When you’re making a computer known for being super-cheap, every penny counts—and that also applies when you’re counting how many returns you have to deal with. Raspberry Pi says that thanks to some fancy new soldering techniques and a little help from Sony, they’ve managed to cut expensive returns by a whopping 50 percent.
To get technical, the new Raspberry Pi 5 eliminates through-hole soldering connectors by using reflow soldering. It’s a technique that uses a sort of “oven” to attach components to multiple points at once, and it’s much faster than doing individual solder points either by hand or with robotics. In addition to eliminating mistakes and returns, it speeds things up—apparently by 15 percent for the Pi. Here’s an example of the process, though this isn’t the specific hardware:
But it’s also more complex from an industrial standpoint because you need some complex equipment to automate it, so Raspberry Pi worked with Sony’s UK Technology Centre to upgrade its manufacturing systems.
According to Raspberry Pi’s blog post, the process is being applied to older models and other products as well. The company also claims that eliminating some of its manufacturing steps and equipment will save 43 tons of CO₂ output per year.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he’s the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop “battlestation” in his off hours. Michael’s previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he’s covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he’s always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.