Inside a Huge PCB Factory

You can watch this without ads on my streaming platform, Nebula! nebula.tv/vide...
Today we're visiting JLCPCB (jlcpcb.com/e), one of the largest prototype PCB manufacturers in China. We're getting an exclusive factory tour of one of their newest printed circuit board factories in Huizhou, just outside of Shenzhen, to see the PCB manufacturing process step-by-step. Are you an electronics geek or a DIY enthusiast that loves soldering projects that's always wondered how to make that PCB? Today we're going to see how it's made!
Thanks to JLCPCB for sponsoring this video!
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Edited by auram - / aurxm
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Music:
Shlow Motion Pt. 2 - oomiee (Licensed through Epidemic Sound)
Young Bones by Jake Maynard - Calaveras (Licensed through Art List)
Water - Seamus Mcnamara (Licensed through Epidemic Sound)

[@StrangeParts]

You can watch this without ads on my streaming platform, Nebula! nebula.tv/videos/strange-parts-inside-a-huge-pcb-factory-in-china This video is because of you! I went through all of the comments from the previous factory videos, and seeing inside a PCB factory was one of your top requests. So keep the suggestions coming! I'll try and make as many of them happen as I can.

[@lsudan2670]

Strange Parts u allwayz great 👏👏👏 each like is deserved for U #congrats

[@averagegeek3957]

I love your factory videos!

[@lukasvaranka9470]

Yhea

[@bonko86]

Your channel is the only one I can watch every video from start to end no matter how long it is. The longer the better! Awesome job, love this kind of content!

[@yaqubilham8618]

Strange Parts go to OnePlus and look at there factory to make the OnePlus 6

[@techsinc]

I think Lily really enjoyed the tour of the factory, she learned a lot from the tour guide.

[@fian3851]

Yeah

[@zeusjanseng.lujares7428]

James Kim exactly what I thought

[@7b0ne]

@@fian3851 xD

[@РашидАлли]

She just could not explain all that in english. But you're right, it looks very strange.

[@Quaker763]

@@0scur0_ It's pretty obvious her English isn't too eloquent mate. _Many_ Chinese people are afraid to speak English to a native (Mandarin's my SL). I imagine being on camera would be about 100 times more nerve wracking.

[@illiteratebeef]

The background noise was rough and youtube's auto subs sucks, so I subtitled the video for you.

[@Sjalvstandighet]

You're my hero, man. Thanks for doing that.

[@StrangeParts]

Thank you for doing this! We were debating baking in English subtitles, and decided against it. I always pay a professional service to add English subtitles, but they usually don't add them for a couple days. But helping me with subtitles is super awesome, particularly for languages other than English where I can't easily pay a service to do them for me. You guys are awesome!

[@xiongg6342]

you are the man bro!! thanks!

[@goombie8962]

Nice dude. Your part of the reason I love KZbin.

[@faisalramadhan5403]

many thanks for bro

[@ehsanahmed4439]

50% enthusiasm 50% "yeah"

[@anantara8287]

Connor O’brien “yeah”

[@hollohollo7228]

100% YEAH

[@jeffruby4550]

Yeah

[@onur7192]

Batt yeahh.

[@openit6987]

​@Sultan Ali Khan Ohh yeah com Ohh yeah come on babe .

[@marklowe7431]

Low cost aside, the quality of such a complex process is amazing, thanks to JLCPCB for allowing this tour.

[@defeatSpace]

bot 🤖

[@bjrn4711]

😂

[@victorpanunzio6043]

I freaking love this. The content, your sheer enthusiasm, everything in this channel is something I never knew I wanted or needed in my life. Thank you man. I’d love to see the process of making a GPU in a factory

[@cathallawlor989]

Victor Panunzio doubt amd or Nvidia would be super happy with Scotty being able to expose tons of secret projects. Hes a sound guy but they won't risk anything

[@victorpanunzio6043]

Hardrive33 yeah true, but maybe just a snippet of the assembly process would be cool to see

[@andiCNH]

Well AMD and NVIDIA will just be for the silicon and own-brand components, and they've let others in before. companies like ASUS, EVGA, MSI, ZOTAC just buy the chips and put the silicon and memory onto boards they design with their own power delivery and aesthetic choices.

[@loshan1212]

AMD and NVIDIA are both fabless. They only build designs. I believe TSMC does most of the fab work for both companies.

[@mattyh4554]

Amlogic or Rockchip

[@Guyflyer12]

How it’s Made with actual personality! Awesome, keep up the great work Scotty.

[@BobHolowenko]

Needs more horrible puns tho...

[@BrothersByBud]

So well put. Watching Strange Parts become more and more professional has been very awesome to witness. I think we all knew what was coming from the first video though.

[@markp8295]

Exactly what I was thinking. Strange Parts meets "How it's made". Part Vlog part documentary. Excellent work.

[@anchorbait6662]

Yeah, just add the annoying voice. Sorry how it's made guy

[@1337PB]

I'm glad that Mr Liu was there to answer the difficult questions

[@trobert132]

yeah

[@rosa1848]

yeah

[@hybrid5132]

I feel like strange parts said what the two people working there are supposed to say to the camera

[@junnarag137]

lol he barely opened his mouth the whole process

[@tobiastho9639]

yeah

[@varunnagpal2258]

Scotty makes extra effort to make sure every step in the PCB manufacturing well is explained really well. This is something not easy to find in any book or by googling. I was just starting to learn PCB design and I was lost in so much terminology but this priceless video has cleared my confusion

[@lancelyde]

he's talking more than the host

[@mayoortechinnovations]

​@@lancelydeEnglish language is not very easy

[@lucianpojoni1793]

he's doing all the talking better said :) @@lancelyde

[@biggityboggityboo8775]

Why are people complaining about him repeating everything she said? He's doing it on purpose so we can fully comprehend and actually hear what it is she's saying. Without his commentary I would have missed a lot of what she was saying and had to replay and turn things up just so the details weren't missed. His repetition is also for clarification, so that something hasn't been lost in translation. He repeats back to her what he understood about what she said, so that something wasn't misunderstood.

