3 ms·
I refurbish a whole lot of ewaste as part of my job, and with a few exceptions any time a device fails it's either the electrolytics in the power supply or some
by AussieWog93 3y ago
I refurbish a whole lot of ewaste as part of my job, and with a few exceptions any time a device fails it's either the electrolytics in the power supply or something mechanical.
Solid state electronics technically _can_ fail but their expected service life is an order of magnitude more than the mechanical stuff. Same with properly done solder joints. If they crack, it's either due to mechanical stresses (e.g. constant reinsertion on battery jacks) or it's a design fault (Xbox 360, PS3 cold solder).
- adhesive_wombat 3y agoOr a blown MOSFET that's exactly the right size to work on paper but no more (or is missing ESD protection and blew up a gate).
- infogulch 3y agoWhich is a flaw that could be fixed in the design for future runs and a fix documented for earlier runs.
- adhesive_wombat 3y agoExcuse me, a properly sized MOSFET is nearly 5p more and a TVS diode is nearly a penny for 4. Why do you hate profits? Jokes aside, I think it's more likely that the undersized parts are the revised design, the original being "wastefully robust".
- droopyEyelids 3y agoThat order of magnitude longevity gap is a profit opportunity for the component manufacturers, and people are absolutely working to figure out how to make them cheaper. I dont mean this cynically, only that no one wants to spend extra on overengineered parts.