Astak IP-700 Surveillance Camera – Teardown

Hello! The MOLE is the all-in-one network camera for security and all your social network communities. A simple 3-step setup gets this Wi-Fi camera up and running so that you can automatically send video clips to YouTube, even if you’re not there. Sophisticated built-in motion detection controls what you record, and will notify you via Twitter or email if the Mole catches something.
You can remotely control the pan & tilt angles, and monitor or record video from anywhere in the world.

I was thrilled to break its parts down to see what this camera could see. For starters, an SD card came with !!

(unfortunately no footage on it)

This is the outer shelling of the camera as well as the body

Materials Used

  • Plastic: Many surveillance camera housings are made of durable plastic materials that are weather-resistant and lightweight.
  • Cables: Cables used in the camera may contain copper conductors for data and power transmission, surrounded by insulation materials.
  • Electronic Components: The internal components of the camera, such as the printed circuit board (PCB), image sensor, and other electronic parts, are typically made of various electronic materials, including semiconductors and conductive materials.
  • Rubber Seals : To make them weather-proof and moisture proof
  • Mounting Hardware: Mounting brackets and screws may be made of metal or sturdy plastic, (injection moulding)
  • Glass or Acrylic: The camera lens cover was made of glass or acrylic to protect the lens
  • Plastic or Rubber Grommets: These are used to seal cable entry points and prevent water ingress.

Manufacturing Techniques Used

  • Injection Molding
  • Metal Fabrication
  • Soldering and PCB Assembly
  • Lens Installation
  • Infrared (IR) LED Integration
  • Software/Firmware Installation

Tools used

  • Micro Screwdrivers
  • Regular Screwdrivers
  • Hammer
  • Chisel

Interesting Design elements

  • I was surprised to see not too many screws on the inside and multiple locking mechanisms to ensure there was no way water or dust could enter the camera. The build was super sturdy and pulling the two (Base & Camera) apart was definitely an issue.
  • The second thing that blew me away was the amount of tech and chips and dips in a product so small.
  • And the third is definitely have to be the Motorized Mechanisms (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) within the camera. Would love to learn a lot more!

Here’s a teardown video

Fitbit Teardown

I tore apart the Fitbit Surge with the help of some fit men. Together, we used pliers, an eyeglasses screwdriver, an exacto knife, and our muscles/hands.

note: no fit men were harmed in the tearing down of this fitbit.

Parts and Materials List

  1. Battery cover (metal and foam)
  2. Alkaline button battery
  3. Main Printed Circuit Board including:
    • metal shield,
    • touchscreen controller (Cypress CY8CTMA463),
    • microcontroller (Silicon Labs EFM32 Giant Gecko (ARM Cortex-M3) EFM32GG395F1024),
    • flash memory (Micron Serial NOR Flash N25Q064A11ESEA0F),
    • battery charger (Texas Instruments Battery Charger BQ24232H),
    • GPS receiver (MediaTek GPS Receiver MT3339),
    • Bluetooth controller (Texas Instruments Bluetooth Controller CC2564)
  4. Lithium Polymer battery (LSSP491524AE)
  5. Metal clasps
  6. Rubber liner
  7. Silicone-rubber band
  8. Plastic casing with built-in:
    • charging port
    • pressure sensor (MS5805-02BA01)
  9. Small screws:
    • four 2mm torx screws
    • four 2mm Phillips head screws
    • four 1mm Phillips head screws
  10. Wiring
  11. Glue
  12. Plastic buttons with rubber bumpers
  13. Metal casing
  14. Metal casing with attached wire
  15. Connective wiring and chips
  16. Metal binding with wiring
  17. Foam
  18. Plastic papers
  19. Tape
  20. Sharp thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display screen (TFT LCD) screen
  21. Silicone-rubber band belt
  22. Metal clasp (nickel and stainless steel)
  23. Silicone-rubber band
  24. Glass display window with wiring
  25. Bluetooth antenna (2 parts)
  26. GPS antenna
  27. Plastic casing with metal screw bearings
  28. Metal casing

Manufacturing the Fitbit

  • Material extraction
  • Injection molding
  • PCB manufacturing (coating, printing, chemical etching, inspecting, soldering, cleaning, plating, laminating etc.)
  • Battery manufacturing (electrode manufacturing, cell assembly, and cell finishing)
  • Assembly

Design elements of interest:

  • The buttons: It was interesting to see how the buttons had little rubber “bumpers” that help the buttons stay in place and are protective buffers against the receptors that they hit when pressure is applied.
  • The band: The band is glued to the Fitbit electronic where the antennas are. It thereby becomes very hard to remove the bands without damaging the antennas. After seeing all the protective measures for the other electronic parts, it becomes very odd to see these pieces unprotected and easily damaged. It has me wondering if the device is built for obsolescence by a company wanting their users to break their products and then buy new ones.

