[quote]Shenzhen, China is home to some of the most controversial electronics factories in recent memory, but it also plays host to a robust culture of small, nimble, sometimes single-man electronics manufacturing operations. At Hoektronics, founder of MakerBot Industries Zach Hoeken got a look at one of the machines that a Shenzhen maker uses to produce small batches of circuit boards to make his own electronics to sell at market.
The circuit board maker, Mr. Chen, uses a $4,000 SMT pick-and-place machine in his home for manufacturing. Pick-and-place machines use robotic arms to apply the capacitors, integrated circuits, and resistors to printed circuit boards according to instructions.
According to Hoektronics, Mr. Chen first applies solder, runs the boards through the pick-and-place machine, and then sets the arrangement by putting the boards in an oven. Mr. Chen then hand-solders the connectors to the boards.[/quote]
