Teardown Session 11: Watch hacking and PCB assembly

This week, the Teardown Sessions’ Helen Leigh goes on a field trip to the Cyber City Circuits PnP electronics assembly line and chats with Joey Castillo, who is working with the CCC folks to make his open hardware Sensor Watch project. Joey’s project, an open hardware smart watch, re-uses a classic, and ubiquitous, Casio LCD wristwatch and is launching on Crowd Supply soon.

Helen and Joey are joined by Chris Williamson - Director of Operations and David Ray - General Manager of Cyber City Circuits, a small-scale electronics assembly firm in Augusta, Georgia. Chris, David, and the rest of the CCC team demonstrate the manufacturing process they use for the Sensor Watch board. We’re treated to a guided tour of the entire assembly line, from a detailed look at how a pick-and-place machine is set up and run, to solder masking, to baking the final product.