Dromo Copter Teardown

Watch the moment I realized the Dromo Copter still (kind of) worked! I replaced the batteries in the remote control and charged the drone in hopes it might still work before I took it apart. Glad I did!

Teardown Instructions

  • Tools Needed: mini precision screwdriver, nimble fingers
  • Part 1: Remote Control
    1. Unscrew the lid covering the batteries and remove
    2. Unscrew the remaining two screws embedded on the left and right sides
    3. Pull apart the top and bottom of the external case to reveal the control circuit
    4. Pop out the 2 toggles and 3 button caps
    5. Layout the pieces
  • Part 2: Drone
    1. Pull off the kickstand featuring the product QR code
    2. Pop off the 4 plastic propellers
    3. Remove 4 screws and pull apart top and bottom of plastic casing
    4. Extract the
    5. Layout the pieces

Materials / Components / Product Information

  • Plastic
  • Metal
  • Fiberglass
  • Dimensions 7.5cm x 7.5cm x 3cm
  • Flight time: 6/7min
  • Battery : lithium polymer 3.7V 120mAh
  • Technology: quadcopter
  • Working frequency: 2.4Ghz with anti-interference circuit
  • Gyroscope: 6 axis
  • Control: 2.4Ghz radio control 2 x AAA

Interesting Design Elements

  1. The circuit board in the drone matches the shape of the drone with holes on each of the 4 ends to hold the tiny motors in place. It catches your eye when you’re used to seeing a rectangular PCB.
  2. This is more a grievance than interest – the screws were so tiny it was almost impossible to reach them and open the drone! I’m sure the rationale behind that decision is 1) so that the screws don’t distract from the overall design and 2) user’s are not encouraged to take apart the product.


Electric Toothbrush Teardown

Behold as the electric toothbrush self-assembles!

Welcome to the Taodown! Otherwise known as the Tao Tao Teardown—brought to you by Becky Stern & PoD.

Today, we took apart a Philips Sonicare kids’ electric toothbrush. The short story? It’s made of metal and plastic. The long story—well, keep reading (and watching) below. Also, click here if you need your own—no commissions, sadly.

Tools & Techniques
To deconstruct the toothbrush, I used (1) my hands (2) a tiny screwdriver (3) a less tiny screwdriver (4) a wire cutter and (5) brute strength. The larger screwdriver was required as a lever to remove the plastic outer base of the brush, as well as dislodge both the control board and Li-Ion battery from the plastic skeleton. The tiny screwdriver was used to separate the oscillating brush head, cam, and gears from the shaft (which also held the motor).

Toothbrush teardown timelapse

Notable Design Elements
(1) It’s probably no surprise that Philips has made the Li-Ion battery next-to-impossible to remove. While electric toothbrushes are rechargeable, the battery will eventually run out, and if it does, you’ll need to buy a whole new unit. There’s no feasible way to replace that battery yourself. That being said, lithium batteries can be dangerous to handle, which means that until they are safe to handle, they should be kept as far out of reach (and replacement) as possible. In which case, a job very well done.

(2) I found myself contemplating the size of the removable toothbrush head. This, of course, is the “consumable” element of the product; the Philips website states that it is “recommended to replace your Philips Sonicare Brush Head every three months of normal use.” Looking at the inner underpinnings of the brush head, I wondered if the replaceable component could be reduced to just the very tip of the brush (just the brush, and no upper shaft), thereby reducing the amount of plastic. However, even if technically possible, Philips would almost certainly ignore this efficiency, because it would imply charging less for their brush replacement packs (a set of three currently retails at $31.96$42.96).

