AlbertPacino
Skilled
Without a doubt, motherboards are the most complex and essential part of the modern PC. Not only do they hold the chipsets that pass data from peripherals, drives and memory to the processor, they also provide slots and ports for all your other system components and the circuits through which all data must pass. Perhaps surprisingly then, motherboards get very little respect in the computing press as compared to other components. They are perpetually the team player and not the star of the show, and are generally priced as such.
With this in mind, it's surprising to learn the amount of work and machinery involved in manufacturing a single motherboard. We'd vaguely imagined some sort of stamping process where all components are slapped onto the bare board in one step and soldered, before being boxed in a big room full of bored workers. Sure there'd have to be some testing, but how intense could it be?
As PCSTATS recent trip to Gigabyte's Nan-Ping factory in Taiwan showed us last summer during Computex 2004, there's a lot more to it. In fact, producing and testing a single motherboard involves a mind-boggling host of automated machines, people and processes; so we'd like to detail the whole assembly line to give you a feel for how things are really made. Gigabyte's Nan-Ping factory is a modern building in rural Taiwan. Built in 1986, this 8-story factory encompasses 45,000 square meters of work space, and includes 18 SMT lines, 10 DIP lines, and 9 Testing lines. Nan-Ping's capacity is 800,000 motherboards and 400,000 videocards a month. Gigabyte has several other factories in Taiwan and mainland China that each manufacture motherboards, videocards, and other products.
Follow along as PCSTATS walks through the whole motherboard manufacturing process.
Content:
Page 1:  How Motherboards Are Made: A Gigabyte Factory Tour
Page 2: Entering the Motherboard Factory
Page 3: First steps in Motherboard Manufacturing
Page 4: SMT Assembly Line
Page 5: SMT Process Continues
Page 6: Pick and Place Chipsets
Page 7: Convection Ovens for PCB
Page 8: In-Circuit Testing and Visual Inspection
Page 9: Gigabyte's Enormous Automated Warehouse
Page 10: SMT Automated Reel Storage
Page 11: The Expensive Goods
Page 12: Manual Assembly (DIP) Line
Page 13: Installing Sockets and Ports
Page 14: Wave Soldering
Page 15: Flowing Over The Molton Solder
Page 16: Buffing and Cleaning
Page 17: Testing Stage 2: Full Hardware Tests
Page 18: Automated Testing Platforms
Page 19: Testing Stage 3: Burn In
Page 20: Final Motherboard Packaging
The Tour
With this in mind, it's surprising to learn the amount of work and machinery involved in manufacturing a single motherboard. We'd vaguely imagined some sort of stamping process where all components are slapped onto the bare board in one step and soldered, before being boxed in a big room full of bored workers. Sure there'd have to be some testing, but how intense could it be?
As PCSTATS recent trip to Gigabyte's Nan-Ping factory in Taiwan showed us last summer during Computex 2004, there's a lot more to it. In fact, producing and testing a single motherboard involves a mind-boggling host of automated machines, people and processes; so we'd like to detail the whole assembly line to give you a feel for how things are really made. Gigabyte's Nan-Ping factory is a modern building in rural Taiwan. Built in 1986, this 8-story factory encompasses 45,000 square meters of work space, and includes 18 SMT lines, 10 DIP lines, and 9 Testing lines. Nan-Ping's capacity is 800,000 motherboards and 400,000 videocards a month. Gigabyte has several other factories in Taiwan and mainland China that each manufacture motherboards, videocards, and other products.
Follow along as PCSTATS walks through the whole motherboard manufacturing process.
Content:
Page 1:  How Motherboards Are Made: A Gigabyte Factory Tour
Page 2: Entering the Motherboard Factory
Page 3: First steps in Motherboard Manufacturing
Page 4: SMT Assembly Line
Page 5: SMT Process Continues
Page 6: Pick and Place Chipsets
Page 7: Convection Ovens for PCB
Page 8: In-Circuit Testing and Visual Inspection
Page 9: Gigabyte's Enormous Automated Warehouse
Page 10: SMT Automated Reel Storage
Page 11: The Expensive Goods
Page 12: Manual Assembly (DIP) Line
Page 13: Installing Sockets and Ports
Page 14: Wave Soldering
Page 15: Flowing Over The Molton Solder
Page 16: Buffing and Cleaning
Page 17: Testing Stage 2: Full Hardware Tests
Page 18: Automated Testing Platforms
Page 19: Testing Stage 3: Burn In
Page 20: Final Motherboard Packaging
The Tour