[@StrangeParts]

Yep, that was my intention. Ultimately, what matters though is how it makes people FEEL. And I'm definitely hearing loud and clear that the interaction with Lily felt off in this one, and that I was being disrespectful to her, or conversely that she didn't know what she was talking about. And I feel really terrible about that. I think this was largely due to my nervousness and inexperience as a host as desire to make sure we covered everything I thought was important, but also was partly due to the way we edited it. As soon as I saw the first cut, I knew it was going to make me look like a dick. But we couldn't reshoot it, and we were struggling to keep the overall video to a reasonable length, and so at the time we felt like we were often forced to use my rephrasing instead of her original, longer explanations. What I didn't realize at the time was how strongly people were going to react to this. I wish I'd acknowledged that it felt off at the beginning of the video, and definitely have a lot of thoughts on how I can be a better host and interviewer in the future. I'm still proud of this video, and have high hopes and expectations we can make some more great factory videos in the future that feel less disrespectful and awkward.

[@biggityboggityboo8775]

Do remember that the vast majority of people who were pleased with this video will not say anything and that it is the nay sayers who will feel obliged to comment. People love to complain. Often just for the sake of complaining. You've got almost 800,000 views on this with 31k thumbs up and only 702 thumbs down. Those are pretty good statistics. You can bet the people who are complaining are going to have hit that dislike button super fast. And also that the majority of people who actually liked it won't have bothered to click anything, so the numbers are even more in your favour. The point is there are always people who complain, you cannot please everyone. You did what you thought was necessary to make the footage you had clear and understandable - you were right to make that decision. If a few people don't like the presentation then so be it, but you can be sure that if you had done something differently here there would be people complaining about that too.

[@StrangeParts]

Thanks for the support. It's very easy to focus on the negative comments, and ignore the positive ones. So I genuinely appreciate the reminder. At the same time, definitely viewing this as a learning opportunity to be a better host, interviewer, and storyteller.

[@xdoveinthedark]

I work in PCB assembly in America, and I think this video is great and informative! Thank you!

[@littlepondfarm3488]

Hey man this video is really great, but perhaps you could use a translator/fixer in the future so that it makes the interviewee as well as the interviewer more comfortable in the situation? Coming from experience, just having someone in the dynamic that speaks the same language helps to keep the dialog flowing. Thanks! max

[@XavierAncarno]

Please go to a battery cell factory - Lipo or Li-ion

[@guss7951]

Xavier Ancarno that would be awesome

[@captainkiddoregon]

That's a good idea, that would be very interesting to see.

[@amirkahvic]

I would love to see that as well! :)

[@ricksanchez694]

hell yea !

[@chrisagu28]

Yes!! I would love to know how lithium ion batteries are made. Especially since they are almost everything these days.

[@Allan9966]

Just ordered 20 boards from these guys. It amazes me the great value that you get considering the complex manufacturing process they go through.

[@उमेशजोशी-प8ध]

Do they ship 20 boards also?

[@jsshao9523]

@@उमेशजोशी-प8ध Yes, they accept orders for small quantities of pcbs, I saw a lot of people on the Chinese video platform bilibili share that they can get 5 pieces of pcbs for free, of course you need to design the circuit yourself

[@उमेशजोशी-प8ध]

@@jsshao9523 do they ship to Nepal? Who are you,sir?

[@xypolite8135]

After watching this video, I learned a lot. I could n’t sleep all night. and my ears still seem to hear Lily ’s voice: "yeah"

[@hammingqu2467]

Yeah

[@爱我中华-f9g]

Yeah

[@user-asswecan]

Yeah, her reaction is like the first time I saw a foreigner when I was very young😅

[@nori-atneplynobrac3912]

The PTH (plating through-hole) process is very complicated but I'll try my best to describe what's happening. ----- DESMEAR -----{1,2} It all begins with the desmear which usually consists of 3 different process baths and is necessary for two reasons. First of all, one has to remove the so-called smear (all the stuff that forms due to high temperatures during the (laser)drilling process), debris and dirt. The other reason for the desmear is to roughen the surface so that the deposited copper adheres better. The first bath in the desmear process is called sweller and contains chemicals that permeate into the cavities of the base material (the glass fiber epoxy resin composite) thereby letting the base material swell up, hence the name. The second bath is often referred to as the actual desmear and contains a concentrated solution of alkali permanganate and hydroxide. Under these conditions organic materials, such as the smear, decompose and glass is etched back. The third bath contains reducing agents that help to get rid of permanganate and manganese dioxide residues. ----- PRE-TREATMENT ----- The next process step is usually referred to as the pre-treatment. It is composed of up to 5 process baths. Please keep in mind that i'm only explaining the most common type of process which is an ionogenic palladium activation process (other activation processes such as colloidal palladium (as explained in a recent video by applied science) and direct plating processes that work without any but one pre-treating bath also exist and are used in the industry). (1) Conditioner The conditioner contains chemicals that help the activator to bind to the surface of the base material and copper. (2) Etch Cleaner The Etch Cleaner contains agents that remove oxide layers on any superficial copper. (3) Pre-Dip This is a bath containing chemicals that protect the activator from drag-in and helping the activator to get even into the smallest VIAs. (4) (Ionogenic Palladium) Activator The activator basically contains cationic palladium compounds that can bind to the base material. Check out the palladium price in order to understand why this process is so expensive. (5) Reducer{3} The reducer contains reducing agents, that reduce the cationic palladium [Pd(2+)] to elemental palladium Pd(0). This is important in the subsequent step, as the Pd(0) acts as a catalyst. ----- COPPER PLATING -----{4} Following the pre-treatment comes the electroless copper bath (ECB). This bath is used to deposit a thin layer of copper (usually around 1 µm give or take) that makes the whole PCB conductive so that it can then be plated in a conventional galvanic copper bath. Besides copper the ECB contains a reducing agent, alkali hydroxides and complexing/chelating agents as well as often stabilizers. The Pd(0) on the surface of the PCB catalyzes a chemical reaction in which the reducing agent is able to reducer the cationic copper Cu(2+) to elemental copper Cu(0). Since this reaction is autocatalytic it keeps on going once the palladium is covered in copper. However, the copper deposition using an ECB is very slow, expensive and doesn't give a nice surface finish. Therefore, the PCB is only treated for a short period of time and a galvanic copper bath is used in order to plate the desired thickness (commonly around 25 µm). The galvanic copper bath contains different chemicals (called leveler, brightener and suppressor) that help with via filling, surface finish, etc. . Keep in mind that the overall process leads to an entirely copper covered PCB so structuring is once more necessary. Afterwards the superficial copper tracks, pads and so on are covered with tin in an immersion tin process or with gold in a nickel/gold process. This is necessary because soldering to the bare copper is very difficult since copper oxide layers will trouble the solder adhesion. ----- References ----- {1} J. Kirmann, X. Roizard, J. Pagetti, et al., J. Adhes. Sci. Technol., 1998, 12 (4), 383-397 (doi: 10.1163/156856198X00100). {2} K. L. Mittal., J. Vac. Sci. Technol., 1976, 13 (1), 19-25 (doi: 10.1116/1.568850). {3} O. A. Sadik, H. Xu, A. Sargent., J. Electroanal. Chem., 2005, 583 (2), 167-175 (doi: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2005.05.013). {4} M. Paunovic., Mod. Electroplat., 2010, 1, 433-446 (doi: 10.1002/9780470602638). If you don't have access to these publications, try using sci-hub... looks dodgy, is used by many scientists=)