Electric Toothbrush: Parts

Electric Toothbrush Components & Materials:
1 – Toothbrush head (plastic + nylon for bristles—most likely Nylon 6-12)
2 – Outer case (plastic)
3 – Charging coil (copper)
4 – Induction charger coil (copper)
5 – Oscillating brush head + cam/gears (steel + plastic)
6 – Screws (steel)
7 – Motor (aluminum + copper)
8 – Torsion bar (steel)
9 -Magnet (iron, nickel, cobalt, +/or steel)
10 – Shaft, cam + gears (steel + plastic)
11 – Circuit board (copper, fiberglass, resin)
12 – Power button cover (plastic)
13 – Button cover / thumb grip (plastic)
14 – Lithium (Li-Ion) battery (lithium, nickel, cobalt, possibly manganese)

Electric Toothbrush: Circuit Board

Circuit Board Components:
1 – Power button
2 – Programming pads
3 – Coil connections
4 – Chip (#CY8C4247LQI-BL483)
5 – Diode bridge

Chip details
– Type: ARM Microcontrollers – MCU PSoC 4 BLE Integrated Chip; see data sheet
– Manufacturer: Infineon Technologies
– Price: $7.75 (for 1 unit)

Manufacturing techniques & equipment

  • Outer casing: These plastic elements are made from plastic granules, shaped while hot in molds along an mechanical assembly line. A computer scans the casing to ensure there are no flaws, and rays of UV light are blasted to make sure the plastic is completely sterile.
  • Head and bristles: Bristle color determines thickness (influencing the location on the center or perimeter of brush head). A machine inserts the bristles into holes in the plastic head by folding them around tiny pieces of wire. A blade cuts the tips of the bristles to ensure they’re all the same length, then blunts any sharpe edges. The necks are then attached the the brush heads.
  • A machine clamps the gearbox (cam + gears) and motor together. A worker then manually melds them together with the lithium battery, then plugs them into a charging unit to ensure the circuit is connected.
  • The inner components are then fitted into the casings via machine assembly.
  • A machine then seals the plastic bottom of the casing with a twist.
  • A quality controller gives them a final human review, while a subset of the batch are sent off for quality testing (performed by a machine). If that goes smoothly, they’re off to consumers!

TIL:
Maybe we should all just be brushing our teeth with our fingers?

iPhone 4 Teardown

The teardown experience was amazing! To tell the truth, I have always dreaming of disassembling Apple’s products, thinking that its technical content and technological level are unparalleled, which is also the reason why I choose this product.

1- This is the initial state of the product.
2- First remove the battery, small screws and wirings.
3- Next remove the rear camera and speakers.
4- Lift the covered wirings and remove the lock button and handset structure.
5- Then remove the mainboard.
6- Finally take out the screen.

1-Battery: Li-polymer

2-Mainboard: Skyworks SKY77542 Tx–Rx iPAC™ FEM for Dual-Band GSM/GPRS: 880–915 MHz and 1710–1785 MHz bands, Skyworks SKY77541 GSM/GRPS Front End Module, STMicro STM33DH 3-axis accelerometer, Cirrus Logic 338S0589 audio codec……

3-Front glass panel: Corning Gorilla Glass

4-Frame: Stainless steel

5-Wirings: Ferrite polymer composites (FPC)

… …

· Adjustable screwdriver kit

· Tweezers

· Open tools

  1. One of the parts I’m most interested in is the vibrator. I was first attracted by its shape, which looks like a cylinder with another half cylinder strung on top of it, and can be rotated around it. It works by using a CAM (eccentric device) to rotate inside the phone, resulting in vibration.

I compared it with the vibrators of other products and found that its volume is actually much smaller than the usual products. I believe that in the future, with the improvement of the accuracy and requirements of mobile phone manufacturing, the production of vibrators will be more compact and precise.

Vibrator

2. The other part I’m interested in is the wiring. Because when I disassembled the parts, I actually sighed that all the lines were very precise and neat. It is hard to imagine how they are produced and assembled, and their role is so crucial in the production of mobile phones that I look forward to learning more about them and even learning to use them.

” If you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next.”

Looking forward to the next!

📷💥Nicon D3 Teardown

📄 The introduction of Nicon D3 camera

the reason that why I chose the camera is because I really into taking photographs by using film camera as well as SLR camera. different from the silver salt reaction, SLR camera utilized the CCD(Charge-coupled device) and the CMOS to record light informations so that we can take pictures much more easily and spread the photos more easily. So i’d like to figure out how those electronic componds are arranged in the camera body to achieve those powerful founctions.

🔧 The processes of assembly:

1 Remove all the screws that I can find

2 Use the heating gun to melt the rubber on the camera body.

3 Remove the screws under the rubbers.

4 Divide the camera into several parts.

5 Tear down the motherboard.

Here is the assembly process video 🔽

⚙️ The main components of the camera:

✍️ my thoughts:

1 Nikon uses a lot of screws to connect different parts rather than using glue which makes the camera easy to take apart and easy to be repaired.

2 The body of the camera is made of magnesium which makes it as solid as a brick, all the parts are designed to use screws attach to it.

