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Old 04-01-2004, 08:06 PM   #7
StiDreams
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Chapter/Region: BAIC
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Somebody has already done this. He posted here:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=494679

It was just connectors, shrink wrap, silicon calk, and wires. Lots of wires. So many that if there was a problem in there you might have one hell of a time figuring out what was up. It looked hand assembled and was going for about $240 to $260. That may sound overpriced but if you look at the total problem. Sourcing the connectors, number of hours for assembly, number of hours to test the assembly. There's not a whole lot of margin in it. Hand assembly is just the facts of life in a low run limited lifespan product situation.

The PCB idea is a much better solution. Provided you could source the right angle connectors. The assembly would be a breeze and the PCB fab could do a connectivity test in the manufacturing process. Bed of nail or something of the sort. The PCB could have some nice size vias to solder to and some cut points. You wouldn't necessarily have to have cut and jump points for every signal. Just a dozen or so choice ones. There are also cost problems associated with this also. The NRE for the PCB and possible cost of custom right angle connectors will eat at your margins. It would be a nicer product but the end the retail pricing would probably be the same as the hand assembled units.
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