[@louistournas120]

+Nori-Atnep Lynobrac: Sound like there is some palladium on PCB boards. But how many mg and is it worth recovering?

[@drfistus94]

Shut up

[@julianterragno1291]

Nori-Atnep Lynobrac . Wow, thanks. I fully understand now!.

[@McNibbler]

Awesome comment! Thank you for sharing!

[@marhar2]

Thanks for this comprehensive explanation. Next person who complains about useless youtube comments gets directed here!

[@Jeff121456]

I think it's great the that JLCPCB has reached out to the maker community. They have invested a lot of time and money supporting KZbin channels as well as providing a quality product at great prices.

[@sparkiotai]

they provide very good quality pcb at very good price. i once used uk local pcb prototype manufacture. normally, for four panel 210 pounds. it takes 2-3 weeks lead time. jlcpcb only cost about 30 pounds puls 16 pounds shipping fee. they are very fast. normally, i can get my board in one week. from china !!! they also provide online pcb software which is really better than some paid softare. very impressive!

[@boxsterpontus]

Got my first 20 PCBs from them a few days ago. With some fancy options clicked and fast delivery to Europe it was $55, got them in a week (had to pay tax). Even for a noob SMD hand solderer they work fine.

[@hamzairfan4423]

Great content as always Scott! I work in PCB manufacturing as a cad operator, PCB manufacturing is a complicated processes. Your explanation of each manufacturing procedure was simple, very detailed, and by far the most consistent and accurate. Please keep up the great content!

[@SameerKhan-sk5ci]

Hi hamza.

[@austinguss8576]

The first copper plating line you saw was called Electroless Copper Deposition, it is a process that is used prior to electrolytic copper plating, it deposits micro inches of a fragile copper in the holes to make them electrically conductive for electro copper plating, without that step copper will not be plated on to any surface that is not electrically conductive (pre preg layers in the holes)

[@sundhararajanganesan9396]

micro inches !!!

[@austinguss8576]

Sundhararajan Ganesan µ inches indeed!

[@StrangeParts]

Awesome - this more or less matches my understanding, but I didn't feel confident enough to try and explain it on camera. Thanks for clarifying!

[@austinguss8576]

Strange Parts You did a good job at it I just happened to type this reply when you were asking for a chemist to explain it. Thanks for the awesome video.

[@mancave7879]

In the Electroless Copper Deposition process, palladium is first 'deposited' (not electroplated) on the walls of the vias and also the 'desmeared' surfaces of each 'inner layer' of copper to be connected. Copper will then 'stick' to the palladium to make the 'micro-inch' thick conductive layer, ready for subsequent copper-plating. Without the palladium, copper will not evenly deposit on the fibre glass surface.

[@Matthewjohnwilson]

This was an incredible video! Its amazing how much access they let you have to be able to show each step. I had a lot of fun learning just how many steps there actually are in making a board , and to think they can get it done in roughly 24 hours. Thats almost TO efficient lol.

[@andrive]

yeah, it looks difficult

[@tiredkiris]

Don't you know? It's because of the kitchen nightmares!

[@erickuhn1042]

The reason they hide the kitchens is because most US kitchens won't pass the strict inspection at any moment

[@Howtoengineeringcom]

I made a board using the same methods but at home. You can see the process on my blog: howtoengineering.com/2014/10/make-a-circuit-board/ It was a fun process and much simpler then the methods on this video.

[@KingOfKYA]

I am sure you could never do that kinda tour in most country at all as there would for sure be Intellectual property/copyright issues.

[@frmcf]

This is legit better than 98% of TV documentaries. I hope you are being paid enough and receiving a great deal of satisfaction from this. You are getting seriously good at your job and your passion and it's great to see!

[@nidhinbenny7975]

I had some boards manufactured by JLCPCB recently. Love their work - and they are ACTUALLY as fast as this video makes out. Its seriously super impressive.

