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Raspberry Pi: Manufacturing Hiccup
- ktizo 15y agoWhen have you ever before seen an apology from a computer supplier about delays in delivery, that actually went as far as including x-rays of the parts involved, just to illustrate to ordinary customers how exactly it all went wrong?
- DanBC 15y agoThis is an excellent post by the foundation. I'm pleased they're showing people the actual parts. (After the launch I have no doubt there are some people vigorously complaining about this too.) It would be really nice if they now link to some good quality electronic engineering page to explain what "magnetics" are, and how they work, and why they're used in network connectors. Teaching people about computing is great. Teaching people about electronic engineering would also be great.
- alexchamberlain 15y agoAs one of the commentors said... Sh*t happens. Not their fault...
- joezydeco 15y agoI don't see it the same way. The article says they spec'ed a certain part on the BOM and the manufacturing house dropped in a different part. I see this all the time from overseas board houses that think they can get away with subbing in a cheaper part and charging the same price. If this was my vendor and something like this happened, believe me, this would not be "Shit Happens" and a shrug all around from my management.
- elliottcarlson 15y agoTo be fair, the "shit happens" statement is from the POV of a customer - and that's quite correct. We don't have further insight in to what the Raspberry Pi foundation is doing or communicating to their manufacturer and I doubt it's a "ship happens" attitude there as well - but that's just a guess and that's all either of us really have.
- alexchamberlain 15y agoAs the other commentor fairly points out, I am dismayed at the manufacturer's behaviour, but the Foundation, no worries, I'll let it slide. :P
- slug 15y agoExactly, let's hope they don't do the same to other parts.
- antirez 15y agoThis stuff happens, it's not a problem. I just wish that the project was less in a hurry because it's a no profit organization so there are no time-to-market issues.
- polshaw 15y agoI'm not complaining, it's surely no easy task, but how can you claim they are unduly in a hurry? They were 3 months behind their original plan. This was a mistake by their manufacturers, and could have happened no matter how long they took.
- celticninja 15y agothey were only 3 monthsd behind if you took November as their shipping date, that was pretty much the earliest it could have been for a Q4 release, whereas it could have been as late as end Dec.
- obtu 15y agoThe design works for a certain state of the components market. As time passes some parts become harder to source, or pricier than others that provide better performance or functionality.
- sdfjkl 15y agoNice to know they care and don't just ship anyways (it would probably work anyways in many cases, but cause lots of frustration). Since the author didn't mention it in the article, the "magnetics" are actually small transformers that filter noise, DC and make it harder to fry your board via the network port.
- __alexs 15y agoTiny versions of these? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrite_bead http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrite_bead
- sdfjkl 15y agoNo, they're real transformers, electrically separating board from network. Here's a schematic (first picture from the top, the box labeled Integrated Ethernet Connector): http://www.conformity.com/artman/publish/printer_139.shtml http://www.conformity.com/artman/publish/printer_139.shtml Alternatively these can be mounted as as separate component[1] on the board in conjunction with the "plain" type of connector that the Raspberry manufacturers used by accident. [1] Looks like this: http://www.alliedcomponents.com/lan.php http://www.alliedcomponents.com/lan.php
- AlexandrB 15y agoInteresting. I always wondered what those little black boxes on NICs were - but I never bothered looking them up. It's pretty amazing that modern manufacturing can fit that kind of component into the ethernet port itself.
- jmedwards 15y agoRaspberry Pi are acing customer relations by turning a little bit of bad news into something really interesting and engaging. Kudos
- wr1472 15y agoI'd be interested to know what kind of x-ray device they used to get those images? How much does one cost, and are they affordable (and safe) for a hobbyist to use?
- sdfjkl 15y agoSomething like this: http://www.nikonmetrology.com/en_EU/Products/X-ray-and-CT-Inspection/X-ray-systems-for-electronics-inspection/XT-V-130-Electronics-X-ray-system http://www.nikonmetrology.com/en_EU/Products/X-ray-and-CT-In... It weighs slightly over a (metric) ton, and despite being marketed as "low cost" model, it's not something the average hobbyist can afford. Or even needs :) And yes, it's lead-lined, completely enclosed and safe to use as long as you don't put your hamster in it.
- wcchandler 15y agoI assume not. Pete does component work for Broadcom (I think) as his day job. This equipment was probably theirs, to which I'd wager >$100,000.
