others with your uncivilized manner.

Hahaha!  That's hilarious!  I didn't shout nor was I uncivilised.

You have now been reported to the moderators.  I hadn't done that before, I just stated facts and asked you to stop misrepresenting your "vendor".