[@felenov]

JLCPCB. I have ordered a lot of boards from them. 2 layer, 4 layer, 6 layer. Some boards were production boards that I ordered thousands of. Very high quality boards very cheap and very fast. Recommend them.

[@bassemb]

Is she giving you a tour or are you giving her a tour? Haha :D fascinating factory, great video, documentary level!

[@Offshoreorganbuilder]

I imagine that the factory representative explains each step to the visitor, and then he repeats a more succinct version to camera, and that's the one we see.

[@joshuahack3231]

he can be annoying but awesome video

[@InTimeTraveller]

Lol, come on guys, give her a break, she clearly doesn't speak very good English (I know first hand that it's very difficult to practice * speaking * a foreign language in your own country :P) plus Chinese people are usually not as much outspoken as other people.

[@51WCDodge]

Travelin: Be nice if she was given a chance to explain not bulldozed all the time by an egotist.

[@bilibiliism]

hes too hyped in this video apparently

[@josuemanuelparejacontreras3443]

Me: OMG Lily, you are really cute! Lyli: Yeah

[@killme463]

Yeah

[@larryreeves4230]

As someone who maintains automated machinery this tour of the JLCPCB factory was totally awesome. Thank you Scotty, I cannot wait till things level out and you can get back to bringing us to more super cool factory tours. Hang in there my friend, we are all in this together.

[@GamebossUKB]

As someone who doesn’t care, thanks for letting us know.

[@kirankamat3210]

11:43 Strange parts: Now we need to drill the holes. Lily: Whaaat?? Strange Parts: All the holes. Lily: yeah

[@thomaself7194]

14:30 Strange parts: The first step gave us enough copper to do this, and then this will.... GROW THE THICKNESS OF THE COPPER IN THOSE HOLES.

[@himanshuchaudhary3718]

@@thomaself7194 😂

[@remcohamersma6436]

She thought he was talking about her ;)

[@farhansuryo2180]

We will bang okay? Lily : My body is Ready...

[@alibrahym]

Lilly*

[@UnnamedReviewGuy]

Mannnn. Not that your editing was ever bad (it has always been really good) but this is just awesome. I love all the little effects that you put in. it really makes it very interesting to watch. Nice Job

[@StrangeParts]

Yep - Kevin, my editor, really hit it out of the park on this one!

[@ArAcHnId777]

did he do it with the PC linus built :p

[@Guzzor2]

The mexican guy. Just like me :'(

[@UnnamedReviewGuy]

Tell Kevin its awesome :)

[@UnnamedReviewGuy]

They actually giveaway the Linus built computer

[@christopherr4046]

I started in IT back in the late 70's. My mind is blown by the miniaturization and compression that has been made. Also the speeds ... started with a Pet Commodore with a 1 Mhz CPU, 300 baud acoustic coupler, and cassette tape storage... Yes Mhz... things have come a long way.

[@BlackStarEOP]

For me I started in the 80s, where a floating point unit would be an external unit. 40MHz 386DX, the increase is nothing short of incredible. I wonder what computers in 20 years will be like...

[@minerdigger]

You're probably the most enthusiastic man I've ever seen visiting a circuit board manufacturer. Great video!

[@MWXYT]

Man, those PCBs are so exciting!

[@miniman3112]

This is so fricking interesting! Amazed that the factory owner is ready to provide this detailed insight to "just a youtuber". Really a sign how far independent quality content has come.

[@KoonFox6560]

the volume and speed of board production here is insane considering how customizable everything looks! the entire manufacturing process looks really well thought out. did i miss info on how long that plant has been operating? would be interesting to see how they started before scaling up to this.

[@dieterstroobants2361]

maybe visit a TV factory! Or something super unusual

[@Megalomaniakaal]

I wonder if he could also go to Germany to maybe visit a factory where robots make/assemble machines that make robots. :p

[@ZOMBIEWINEGUM]

A display manufacturer would be awesome. Maybe TCL is a good option? They are based in China and design/manufacture all their displays.

[@andiCNH]

TCL are around the 3rd largest manufacturer now too

[@StephenGeybels]

Felix Kütt robots making robots, awesome :D

[@JoelGetzhasauselessurl]

Too bad no one (at least that I can think of) makes plasma tvs anymore. Not even sure if that would make a good video, but I still think they're cool.

[@thiagoennes]

Dude, that is a GREAT format for you!

[@StrangeParts]

Thanks! We worked super hard to develop the factory tour format in this video - I'm glad it shows:)

[@thiagoennes]

It really does! I was loving the plain tours, but this video is a lot more involved in the manufacturing process. I would go for injection plastic and cable looming next! :)

[@NikiDinsey]

Yes Scotty, this is definitely the right direction for you and the channel. Looking forward to more content like this.

[@knoxieman]

AMAZING i made my first pcb 10 days ago and they arrived already, boards made and fully working, such a great company to deal with.

[@alanwheeler]

I've been designing and dealing with the manufacture PCB's for over 33 years and know the process, but this video was great!

[@chspkar]

Could you please tell me what is Gerber file

[@peterkatona5817]

You can easily google it fam!

[@LuminAuz]

These guys are mind blowing. I sent in my pcbs design from Australia and i had the board in my hand 7 days later!!!!! The speed of this operation has unlocked a new superpower for me in board production, soon cheap and ultra fast

[@gnikhil1987]

Well. it looks like you are giving her the factory tour. You have amazing knowledge.

[@StrangeParts]

She was giving the factory tour, but I ended up re-explaining a bunch of things for clarity. In the end I think we can say it was a team effort:)

[@brandonnn95]

Strange Parts yeah, the editing seems like you were teaching her lol, great video !

[@krishna34674]

imho the video makes scotty seem a bit condescending but I'm sure he wasn't.

[@admincomments]

omsonic no offense to chinese people but english is not their forte Im not surprised at all they had to cut out most of their explanations. Its already a long video how it is

[@marianoaldogaston]

not offense to American people , but chinese is not their forte........