- HeyLaughingBoy 15y agoSome people have taken problem ICs to a friendly dentist and asked him to X-ray them...
- ImprovedSilence 15y agoI find fascinating the "open source" view we get into manufacturing here. No "real" real company will throw out there the "oh, we mucked up, your products are coming a week late" and then go on to explain exactly what, and why. It's nice to see the real side of how things are made, and to develop an understanding that usually nothing ever works out on the first go. It really enforces the lesson of "don't be afraid to fail, and don't get discouraged" As I know many people who have tried, do.
- zdouglas 15y agoI greatly appreciate their honesty, prompt timing, and engineering lesson. That's above the call of duty, even for the best distributors.
- spot 15y agoRasPi didn't muck up, the factory did, and presumably the rework is on the factory's dime (with a fat apology). But your point basically stands.
- cek 15y agoI think the right attitude is "the factory is an extension of RasPi, thus RasPi mucked up".
- methoddk 15y agoThe fact that they are so open with the process is what (for me, at least) keeps me happy with it and I'm fine with waiting. Can't wait to do cool things with mine!
- strags 15y agoAbsolutely agree. It's too bad this happened, but they've turned it into something interesting, and by clearly explaining what's going on, one would hope that customers will be understanding. It reminded me a bit of these guys: http://blog.saleae.com/?p=143 http://blog.saleae.com/?p=143 Different problem, but same kind of "small-company" response.
- gaius 15y agoThis is totally like that time back in '83 when Acorn couldn't manufacture enough ULA's for the Electron in time for Christmas. Probably some of the same people involved too!
- bdb 15y agoGlad I'm not the only one who manages to order just one slightly incorrect part for every hardware project I work on.
- DanBC 15y agoI feel sorry for the person doing the rework. 8 legs to desolder, on a 6 layer board, where the pads are going to be small (because of pin density) and where the component shape means you can't just cut the thing off and take the pins out individually. The click-through legs of the socket make it harder to apply heat to the pads and wobble the component out (which you shouldn't do anyway, but people do.) And then the new connectors need to be soldered back on.
- luser001 15y agoJust curious since I had a hard time doing a simple soldering project. Would it be difficult even if they had some equipment to precisely maintain temps and suck out the solder? Does such equipment even exist?
- DanBC 15y agoYes, you can get soldering irons with hollow tips and vacuum pumps especially for rework work. (http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/soldering-stations/0165396/ http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/soldering-stations/0165396/) For a small quantity of items you can get "solder suckers" which are spring loaded pumps with a high temp nozzle. You have that in one with the iron in the other hand. You'd clean the pads with solder wick afterwards.
- sedachv 15y agoAlso solder wicks, for those of us who don't have rework stations.
- femto 15y agoThe other way to do it is to use a hot air gun or infrared to melt the solder on all pins simultaneously, and just lift the part out. Easy! Vacuum up the excess solder, with a hollow tip or hot air, and mount the new component as per normal.
- ChuckMcM 15y agoSee http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3448677 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3448677 This is a pretty standard 'hiccup' in manufacturing. Sadly its more common when your factory is 'remote'[1] than it is when your factory is local. If you read Bunnie's blog [2] about the Chumby he's got a number of fascinating stories about how things can go sideways. Take notes you budding product designers that requires manufacturing actual widgets, its a whole lot uglier than you might think :-) [1] yes that is code for 'outsourced to China.' [2] http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?cat=6 http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?cat=6
- TomAnthony 15y agoInteresting post. Could someone explain, for a non-hardware guy, why the magnetics are necessary? If they are necessary, why do jacks without them exist?
- DanBC 15y agopartly for impedance matching, partly for noise filtering. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impedance_matching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impedance_matching) You can use a component on the PCB, or a component built into the socket.
- noonespecial 15y agoI actually doubt its an accident. One of the problems you have to deal with when manufacturing in China is "substitutions". In China, the contract you sign is just a place to start negotiations and the prototype that they first present to you is considered a loose guide to how they will build the actual product. As time wears on and numbers increase, you'll find all sorts of tweaks to save a penny or two showing up on your latest batches. They don't try to make your product non-functional, but they might make a mistake on a substitution going after that 1/10th of a penny.
- donnaware 15y agoIt's Vapor-ware, Lucy keeps pulling the football away but everyone keeps trying to kick it. It appears this is a fake product that will never actually ship.