Note that this process is fairly standardized, although Gigabyte has some unique tweaks they made to their machines. We made a comparison to the Z390 Godlike (an MSI board) in this video, so before that confuses anyone, note that MSI follows the same SMT line approach to boards. Gigabyte is, however, the only one doing manufacturing in Taiwan instead of China. Find our video on how PC case fans are made over here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-We0RCB7oA2I.html You can support our factory tours from this trip via Patreon or the store: store.gamersnexus.net / www.patreon.com/gamersnexus
@@GamersNexus That would actually be cool to see how thermal paste and thermal pads are made. i assume it is more chemical lab based then factory based.
I'm a U.S. field service engineer for Heller Industries, the supplier of the 1913 MK3 reflow oven shown in this video. I knew the instant you showed the exit-end of the oven, that it was one of ours. Thanks for the work.
It's absolutely amazing we used to do this by hand. It's even more amazing that we figured out how to create every component down to microtransisters and make them all work in unison. A history of the progression of computer electronics would be an amazing video to make.
I wish there was a way for me to express my love for this kind of content rather than just an upvote. Seeing how these products we use and admire daily in their starting stages and gradually grow to a completed product is so genuinely rewarding, intriguing and mesmerizing. It's like watching a magician reveal his magic trick. I absolutely loved this and I hope you guys can get invited to more facilities!! LOVE THIS - MORE PLEASE !!
Just incredible to watch and think of how labour intensive the building of boards would be without automation (if possible at all!). Thanks Steve (and team!)
how do you think they were made in the beginning? ;-) speaking 386's 286's etc. by 486 they had a fair bit of automation but all the testing was cumbersome (think the first test station from Gigabyte)
Of course you can do it manually, it just costs you a whole lot more, both in money and labor. When you have one off prototypes and such the boards are pretty much always made manually, setting up SMT lines for a one off is more trouble than it's worth.
dont know, why im replyin to a 3 year old video but, "Diskette " is the German word for Floppy Disc, Gigabyte, being a German company probably failed to translate this particular Schematic.
that would be awesome :D would love a custom too but think they are somewhat expensive... but they are not impossible, dunno if Gigabyte does custom boards, but Intel does quite a bit custom
I work at a PCB factory, we got a lot of the same SMT line machines. NXT, Eberhard, etc. Solder pots, relay machines, connector machines, wiring harnesses, all sorts of fun stuff.
Interesting to see a board which I recently used in a pc build being actually built lol. Am i the only one who got excited seeing how the boxes got packed with the blue tape 😅
I was in a SMT line as a AOI programmer to program the AOI that check the component are correctly placed and the welding are correct. But our line only have 1 AOI machine at the end of the SMT just after the reflow machine. that line was producing some MB and graphic card for some small brand, Gigabyte has an AOI just after the solder paste is clever idea. The most expense equipment in the whole in is the pick-and-place (SMT) machine which made Siemens or Panasonic. Their movement is so fast that watching them is so satisfying. BTW, The factory usually work 3 shift a day, so the line is open 24x7
@@sith_happens6419 Exactly, why they have even made 1660 (Ti), which costs the same as more powerfull RTX 2060. No idea what is purpose of this card LOL
From all the tech channels, I think GN does the best factory tours. Accurate and informative about each step of the process. Good footage. Not obnoxious. Not much more you can ask for. Keep up the good work, Steve. High-fives for you and the rest of your team.
Not to sound like a homer, but Gigabyte has been my favorite motherboard manufacturer for over a decade now. I've yet to experience any kind of failure or problems with any Gigabyte parts I've bought over the last decade, unlike issues with companies like MSI and Asus (really don't like MSI). I've got motherboards with almost a decade of use on them still going strong. I'm really quite happy with them and will continue to support them as long as they continue making great products.
Yeah, nvm on a big screen I can see it now. Although it's not really in focus and the bright colours are bleeding a bit. Also reviews of the 1660 are up at this point
@@pongisan3658 If it is a few components that have a large thermal mass, then hand solder. If many smaller components the bottom side SMD parts already there would need to be glued down in the previous SMD placement process prior to wave soldering.
I used to loath gigabyte like 10 years ago their quality control was abysmal. Now adays they are actually pretty good. Very neat video, basically a 3d printer on crack 😂
Everything was processed by hand except the trace line's each PCB layer was done individually. We then sent the motherboard PCB to msi for the components to be machine installed and soldered etc..
Manufacturers love video cards because there is so much profit because the boards are cheap, easy and fast to assemble compared to a motherboard that requires so many different parts and more testing.
@@GamersNexus it would have been nice to hear how many millimeters per second they were traveling. With CNC travel speed is a thing. Acceleration is a big thing too. How fast the axis gets going fast. Those machines were running balls out.
More placement than soldering but yes, there's still a good deal of handwork. Bit through hole components are one of those things that are more efficient to do by hand on a mostly SMD product. If it was all through hole (this is rare in most devices at this point), there are different types of pick and place machines that also bend the leads for the through hole components and then instead of using a reflow oven, they use wave soldering.