[@cosmodetriti4440]

Thanks for the factory tour. I am a hobbyst and purchase from JLCPCB at least once a month. I must say that quality is top notch and affordable therefore Q/P ratio is huge. And fully customable in size and color and whatnot. After I discevered I can design my own PCBs and let them produce them... Extremely happy!

[@rocketbunny9693]

In that electroplating process the solution in which the PCB is dipped is called copper sulphate solution ( or any solution containing copper ions ) and electricity is applied between the PCB plates and another electrode , this reduces the copper ions in the solution and forms a thin layer of copper on the PCB surface ( exposed metal surface )

[@mikehuang0755]

I am from ShenZhen.. it is one of the small factories, there r plenty of them, U guys can come to Shenzhen and take a look, experience it, hope people around worlds would stop racism on hard-working Chinese people.

[@naderliang3825]

Hi,Man

[@stevetobias4890]

Absolutely amazing process. I was spellbound by the complexity of the process. I always wondered how much effort went into making boards as efficiently as possible

[@MichaelSmith-mb1ig]

I bet Lily feels much better now because in the beginning she said she wouldn’t be able to answer all the questions. Boy did she prove herself wrong! … What do you say everyone? Let’s hear it?! YA?!?!?!?!? Great, precise manufacturing especially considering the good pricing. Honestly I didn’t expect that. Good for you JLCPCB! And Lily better have her nice big office by now!! Cheers 🎉

[@Harbingerx81]

Wow, that is an impressively large, modern, and clean facility. I would love to see some actual component manufacturing. ICs/ASICs, through-hole/SMD, passives, LEDs, LCD/LED/OLED, etc.

[@bharcooldude]

Now we know why China is an electronics manufacturing hub. Their factory lines are so efficient!

[@knightsljx]

From what I understand about plating the Vias hole, the process is 2 stage. Stage one using an activator solution to deposit thin layers of copper inside the walls of the holes. This turns the inside on the holes into conductive surfaces. I'm not sure what exact solution the factory is using. The activator solution should be some sort of copper (II) sulfate solution mixed with a reducing agent like hypophosphite. the copper(II) ions are reduced to copper metal by the reducing agent, depositing the thin layer within the holes. Stage two is just traditional electroplating, where the PCB is now the cathode, so the copper is just deposited on the surface. since there is already a very thin layer of copper inside the walls of the Vias holes, the electroplating process thickens the layer of copper to the desired thickness.

[@diymamma999]

first, I HAVE TO THANK ALL THE WORKERS IN THE FABRIK AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT PROGECT EVERY THING... I just wish you all a lot of good health, and God bless you!!

[@quinnmama]

I have almost no interest in electronics and how they work, but his enthusiasm makes me interested! Seriously love this guy's content!

[@Q_QQ_Q]

you will be interested when you know he is a multi millionaire

[@MrSapps]

Is that your Google Account?

[@Q_QQ_Q]

+Google Account commentator**

[@joefarr3304]

I'm so pleased you made this video. After creating my own PCBs for years I recently ordered my first set of 5 PCB's from JLC. I've always been worried that my designs would come out wrong but I needed some PCBs with pads and traces too small for me to make. I was very impressed with their service. Because it was my first order they didn't charge me shipping (which was more expensive than the PCB's in my case) and the quality was excellent. Seeing this video just reinforces how professional an operation they have.

[@2010XJP]

He comes off as genuinely a sincere and nice KZbinr of China. He seems to respect Chinese and her culture the way they are. Unlike other foreigners KZbinrs who always to find faults about China.

[@Brickkzz]

Leslie Cheung SerpentZA?

[@kekchanbiggestfan]

Theo Valentino lol

[@madcoda]

Well, there are many sides of China...this is only the glory part

[@reecewright5138]

oppressive regime , human rights abuses look into the channel china uncensored to learn more

[@PinkPort]

In China, we can print it twice a month for free, and it's also free of charge. Thanks to Jialichuang, everyone can feel the power of science and technology.

[@triplexlongueuil6106]

I’m a machinery and equipment appraiser: this video was extremely useful for me.

[@MildManNerd]

Could you see about a tour of the DJI drone manufacturing facility in Shenzhen?

[@fajaradi1223]

MildManNerd I believe it's Shenzhen ...

[@alejandrocoitinho4071]

I wanna see this too, His videos are awesome, I hope to see way more of these.

[@sierra991]

email him

[@techartrix2345]

It must be top secret huh

[@emreerokyar]

Wow, would love to see that one.

[@MaliAussie]

It has been just a year and two months since Scotty posted his first very popular 'How I Made My Own iPhone - in China' video, and his channel is growing really fast (almost 800K now, and will reach the million mark very soon), thanks to the type of content he publishes and the way he presents himself. I wish Serpentza & C-Milk would take notes from Scotty's approach of how to make interesting videos while not provoking and insulting your host. Keep up the good work, Scotty.

[@thesuperproify]

agree!

[@TheChangeYT]

well i think that is difficult for them, because their channels are more about the culture in china, politics and lifestyle. Not about tech. So i think people get upset easier.

[@thesuperproify]

Akali Matchups Their take on chinese culture is 99.9% wrong and biased

[@TheChangeYT]

I find thrm quite enjoyable and give me a perspective on whats going on in china.... whydo you think so? Whats wrong about it?

[@MaliAussie]

Akali Matchups, there is nothing wrong discussing the culture, politics, and lifestyle in China, but when you focus on the negatives 99% of the time, you will be viewed as biased and someone who isn't honest about their approach on the subject matter. I am not Chinese, not even Asian, and I have never been to China or any other Asian countries (apart from transiting through Singapore once), and I like watching their videos about China, but I find myself scratching my head when they dwell on what is wrong with China more than what is good in China most of the time. Yes, China has a lot of negatives, but it has a lot of positives to offer as well, so why not show a balanced content? And the thing is, it's Serpentza who posts most of the negative stuff about China, more than C-Milk. And they're both married to Chinese women. I can assure you their subscriptions would have skyrocketed had they been fair and balanced.

