How a motherboard is made: Inside the Gigabyte factory in Taiwan
From robots to humans, a modern motherboard factory makes a complex task look easy
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Click link to watch video: How a motherboard is made
Gigabyte is one of the biggest motherboard makers in the world, and we visited the company's factory in Taiwan to find out how they're manufactured.
Gigabyte's Nan Ping factory in Pingzhen City, about an hour west of Taipei, is the last remaining motherboard factory in Taiwan. It produces about 400,000 units per month, or about a quarter of Gigabyte's total motherboard output.
Robots remove a lot of the most complex work from humans. However, a surprising amount of construction is still done by hand: the insertion of many larger components, for instance, and visual checks of the motherboards.
Humans and machines often work together. Machines that attach teeny transistors have humans managing their supply. Small, wheeled robots deliver components to people on the assembly line. Human hands may pack the motherboards and accessories into boxes, but they scan each component against an electronic checklist to ensure the package has everything required.
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Martyn Williams covers technology news for IDG and is based in San Francisco. He was previously based in Tokyo.
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