Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
gether. Assuming the decision is made to move forward, it is now time to panelize the
design, apply the necessary DFM alterations, and move forward with production.
Equipment Selection and Implementation
Regardless of whether you have a single model of your product, several slightly varying
models of the same product, or a wide range of different products you'll be building to
share with the world, there is a chance that you will try to accomplish some, or maybe all,
of the assembly process with the help of specialized equipment and tooling. You may not
necessarily opt for a fully automated assembly line, and that's okay. The scale of produc-
tion you need will determine how complex and, by association, expensive your equipment
and tools will be. Therein lies the key to any and all decisions being made on how to equip
your assembly shop or production facility with the necessary machinery.
These days, a wide range of equipment options are available to match just about any
level of volume and complexity. You need to prepare yourself and your assembly opera-
tions team for the anticipated workload. If you are simply making a few prototypes or a
small batch of electronics for a proof of concept, scores of manual assembly methods can
be employed with small, relatively inexpensive tools and minimal equipment require-
ments. The word “equipment” is used loosely here; it includes items such as skillets,
toaster ovens, Crock-Pots, hot-air guns, low-cost soldering irons, cheap CPU towers pur-
chased through eBay, and self-designed test fixtures that you build yourself (using many
of the same parts that you've sourced to build your product, whenever possible).
If you desire to climb one or two notches up the ladder above the most basic, entry-
level assembly tools, there is a good chance you're ready to add a pick-and-place machine
and a reflow oven to your equipment lineup. SparkFun hit this level after having spent a
little more than four years doing its own small electronics assembly with low-cost tools, a
few skilled assembly technicians, and a whole lot of patience. When more precise and ef-
ficient equipment was needed, SparkFun was already far exceeding the limits that are
reached with this more primitive setup. Even though not a single person in the SparkFun
group was even remotely familiar with how to run this type of advanced, complex ma-
chinery, the members collectively believed that it could be learned with enough effort and
patience and that the time it would take to develop these skills would pay dividends in the
long run.