[@K.D.Fischer_HEPHY]

Not a shameless plug, i don't even work for JLCPCB, but we do a lot of prototyping and JLCPCB became Nr.1 for our needs. They upgraded their capabilities a lot in the last few years. They can do filled and plugged vias up to 20 layers at a "unbeatable" price. Pretty reliable quality and production times also. Can't really say anything bad about them and i hope the people who are working there are treated well.

[@clktlk]

Very neat video. My question was on alignment. How do they make sure the layers are correctly aligned. Is there an alignment symbol printed on the edges of the copper panels? They seemed to put on the photomask layers quickly. If there is a tight pitch bga footprint the via alignment would be critical to inner layers.

[@StrangeParts]

They had some pretty cool machines for alignment, but we ended up cutting some of it out of the video because it was too long. They punch very accurate holes in the films, and punch matching holes in the PCBs. They had a couple different exposure machines - the one I showed I chose because you could actually see what was going on, but I think they used a different one with registration pins for the outer layers. It's still impressive to me that it all stays aligned though:)

[@clktlk]

Thanks for reply. Agree! Is amazing that they hold tight tolerances and maintain such a quick turnaround. Again awesome video! Neat to see the insides of the factories.

[@markrohde42]

Great question. I had the same all the time. They aligned the prints so fast. As I was doing this (making PCBC) at my study time by hand it took me ages to align the top and bottom (and thats only 2 layers!) to get the holes fit.

[@Audio_Simon]

Strange Parts I work with CNC milling. Getting a part aligned better than 0.1mm after moving it is basically impossible, at least for me and mine. Especilly amazing work with ultra fine multi layer boards.

[@BunnyHelp]

Don't be afraid to cut for time - I'm always happy to see more content!

[@jonelectronics510]

I have used JLCPCB a few times now and the quality is amazing for the price, and soon they are offering board population as well!!

[@rjprivate]

Edited to stay nice

[@jonelectronics510]

@@rjprivate if you have a grievance with the company don't start assaulting other people who have had dealings with the company. I am not an employee, I am a British electronics designer specialising in special effects. I am allowed to state my opinion. The hobby boards I have had made are very good for the price. However, my professional boards these days are made in the EU. I would kindly suggest you keep your "fake" opinion to your own posts and not accuse other people in a Donald Trump tone.

[@rjprivate]

Sorry but the whole thing is a scam

[@josephice2002]

@@rjprivate how is it a scam

[@rjprivate]

@@josephice2002 they sure did their best to make it look like one and in the end it took ages and more money to get my stuff

[@carmelpule8493]

Congratulations to all the people who work with this company. I find this stunning to watch and I must admit that though I have had many affiliations with industries and universities over the last 80 years , I have never seen such brilliant work. Behind those machines there are many people who know much more than the people who simply are proud to own what they can buy. Modern industries have became an engineering art that only a few can comprehend. Congratulations once again and thank you once again, I feel rather excited by what I have just seen. This is sublime ----of very great excellence and beauty:

[@ДмитрийКузин-я2з]

это точно. Какие инженерные умы !. Это потрясающе.

[@sarahmushroomkiller9233]

Go to BGI in Shenzhen, the genome sequencing company. They would like to give you a tour for sure.

[@jasertio]

I like how it seemed that it was him who was giving the lady the tour.

[@xtrimskier]

I was chief engineer at a PCB shop in California. You missed one step in between drilling and plating. Multilayer boards need to be either plasma etched or chemical etched (opposed to alkaline etch) so the vias and plated hole achieve a three point contact with inner layers. Coming to plating question. Essentially copper in the plating solution is in divalent state (+2 state). The copper needs to be reduced to metallic state (0). Theway tis is done is reduction of valence states. The first application of copper is via electroless copper. This plating bath is called electroless because it uses chemicals to reduce copper to (0) valence state. The copper build plating bath uses electric current to reduce copper to (0) valence state. Hope this make the plating process clear to you. I am retired now and was connected to PCB industry for 40+ years.

[@MariosCult]

him: *re-explaining so he can understand better* her: yeah

[@djmips]

So we can understand better

[@jek__]

I mean yeah, what else do you say when someone repeats what you said and its right? lol. I think we just see less of her explanations than his

[@VictorSavelle]

Great video. Yes she said "yeah" a lot, but it was prompted almost every time. She is very polite. Camera work was great, I got a bit lost in the process here an there, but it was very thorough. You're learning very fast, sir. I see the leaps ahead in quality, even though this minidoc is a newer format for you. My CC is in a case like this (where you take over the explanation of a scene), don't confirm each explanation, finish with a downward inflection. You did that sometimes. Overall, great work. I do like to offer CC because a "dope vid" only gets you so much info.. ;)

[@mattwinward3168]

In Japanese it’s called “aizuchi” or affirmative speak whereby the listener constantly makes phrases of affirmation that they have both heard and/or understand what the speaker has said. It’s a weird phenomena to English speakers but a lot of asian languages have it.

[@smittysbuilds]

they are so fast i submitted my order today and got it yesterday. but it is insane, made my own board had it within a week saved so much time and my project less wires to worry about making. made it more reliable and compact. for 27 canadian

[@kalamn-filtering]

After watching this channel, I found that creativity and curiosity are inseparable. The pursuit of the ultimate principle is part of the source of creativity!

