Category: Teardown

My dad gave me a special card for my 30th birthday. And then I tore it apart.

What astonishes me most is the quantity of materials and features that you can get for a mere $7.99. This birthday card has 4 batteries, a small circuit board, a web of fiber optic filaments and the resulting effect of light, sound and birthday magic.

The card was fairly easy to dissect, but through its construction, it’s obvious that these materials are not meant to be repaired or reused.

As for the manufacturing process, we can see evidence of how the elements are hand-assembled in the final stage (there are graphic marks for where to place the round battery pack & the clear plastic battery cover that activates & shuts off the animation when you open & close the card). The elements themselves are large-scale factory produced pieces: circuit boards made from a process described in-depth here; plastic parts injection-molded; the paper card from an inkjet printer. (I googled the circuit board serial number to no avail!)

Two construction choices that interested me were the way that the fiber optic filaments were individually threaded through tiny holes from within the card and popped out through the birthday message, creating the appearance of dozens of separate blinking lights.

The other is more a befuddlement than an interest: double-sided tape was used everywhere, but sometimes the backing hadn’t even been removed. Cleary the manufacturer should substitute double-stick tape for regular tape in some areas.

Otherwise known as “the cool Ironman toy I’ll never get to use”

I chose to see what was going on inside this toy I found at a thrift shop. I think it was supposed to be an Ironman sleeve, but there were no batteries inside when I got it and I think it was already partially broken, so I never saw it turned on.

I only used a couple of tools to take it apart: a tiny Phillips head screwdriver, a pair of needle nose pliers, and a sharp piece of metal to pry things apart. Here is what I found inside:

I managed to find all of the electrical components online, as well as most of their datasheets. I put all of the information and links in this table, including the purpose of each component!

While many of the plastic parts for this toy were injection-molded, the electronics were sourced from a variety of companies and the entire toy was likely assembled by hand. The palm light was welded closed, while the battery pack was glued (hence the broken pieces in those two circles!). The rest of the parts were assembled with six different kinds of bolts.

The two design elements that interested me most were 1) the conductive strip in the wrist hinge and 2) the fact that the palm light part of the toy is the only part that was welded shut. It took me a little bit to figure out the function of the conductive strip, but I think its purpose was to make the palm light turn on when the wearer’s wrist was bent (flexed) and off when the wearer’s wrist was straight (relaxed). With a bent wrist, the two conductive strips in the hinge would touch, closing the circuit (turning on the light), but when relaxed they would separate, opening the circuit (the light stays off). Pretty neat. As for the one welded part, I suppose it would have been a bit impractical to use bolts in that part of the toy. Perhaps it was more important to keep the Ironman aesthetic despite the required welding equipment.

For more pictures, click here.

Remote Car Teardown from Antya Waegemann on Vimeo.

The car teardown was super interesting and fun. It was a little difficult at first to figure out what every was. It seems as though the materials used to make it were rather simple including the circuit board, wiring, small motors, batteries, and then the plastic to make the mold of the object.

The only tools I needed for the teardown were a small screwdriver, a larger screwdriver and then some scissors to cut the wire to separate everything, but it was rather easy to take apart and seems like a lot of glue was used as well.

Two design elements that interested me about this product was first the simplicity of it. It looks really complex especially as a remote control car, but taking it apart showed me that it really didn’t have too many components. Another design aspect that interested me was the motors and it would be interesting to see how the work and how it all connects, almost as if I could have a translucent car.

For my first-ever teardown, I disassembled, (and mildly destroyed) a Nintendo Wii remote. I only needed access to a few tools, which include a tri-winged screwdriver, a metal file (to level some of the plastic pieces), and an Olfa blade to help pry the device open.

What you’ll need:

• tri-winged screwdriver
• Olfa blade
• File*

*Dependent on screwdriver

             (Left to Right: Tri-winged Screwdriver, File (Letterman Knife), Olfa blade)

First, examine the backside of the remote, and remove the battery cover, there are two small screws you will need to remove, with the tri-winged screwdriver located where each battery sits.

Next, you’ll want to pry the two main pieces apart. Don’t do that just yet — you still have two screws to find. They can be found at the bottom of the remote, on the backside, under the two screws you have already removed.

*Pro Tip* make sure you have a narrow and long screwdriver to complete this task. The screws are encompassed by tall walls of plastic and are tough to get to.

I did not have the means to reach the screws initially and needed to take a detour. The photos below showcase the brilliant use of a metal file. The file was able to eat through the plastic fairly quickly and leveled the plastic, allowing me to reach the screws with my screwdriver.

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Now, you can pry the remote into two pieces easily, like this:

Look at those muscles!

And here are all their names…

In this particular device, all components on the circuit board are soldered.

In breaking down the components of the Wii remote, I particularly enjoyed the small rubber/ plastic bits that are placed between the external buttons (which we press) and the circut board. These pieces are a smart design decision because their flexible and soft qualities prevent any contact between buttons and the circuit board. Also, the experience of pressing a button, and the slight resistance that the soft pieces provide, is a feeling that gamers and non-gamers alike can joyfully relate to!

Similarly, the hinged plastic embedded in the back portion of the remote, used for pressing “B” with your index finger, is a smart design choice. The button is modeled after a trigger, which evokes a certain reaction during fictional play for gamers. Rather than insert a typical button, the hinge calls for a particular action from its user.

Hi everyone, I found a ‘music toy’ which I think is for kids, with a couple of buttons, three LEDs and a speaker.

Manufacture technology

The wires and chips or metal are connected by soldering. The whole manufacturing process of PBC board is:

The plastic casing is made by injection molding or slush molding.

At last, assemble everything.

Part numbers

I think the part number is hj-051-1c, but I have trouble with finding a match on datasheet.

Tools

screwdriver & cutter

Design elements

1.As you can see from the image down there. The keys on the outer surface of the toy can be pressed from all four directions. But the interiors work in a completely different manner. There is one button inside which, when pressed on the right side for example – connects the circuit on the right. This completion of the circuit results in a particular song being played. This essentially means that there is one conductive button inside which plays all four songs.

2. Another element is switch.

Ummm, I really don’t know how to arrange my words shortly. The switch is very simple but a little bit tricky at the same time. If you want to know, come to me, I can explain it to you 🙂