Getting Satisfactory Results in the Manufacturing and Finishing Process

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.

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.