[@Dolnor]

I worked for 10 years at Burroughs/Unisys Corp. making PCBs in a plant in Carlsbad, CA (it is no longer there). Except for the enclosed high-tech aspects, it was basically the same exact steps back in 1979! We were more industrial in nature so only the Imaging Room (where the masks were created) were "clean-ish...had to wear smock & hair nets. A lot of the steps required hand-transporting rather than conveyor lines. We had a huge line to plate the Copper, Nickel, and Tin on the boards...the 700 line (The Baker Line)...huge gantries and computer controlled! Such great memories...thanks for the video! -) TQQdles™

[@rogeronslow1498]

Dolnor Well maybe, just maybe Trump will be able to bring some of that manufacturing back to the US.

[@hodlbtc6933]

@Roger - LMAO.

[@rogeronslow1498]

@@hodlbtc6933 Have faith.

[@oscarhyc]

full of pollution in the factory

[@ScaldaYT]

Amazing video scotty. I actually got some PCB boards made by them last month. they are some great quality and the process was great and you can track the process via the website. It is a very nice setup and now seeing how they do it in video form is even better thanks again for a great video.

[@gianl0ca101]

ScaldaYT so it’s possible to order in small amounts too?

[@ScaldaYT]

yeah i ordered 2 different designs 5 PCBs each, and they are amazing quality

[@TomBunge-ei5uu]

Just received my 2nd order of custom boards from JLCPCB. I used to run a screen printing company and have produced my own diy PCBs so very familiar with the process. The quality from this company is unbelievable. I don't know how they do it for the price.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

Scotty: a big THANK YOU!!! That was AWESOME! I am sure Lilly gave you behind the scenes schooling but thank you for 'translating' it in quick english; you really enhanced the amount of info about the whole system. Thanks to JLCPCB, Lilly and Mr. Liu!!!

[@vasekdvor]

yeah

[@SimulatorGuy]

How much do you know about PCB manufacturing? Lily : Yes!

[@johnmoore5319]

Yeah!

[@kirara4953]

She is the human version of that meme

[@mickpes]

YA

[@bparker86]

Hahahahahahah

[@Arsenic71]

Let's not be unkind to Lily. He speaks quite quick and just as Chinese is one of the hardest languages for English-speakers to learn, it's probably the other way around as well. Also, she was probably nervous. I think she did very well!

[@ledsalesoz]

Yes, she did fine, and he is a loud, brash yank, something very alien to the reserved Chinese.

[@UpcycleElectronics]

Awesome! I just etched a test project yesterday and know I can't build my next design myself using laser printer toner transfer, (My minimum trace resolution is 0.4mm and need 0.2mm). The next step is to either hire a board house or completely revamp my prototype method. I've been eyeing JLCPCB for awhile but seeing behind the scenes really makes me more confident. Thanks. -Jake

[@ItaloLoureiro]

Proof of concept != final product. I think you might get it to work on .4mm and later on move to .2.

[@UpcycleElectronics]

Italo Loureiro I've been working on test block circuits for proof of concept stuff. However, my main design is based on the OSHW AVR Transistor Tester V2 project with an ATmega644 or ATmega1284. I have designed it as a breakout development board with the basic circuit function from the project. However, I also have all of the AVR's pins broken out on pin headers. My design sets the pin headers the width of a standard 5×7 perfboard. This will allow me to use any cheap perfboard to create stackable "shield type" test circuits for playing around with auxiliary project options or to create my own. This design limits my uC circuit layout size considerably. I want to maintain as large of an unbroken ground plane as possible on a 2 layer board as well. I've already gone to 0603 for decoupling and a few supporting passives, but I don't like hand soldering 0603 or smaller. I also have port B (LCD) going through a voltage translator with a special connection for testing all of the different LCD options for the project, termination resistor connections/0R resistors for all of the GPIO except the analogue port, a rotary encoder/button, ISP and partial JTAG, 3 component tester connection configurations, the three LDO regulators needed to implement all of the officially documented project options, and I have a dual mounting hole configuration. That's a lot to fit inside a 50mm width with a TQFP-44 (I actually have dual footprints for the VQFN pad too) A lot of the circuit, like my power block, rotary encoder and one of my component tester configurations are mounted outside of the 70mm dimension of a perfboard, but they are within the 100mm specification of the lowest priced JLCPCB option and inline with the 70mm length dimension. Also, because the main board design is 50mm wide and the cheapest JLCPCB option is 100mm×100mm, my layout incorporates a breakout board/panelized board on the other 48mm×100mm real estate. This has my other 2 component tester configurations, a LCD configuration mount, ISP header, and rotary encoder connection. This board is designed to bolt onto the opposite side of the main board from the stackable 5mm×7mm perfboard with all of its connections set up on pin headers. It's a lot for me to fit on a double sided board and maintain a good unbroken ground plane. I'm not very experienced though so I'm probably stressing over nothing. ..There are a few other supporting circuit blocks in there too, but I've already said more than I'm sure anyone cares to read. If I build it and it works, I might create something about it on here...maybe. Unfortunately I just etched my first PIC project a few days ago and am distracted playing around with MPlab and the MCC features ATM. I swear hobby electronics will give a person obsessive compulsive disorder. *EW! EW! LOOK AT THIS THING OVER HE......*

[@tempest031]

Upcycle Electronics try uv method or lend a pcb mill i have a pcb mill xD

[@UpcycleElectronics]

tempest031 I think the biggest problem is still Vias. I'm sure a mill is nice, but even with a QFP44 on a tight layout and a double sided board I want to use too many Vias for optimal routing. Double sided boards already suck bad enough without making additional compromises to avoid Vias. I wish someone would create a way to make our own Vias without some stupid gimmick product. All it would take is a set of plyers with a deep set of jaws and a hardened steel spike on both sides. If I could fit a small slug of copper wire in a hole and spike/rivit it flush on both sides, I'd be happy. Someone should make a tool like that. No rivits or overpriced junk to buy, just get the tool and some scrap solid core copper wire to make your own vias.

[@tempest031]

Upcycle Electronics i wont support that method if its a bigger project ull go nuts with all that copper wire n so many holes 😱 maybe snooping around aliexpress might help 😶

[@jorgetapia9672]

Battery factory next please!!!!

