I recently came across a post by Jeff Geerling (and an associated video) about how Raspberry Pis are manufactured. I was skimming through the post - mostly looking at the pictures, if we’re being honest - when this one stood out:
It caught my eye because I have a buddy who used to work at ABB - the company who makes these badboys (in case the big bold red letters didn’t make that clear).
He let me know that this particular robot is called a YuMi, and it is a “collaborative robot”. What does that mean? Well, it means that human beings actually train these things. There a great example of this in the video around the 4:05 mark, in which the robot places a component using a peculiar little wiggle /rocking motion. Why did the robot do it that particular way and not some other? Well, because that’s how humans used to do it.
The video made me feel a bit like a kid again, watching a Mr. Rogers video about “how pencils are made” or suchlike. They walk through the making of a Pi step-by-step, talking about refinement of process, testing strategies for the boards…and how Raspberry Pis themselves are actually being used in a dozen or more places as a part of the manufacturing process. As Geerling puts it “Pis making pis.” Neat!
Super-interesting stuff (if you’re into that kind of thing), and I’d recommend checking it out when you have 15 minutes.