Just going back through these old videos and I realized that the narration "style" changed a lot. Honestly, the older videos are better narrated, they have a better flow and are less monotonic. Try to bring that back :)
@@peterjansen4826 Does it "click clack whirl whirl"? "Buzz buzz zap zap"? The exhaust fan from my laser cutter was pretty bad, and the CNC machine made a loud wine. I'm pretty sure I'd could get along with this in my garage, with the appropriate head gear. Maybe..
@@megan_alnico I am pretty sure that you need some ear protection. :) It is amazing how much the process has been automated, that is the only reason why motherboard are so cheap, for now. We might get problems when we have wasted too much metal and not properly recycled it.
I think I saw this factory before in another motherboard manufacturing video. Having Deja vu. Nice to see another enthusiastic member of the techtuber community take a tour. Make everyone proud.
navigating a gigabyte bios is like running through a labyrinth while blindfolded and tied together at the ankles I'm happy with the hardware but god *DAMN* do I miss the bios from my old asus board
Just imagine if you would have actual one day latancy. My dad had to program for the Dutch gouverment once. But programmers were pretty expensive(this was 20 years ago) so my dad had to write the code on a piece of paper and an other person wrote that code into the computer, cause that person costed less per hour. So my dad had to deal with an one day latancy in a sense, cause he could only see his code in action a day later to see if it all worked.
crazy how much time it would take for these to be manufactured I own a B450-I Pro Wifi from Gigabyte and I'm very happy with it I give my thanks to those who design and manufacture the boards
I used to work in these kind of factories in Taiwan and mostly are Filipino workers. Even the boxing thing is done manually before. Now it is done with robots. :-) Those were the days. Now I'm in the US appreciating this kind of videos and buying all techs we used to do before. :-) Taiwan is a heavy-techy place. Anywhere you go, gadgets are everywhere and they are pretty cheap. Good thing you were allowed to take videos of those automation process. Back in the day, we are not allowed to have even one photo of their machines.
i guess they like the free screen time^^also maybe they had custom machines and processes back then while its mostly "off the shelf" stuff these days? how is such a job? i'd imagine it incredibly boring but stressfull at the same time?
@@snauspockets9924 reading reviews on boards I've found that there are the most complatints about reliability on Gigabyte boards then any other, but given how many they make I doubt its actually that many that are defective
03:44 Solder balls are in solder paste. Solder paste is placed onto pads on the PCB. Also, generally, surface mount components are referred to surface mount devices, SMD’s.
Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI) and X-Ray are really much preferable to actual power-on functional testing because they give you a very direct and specific result as to what went wrong. I work professionally in manufacturing test and hardware diagnostics, and it can actually be quite complicated to translate a functional test failure message into a specific part or process failure. AOI and 3D X-Ray will just tell you straightforward "this component is missing" or "these solder points are bridged". It is very direct feedback to the manufacturing engineers and technicians.
I like the idea of your explaining everything at the tech factories so much that I'm going to support you (channel, ppl behind the scenes too) and buy stuff from your store. Tshirt and a mug are my favourites. Thanks Steve.
Some serious engineering going on here. The machines constructing the boards are infinitely more complex and impressive than any motherboard ever made. -a mechanical engineer
I had to laugh when you mentioned the waranty card inclusion in the box, Gigabyte warranties are useless (In Australia unless you can actually speak Chinese and call Taiwan support).
Blah still owned by China, remember when Clinton sent a carrier over there and China threw a fit and told the USA go ahead and try it, then the USA backed down?
It always shocks me how much of component manufacturing is done manually. People who freak out about the terminator complex of 'The computers will automatically make new, smarter computers' are missing how much human jurisdiction is necessary even in the automated parts of the line. Keep up the great content.
Hey *Gamers* Nexus! What are all these technical in depth looks at factories and crazy OC labs in Asia huh? Shouldn't you be talking about Fortnite skins and visiting the Doritos and Mountain Dew factories?
Congratulations to all the Gamer Nexus team, you're doing a terrific job! Also this makes us all appreciate more the work that goes into making computer parts, and electronics in general!
Best PC hardware channel on RU-vid. No bullshit, only good info and hot takes. Although I find it hilarious how Steve literally looks like he's in pain every time he smiles. 😂
I used to be an End-of-line AOI operator for a small company here in Michigan. I'm pretty sure that if the company I worked for had (or did now for that matter; I have a friend that still works there) the level of QA that Gigabyte appears to, they would be running more smoothly. When I worked there, we were on year-round mandatory overtime. They had been for over a year. They still are now. My employment with them terminated in 2015, iirc.
[12:37] 😂 The only station with VIGOROUS automated action. THAT was satisfying. AWESOME tours being done! Steve and the crew picking up the slack of "How It's Made" & "How Do They Do It" 🤔👍
