Many people dream of having their own factory to make this widget or that gadget. Some items are dead easy to make an
a manufacturing and assembly line can be set up in the garage. These
items will tend to be fairly low tech with only a few steps in the
process. And example of this would be something like a metal pressing
shop where Step 1 would guillotine the metal sheets to the optimal size.
Step 2 would punch out the blanks, step 3 would be to press the blanks
into the desired shape and step 4 would involve machining the rough
edges.
But
other items require a far more sophisticated design with various
components being created in different streams and being assembled
elsewhere. For example take a mobile phone.
There is a production line that is going to make the LCD displays
Another line would mould the casing (both front and back)
Another line is setting up the keypad
Another will be etching the PC card
Then the PC card must be stuffed with the components and chips and resisters and diodes etc.
That has to be soldered and tested,
Then the streams start flowing together where the body has the LCD screen fitted, then that moves along the line where the keyboard is fitted, these two are then connected to the PC board which is then affixed.
Another line would mould the casing (both front and back)
Another line is setting up the keypad
Another will be etching the PC card
Then the PC card must be stuffed with the components and chips and resisters and diodes etc.
That has to be soldered and tested,
Then the streams start flowing together where the body has the LCD screen fitted, then that moves along the line where the keyboard is fitted, these two are then connected to the PC board which is then affixed.
After that of course comes the battery and the back and the test before the finished product can be packed and shipped.
At
various stages during this process some items will be particularly
sensitive to dust. This is true of the etching of the PC boards, the
component stuffing and the soldering process. And so to maintain a high
quality most manufacturers have these processes within clean rooms
Clean
room technology ensures that there is no dust or any fumes or anything
else that can contaminate the product. A clean room may be very small
just covering a conveyor belt where critical processes take place or can
be huge involving whole assembly lines with specially filtered
air-conditioning and all staff wearing over shoes, and surgical gowns
and masks. Everything depends on the requirements of the process.
Certain
food factories have this requirement as do drug manufacturers where
sterility in the manufacturing is vital to the end product. So one will
often find clean rooms is these places.
The
same is true of spray painting. Everyone at some stage or other has
bought a can of spray paint to paint something, and usually the results
are less than satisfactory. The reason for this is that spray painting
and airbrushing requires consistency in distance and coverage and
requires and even steady touch. The slightest air current or dust particles floating around and the desired finish is lost.
So professionals always spray in spray booths. This allows them to get a clean and even finish with
a coat of consistent thickness. For a truly fin job and item will be
sprayed, baked, a flattening sander will take off all the high spots.
This process will be repeated and only the third coat, which will be a
very light touch provides the final high gloss finish which can only be achieved by professionals in spray booths.