[ExI] Relays was Oil will never run out

[hkhenson]

At 11:51 AM 7/2/2008, Bryan Bishop wrote:
>On Wednesday 02 July 2008, Damien Broderick wrote:
> > At 01:14 PM 7/2/2008 -0500, Bryan wrote:
> > > > Built circuit boards with surface mounted parts?
> > >
> > >Maybe?
> >
> > I don't think this is the sort of thing you can do inadvertently and
> > then not be sure it happened. (But then I haven't built one.)
>
>I'm not sure if it's the same thing as breadboarding, or if it's the
>same thing as wiring stuff up on a surface, etc. I tend to have this
>terminological gap problem.

Most PC boards these days are multi layer and covered with passive 
parts about the size of a millet seed and active parts with fine 
spacing (20 mills or less) on the leads.  Normally they are built by 
machines that stick the parts into tiny lumps of solder paste then 
the whole board is run though an oven to melt the solder.

But people sometimes build a few prototype boards with tweezers and a 
very steady hand.  That's become very close to impossible when the 
board has been designed with ball grid array parts.

I have done built boards in the last few years--under a microscope of course.

Was surprised at Bryan having run a lathe or mill and not a drill 
press.  The latter is much more common.

I don't know what the minimum labor force might be to build modern 
day electronics.  It's not hard for a small company to do it, but 
they have to depend on parts and services that employ hundreds to 
make PC boards and companies with tens of thousands or maybe millions 
for the people who build the integrated circuits.  And this is the 
most heavily automated industry there is.

I have done just about every task there is in the industry outside of 
semiconductor manufacturing, and I know what's involved there.  The 
day may come when the processes are amiable to a home workshop, but 
at the present it takes the full capacity of an advanced industrial 
civilization.

Keith

Keith