3 Robust surfaces, soft rubber on the grips, oversized buttons, locked controls, and environmental seals add up to a purposeful camera that has been designed with the requirements of the professional photographer in any situation.

Google Chromecast Teardown

Completed Disassembly

Tools

  • Mosaic Spatula
  • Mosaic Double Ended Hook
  • Tweezers
  • Precision Screw Driver

Steps

  1. Use the Mosaic spatula and double ended hook tool to poke at the slight gap between the casing.
  2. Separate the top casing from the motherboard and HDMI cable. The casing will have a heat sink pad with some thermal paste residue. Use the Double ended hook to help in taking it apart from the EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) Shield.
  3. The EMI Shield is not soldered shut so we can use the Mosaic spatula to remove it from the circuit board.
  4. Using the precision screw driver unscrew the two T-5 screws holding down the connector bracket which is connecting the HDMI Cable to the the motherboard. This will also separate the motherboard from the bottom casing as well.
  5. Using the Mosaic spatula remove the EMI Shield on the other side of the motherboard as well, to reveal the motherboard by itself. The motherboard has 5 chips:
    • Marvell Avastar VHT WLAN, Bluetooth, NFC, and FM Receiver
    • Samsung 4 GB DDR3L SDRAM — Memory, need constant power to hold memory
    • Marvell Armada 1500 Mini Plus dual core ARM cortex-A7 Media Processor — Digital streaming in real time
    • Toshiba 2 GB NAND Flash memory– Memory that can be rewritten, doesn’t need constant power
    • MRVL Semiconductor DC-DC Regulator- Converts voltages for two connections working at different voltage levels

My thoughts

  1. The motherboard is the heart of the device, and would be more interested in understanding the connections between the different chips. Through some research I was able to understand most of the differences between the chips, but I am still pretty amazed by the speed of these things and how fast they communicate to each other.
  2. Thermal paste can get messy, and seemingly anywhere? Even with the casing, it seems like the paste was a little over the motherboard, I was able to clean up using my tools. I wonder if this could be causing overheating within a device and have led it to not working ? Although I didn’t have a TV to try and see if it would work initially but just a thought.

Vintage Ipod Teardown

  1. Before opening the iPod, ensure that the hold switch is in the locked position.
  2. Carefully insert a small flathead screwdriver in the seam between the metal casing and white plastic top. Use the screwdriver to pry up the white plastic top bezel(A).
  3. Lift the top bezel(A) off of the iPod.
  4. Carefully insert a small flathead screwdriver in the seam between the metal casing and white plastic top. Use the screwdriver to pry up the white plastic bottom bezel(B).
  5. Use a flathead screwdriver to pry out the metal retaining bracket(C) beneath the bottom bezel. Free the bracket by first pushing in the metal arms on the corners and then lifting the bracket.
  6. Lift the metal retaining bracket(C) out of the iPod.
  7. Use a tweezer to disconnect the orange click wheel ribbon from the logic board(J).
  8. Remove the two tiny screws securing the headphone jack to the casing(I).
  9. Carefully slide the iPod out of its casing by pushing on the logic board near the bottom edge of the click wheel(H).
  10. After pushing the logic board(J) out, grasp the logic board on either side of the display, and continue to slide the iPod out of its casing(D).
  11. Lift the battery off of the logic board and lay it to the side of the iPod.
  12. Disconnect the battery(E) from the logic board. Make sure to pull only on the connector and not on the battery wires.
  13. Use a tweezer to carefully pry up the headphone jack board from the logic board. Be careful to pry up near the connector to prevent unnecessary strain on the board.
  14. Lift the headphone jack(I) board off of the logic board.
  15. Use a tweezer to flip up the black plastic tab holding the orange display ribbon in place. The black tab will rotate up 90 degrees, releasing the ribbon cable.
  16. Note the location of the four white plastic tabs securing the display(F) to the logic board. These tabs must be released before the display can be removed.
  17. Use a tweezer to free the four white plastic tabs indicated.
  18. Turn the iPod over and lift the display(F) up and slide it out of its connector.
  19. Use a tweezer to disconnect the orange hard drive ribbon from the logic board.
  20. Lift the hard drive(G) out of the iPod.
  21. Peel back the black tape securing the two blue bumpers to the hard drive near the orange ribbon cable.
  22. Slide the two blue bumpers off the corners of the hard drive.
  23. Disconnect the orange hard drive ribbon cable(G) from the hard drive. Make sure to apply even pressure while pulling to prevent any bend pins.

