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How a Computer Case Is Built
mtxmorph writes "Ever wondered how that pretty case on your desk came to be? Tom's Hardware Guide recently took a trip to China to see the production process for the Chenbro XSpider/Gaming Bomb case. Lots of interesting pictures in this detailed article." I must admit, this is far more intriguing than I'd initially thought, if only for the subtle differences in corporate culture. Chenbro employees have the option of living "on campus" in employee housing.
Anyone else read the Microserf book? Same thing as the campus living and whatnot...
Oh and here is the Google Cache of the Chenbro site, its already getting slow!!
Pretty cool article though... I'm suprised at the amount of work that goes into one.
The "living on campus" (what is considered by /. readers as a great thing) is not that great. The site is too slow so I can't read the article, though I do know a bit about China factories (living in Hong Kong and having visited a few myself, Hong Kong is part of the Guangdong province, Dongguan is one of the larger cities there). There is an important dark site to this whole China production work.
The workers often come from far away - all the way from the west is not uncommon. These people come to the east because of the 'good' salaries (typically about 20 RMB per day, or USD2.5, 12 hour days, 7 days a week), to make money and after a year or a few years move back to their village having saved a bit to live from. The working conditions are often harsh, poorly lit rooms, dusty, hot, etc.
They live on campus, often in single room appartments with shared facilities. Food is provided as well, the fee is normally around USD30 a month. Cheap, for you, but it is half of their salary! And all the rooms have strong iron bars - mainly against theft.
Margins for these factories are also often really low - cents to the dollar. As a result workers are sometimes treated as slaves, I read regularly stories about this in the Hong Kong newspapers. About workers making just enough to pay for their own stay and the contract cost (often have to pay a commission to a middle man to get the job), and not being allowed to leave the factory. Breach of the one year contract would cost them a fine of about two months salary.
The products coming from China are wonderful, and wonderfully cheap. Labour cost in China is low - China is now in the middle of the industrial revolution Europe and USA had in the 1800s. With all the poor working conditions and pollution included.
This is something to realise the next time you buy a case, or another product "made in China"! There is a lot to improve here.
Wouter.
It's just that for some reason the editors decided to link to www6. Just try other numbers, for example, I read it on www4. Links:
www4
www5
Shouldn't all literate people know how something simple like this is designed, tested, and constructed? If you can read this sentence but don't know how to fashion a trivial metal box, ask for a refund on your education.
Over and over again, this writeup seemed like it came from a FUD factory. I'm sure that these cases are outstanding -- however, statements like
unless you buy a quality product you are wasting your money.
are pure drivel. Buying a $100 case for middle-of-the-road or lower requirements is a waste of money. A machine used to run your OS and assorted apps, with generic HD, motherboard, processor, and drive components does not require a high quality case. Spending $100 on one is simply a waste of dough... and not the converse, as the Tom's journalist -- or Ken -- would have you believe.
Support a few technologists in Washington.
tie him down, pull his pants down and don't arouse him too much or you logo will shrink instead of grow.
This space is intentionally staring blankly at you
As a software engineer specializing in user-interface design, I don't believe the computer's enclosure is where the user's attention should be focused. "Oooh ... shiny!" So what? A computer user spends most of his time looking at the screen anyway: the case has no purpose other than to support some parts. And the truth is that, whether it be cars, computers, or women, it's what's under the hood that counts.
... that's way cool ... how'd you get it to do that?" The desire for more positive feedback of that nature drives us to do even better next time. So if you really want to stand out from the computing crowd, learn coding and do something cool and useful that the rest of us can enjoy, and you'll really impress us. Your shiny new plastic computer case with the electroluminescent panels stuck all over it will not. Put the money into a faster processor or a better video board instead, or better yet some programming classes at your local college.
It's just ego, really, and the desire to be thought well of by other people. Now, I'm not deriding the ego trip, in and of itself. In the right context, it can be highly motivating. I mean, most of us programmers love to have someone in our own field look at our work and say "Hey
To be honest, if some manufacturer were to make a case that blended in with the rest of my office (say, a nice dark woodgrain finish that would match my desk) I'd be first in line to buy it. Some years ago I did something like that. I bought some wood-grain contact paper and covered a mini-tower with it, and spraypainted the front panel a matching color. It looked very nice, fit right in with the rest of the decor. Hm. I may have to try that again, now that you got me thinking about it.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
How would "all literate people know how something simple like this is designed, tested, and constructed" if articles such as this didn't exist to tell them?
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
Or plasma cutters. No retooling and every case can be completely custom.
Hammer of Truth
If you don't, then they WILL hurt themselves. Earlier this year, a friend of mine worked at some plant where they cut and package tickets, and one of the maintenance workers decided that he was going to fix a damaged machine while it was still running. He got down on the floor and reached his hand under an opening in the machine and proceeded to tinker.
Well, suffice it to say, he lost his arm that day.. The thing shredded his arm to ribbons. I think he got it caught in some large gears.
Despite strict rules, the company was responsible for his act of idiocy. So I suppose these companies are wise to be so anal about safety in the workplace. If you give someone three inches, they'll give you their entire arm. ;p
"People should be allowed to keep midgets as pets."
- Gov. Jesse Ventura
No matter how hard you work nor the time that it takes to build one if the end product is just ugly! I mean look at the case design of apple products (i.e. G5), and you'll see what i mean by that. Design plays equal role as does engineering. G5 for example uses state of the art anodizing process called Microplasmic anodizing that coats material (i.e. of G5 -- Aluminum alloy) and makes it as twice as harder than steel. You can read more about this process at http://www.microplasmic.com One more thing that this article ignores is design part. The Innovation and education of Design team is not something that has to be ignored, look at the Apple design team lead by Jonathan Ive.
Done.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
No wonder all the manufacturing is moving out of the US. If the company is responsible for such an obvious neglect on part of the worker, I won't want to do manufacturing in the US either. Maybe the cause is our neglected public education system.
On the other hand, it's interesting that while GM and Ford are moving manufacturing out of the US, the Japanese and German auto manufacturerers are opening more auto plants in the US. Which leads me to think that it's not the workers that's the blame, but wasteful management.
In Soviet Russia, articles before post read *you*!
So let me get this straight.. hard tooling is better and costs less, soft tooling is worse and costs more?
Spend more on hard tooling, and you get a lower cost per part. Very simple.
Soft tooling is made from less expensive, less durable metals such as soft steel or even aluminum. It can be used to make a few hundred or perhaps a couple thousand parts for prototyping or a small production run. They are cheaper to make not only because the metal is cheaper, but also because the metal is easier to work, so it takes less effor to make the tool. The reason you see better cuts with the hard tool is because the edges are stronger, and the reason you see a better finish is because the tooling can withstand much higher pressure.
It's also helpful to do a soft tool first because not only are you prototyping the design, you also need to prototype the tool itself. Re-working a soft tool to make it work better or to change design features is relatively easy.