[@easybullet3]

There's more complicated machinery here than most factories in the world. Honestly I am amazed at the scale of the process and the huge amount of steps involved. I wonder how much the factory running costs and machinery was. and how much the sell the completed PCB's for

[@chrisdavis3055]

20:44 - vice grips and an old glove keeping things in place. Glad to see some things are universal.

[@MsLordenatas]

Good eye!

[@israelrios1916]

I'm in love with all these processes behind a little piece of glass fiber and copper, soon i will buy from their page for a robotics university project. Greetings from Mexico. ❤

[@Stroovian]

16:33 The legend says we can still hear that "NEXT" in countries far from china xD

[@ewatfred]

Amazing work man! Cool facility! Thankyou to JLCPCB for letting us see inside!

[@stevensgarage6451]

Next vid: Factory tour of the factory that makes the pcb drilling machines. They look insanely complicated

[@excitedbox5705]

I think the basic machines are not so complicated but to get them to work so fast is insane. Just like when you look at DIY pick and place machines compared to industrial ones.

[@hopefromtokyo3783]

Nice video. She did her best to explain it. She is Not native English person so we should appreciate the way she helped to make this video good. :)

[@acousvnt]

This process is so satisfying to watch. I just placed my second order with this company.

[@InsideAlan]

Scott your presentation skills are impeccable, thank you for taking the time to document these things.

[@FaradHusky]

Sent in my designs on 31st of May, and it was produced and done in 18 hours (!), and delivered before 7 days had passed. EVEN with the current lockdowns and issues in China. Incredibly impressed, and solid quality. :)

[@ericspeltier]

Great video, Scotty! I knew a few things about how multi-layer PCB boards were created, but to see ALL the steps is SO cool. I have no idea how they do Inventory Control at that speed!

[@sdguy123]

You were kinda freaking them out with the constant sudden hand movements.

[@vasekdvor]

yeah

[@BuceGar]

Agree 100%, he was super aggressive throwing his fingers at them. He was at a 10 the whole video, and he needed to be at a 4.

[@principallewis7298]

sdguy123 they prolly thought he was a deranged lunatic 😂😂 To be fair though, there’s an obvious difference in culture. The way they express their selves is different. I’m sure they understood that lol

[@DirtyPhlegm]

Yea I felt the body language between him and the others were misaligned

[@ozziesheppard17]

@John we don't act like this, he's just being weird.

[@AvishekDasPostdoc]

At 6:35, Its not Blue light, the photoresist coating or film is sensitive to light of lower wavelength specially UV. Therefore, in a CLEAN ROOM, where you were, always have Yellow light which theoretically cannot react with the photoresist. The whole process is called Photolithography.

[@cinemashowcaselk]

You know more than " yeah lily"😂😂

[@Bluestar12]

This was actually a really interesting video! Keep it up Scotty!

[@jerwinjaudines6098]

Scotty: Ahdjfkalsopd Lily: Yeah

[@soejrd24978]

I just last week ordered 10 new PCB's in China, cool!

[@Megalomaniakaal]

Plot twist: all the PCB's he touched were yours.

[@CodeCely]

I am amazed by the video and the amount of work you put in this video and aslo large amount of work is put just to make a circuit board...damn so complex who thought of this in the first place and how?

[@atharvsharma6916]

Looks like you were giving tour to the workers.

[@andy_warb]

just sent of my first PCB to JLCPCB yesterday and was really interested to see how they do it... so cool to come back to this video and watch it as my own boards are going through the process!

[@SixxHunterX]

The ultimate shot challenge, every time Lily says “Yeah.” xD

[@heshaolong]

Max Hunter 我也不明白她要一直说yeah

[@tldmimikyu5779]

KYC OGT

[@Mika-tp8jj]

Straight up alcoholic comma

[@hollohollo7228]

OH YEAH NAHUI

[@TheFreshestLyrics]

You wouldn't survive lol.

[@soulcmdc]

Enjoyed the video, I've been in the industry for a while and have never had the fortune of viewing the actual PCB manufacturing process, only assembly and beyond. One minor incorrect statement: Silk screen is not exclusively for humans. Silk screen also places fiducials which help pick-and-place machines put down fine-pitch surface mount components like BGAs. 2-3 weeks is standard for the lower cost places, but it is possible to turn a board (up into the 20+ layer range) in the US in under 24 hours, I've worked with some companies in San Jose doing exactly that in the past.

[@mancave7879]

If higher precision is desired, the fiducial marks will normally be placed on copper layer without covering by the solder mask. This is a normal practice in COB bonding pad design.

[@prutser67]

I like the company, affordable, great support an friendly people. Had a shipping problem due to my own fault, support of JLPCB was great 😊

[@timbroski4487]

Normal people: Wow what an amazing video, I sure learned a lot! Me: haha at 9:00 she says peepee

[@kairos5707]

Ooga Booga same...

[@kairos5707]

So, are we aliens?

[@troybaird404]

That windows xp machine in the background rebooting though... wonder how often they need to power cycle!

[@PasqualItizzz]

and how many licenses they have ;)

[@PuliLepi]

3rd time i watch this in few y...still the best PCB manufacturing video.

[@lyzrchllyhvd]

You should tour a chip factory, like for CPUs or GPUs.

[@trickvro]

Shout out to Great Scott for single-handedly making sure I knew who JLCPCB was before I ever watched this video.

[@wihamaki]

Strange Parts is quality over quantity. So I highly recommend smashing that subscribe button because these videos are very informative and entertaining.

[@adamskrzymowski4025]

Wayne Ihamaki yet there's way more quantity (in length) as well as quality than on other channels 😃

[@DjoTiger]

25:00 the guy on the right was like : "i dont even know what this blond guy saying but since his smiling i gss its a good thing" LUL