Design elements that was interested:

A) Logic Board: There were many elements in the process of disassembling this vintage iPod, but I found this logic board very interesting. I think the most important role of this iPod is the logic board, not the exterior case. This is because all the elements that help the iPod operate from the inside out are connected to the logic board, and the logic board itself is equipped with important elements that are unknown.

B) Hard Drive Cable: It was very interesting that the hard drive cable was covered in blue bumpers everywhere and wrapped in black tape. It also makes me think about how important element this is to be careful not to trip pins while disconnecting cables from the drive.

Fujifilm Instax 210 Instant Camera Black Teardown

What I teardown is the Fujifilm Instax 210 Instant Camera Black.

———————————From JIAQI GU———————————

INSTAX 210 Camera – With its rounded shape, easy-to-hold side grip, and fingertip controllable composite control panel, the instax 210 offers vivid, high-quality prints almost instantly. Its automatically-adjusting flash, high-resolution retracting lens and big clear viewfinder add up to unsurpassed performance.

———————————————————————————————

Finally we get all the parts, most of which are made of plastic, supplemented by glass and metal. Manufacturing is mainly achieved by injection molding and molds.

[MB8998-3] Chips: 8-bit Proprietary Microcontroller

The MB89980 series is a line of the general-purpose, single-chip microcontrollers. In addition to a compact instruction set, the microcontrollers contain a variety of peripheral functions such as an LCD controller/driver, an A/D converter, timers, remote control transmission output, buzzer output, PWM timers, and external interrupts.

[s93c46A] Chips: Description CMOS SERIAL E2PROM

[LB1836] Chips: Motor Driver IC

———————————————————————————————

TWO POINTS:

  1. I really like the motor drive gear part. When I tore down it, I couldn’t help but feel the human intelligence, it was like a precision mechanical watch, very amazing. I think the designers use different gears to adjust the speed of the film rotation and control the roller to send the photo out, with just one motor and chip to achieve the whole work together.
  2. The other part is the telescopic part of the lens, which is realized by the semi-fixed rotation of the parts, which is very interesting. [At about 36 seconds]

Jabra Rox Wireless Earbuds Teardown

Outlook

I’m going to disassemble the Jabra wireless headset. Externally, it comprises two headsets, each equipped with earbuds, two ear wings, a USB cable, and the NFC region, located on the button side. The construction materials predominantly encompass plastic and rubber.

Tools used to take it apart:

Tweezers, screwdriver, and 2-piece plier set (flush cutter and needle nose plier).

Process

1. Clean the earbuds meticulously using moistened wipes.

2. Detach the ear gels..

3. Start from the left ear. As the housing was sealed and therefore I had to be cut with pliers. The housing appears to be plastic made via injection molding.

4.The headphones have microphone on the shank. the shank is made of rubber and can be pried off with a screwdriver and separated from the built-in plastic.

5.The front cover of the left ear is equipped with a dust grill, LED indicator, left and right ear indicators, and the speakers (a diaphragm/cone, a voice coil, a permanent magnet, and a cabinet).

6.There are two built-in button batteries, which are soldered together with the chip and therefore cannot be separated. Additionally, the back cover houses a magnet, the separation of which is impeded by adhesive bonding.

7.The right ear has a slightly different design. It has a charging cover with a charging port inside. There is a rectangular magnet after opening the back cover. Inside is a motherboard which connects to the charging port and the circuit board underneath.

8.The front cover of the right ear also contains a dust grill, left and right ear indicators, and speakers.

9.The NFC zone comprises two volume buttons and a multi-function button, and its plastic framework is crafted through injection molding. The multi-function button encompasses a range of capabilities, including powering the headset on and off, initiating music playback, answering incoming calls, and initiating redialing. The volume buttons serve the dual purpose of adjusting volume levels and facilitating track navigation, both forward and backward.

Knolling

Design elements that interest me and why the designers make it that way:

1.The headphones come with built-in magnets, aimed at keeping those pesky cables from turning into an unruly mess and ensuring convenient storage. Through my research, I found out that the earbuds will power off after 5 minutes when the magnetic earbuds are separated and the headset is not connected to a mobile device. Also, the headphone cable is shorter and therefore prevents the cable cord from tangling.

2.The headphones have two built-in batteries that are meant to increase the battery life. Based on both manufacturer claims and user feedback, it’s safe to say these headphones boast an impressive battery life.

References: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple+EarPods+Teardown/10501

http://www.2wired2tired.com/jabra-rox-wireless-headset-review-giveaways

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Fairphone+True+Wireless+Earbuds+Teardown/146449

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Apple+EarPods+Disassembly/114815