Category: Teardown

The reason I chose mac book is because Apple’s products are masterpieces across the ages. The reason why Apple products are different from other brands is that the internal structures of Apple products are special and independently designed. This is why Apple products can have both good-looking appearance and powerful functions. I’m curious about what’s going on inside.

Apple SSD：As of the time of publication, Apple offers SSD storage in sizes of 64, 128 and 256 gigabytes in the MacBook Air, and 128, 256 and 512GB in the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air models come standard with a particular SSD size, and only some models can be upgraded with a larger SSD as a build-to-order option. All MacBook Pro models include a standard hard drive by default, but all of them can be upgraded to an SSD in any of the above sizes at the time of purchase.

Heat Sink: The heat sink then releases that heat into the surrounding air. The fan then moves the hot air out of the machine.

I/O board： I/O board has multiple functions:

• MagSafe interface
• USB port
• Headphone jack
• Microphone

First Breakdown of iPod touch

Steps:

1. I need to open the front panel first, you need to use a hair dryer for this step because the front panel is glued.

2. Then we can see the digitizer glass layers, there are some cool multilayer layers in there which make up the display. 

3. After that there are a lot of tiny screws that need to be unscrewed, so be careful, they can get lost if you’re not careful.

4. Once all the screws have been unscrewed, we can take out the mid chassis. 

5. Then there is the main board and the battery, the main board is connected to a lot of small accessories: camera, camera cap, volume buttons cable, ear phone jack….

6. be careful when removing the battery, because it is soft and I always worry that it will explode.

7. when everything is off, we can take off the rubber frame. 

8. When there is only one piece of housing chassis left, the disassembly is finished！

Apple watch series 6 44mm, featuring a revolutionary Blood Oxygen sensor and app.

1. The reason I choose it

I am very interested in the apple products for a long time and I think apple watch is very small but it has a lot of functions so that I really want to know what make it like this.

2. Tools

Screwdrivers (especially with screwdriver bit Y0.6), tweezer, blades

3. The process

I. Separating screen and base plate.

II. Removing all screws and take out all components.

III. Seperating the base plate into chip modules and sensor modules

I think the whole structure is glued together and the internal precision structure is connected by screws.

4. Components

The main components in the things I teardown:

Thermal film, wires, microphone, x-axis taptic engine, A2327 battery in 303.8mAh, loudspeaker, gps antenna, SiP, back base plate, screen

I have not teardown in the back base plate:

charging coils, blood oxygen sensors(The Blood Oxygen sensor employs LEDs, along with photodiodes on the back crystal of Apple Watch S6) and heart rate sensors, S6 chip System in Package (SiP), etc.

Something about components:

1. 100% recycledaluminum case
2. Arsenic free glass
3. a sapphire crystaldisplay
4. S6 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor based on the A13 Bionic chip, W3 Apple wireless chip, U1 chip (Ultra Wideband)

5. My thoughts

• Apple watch uses some kinds of special screws so we have to go to the apple repair center or find special tools to fix it. And also the combination of screen and structure is glue which means when you separate the screen it is very easy to damage it. I think apple really really want you to go to their store and spend lots of money to repair your products.

• The taptic engine in this watch is relatively large. I think it can give user a very good vibration experience.

I chose to disassemble the Electrical Stimulation Tens machine.

I chose this instrument because it was the only thing on site that I didn’t know about. At first, I thought it was a laser rangefinder, but later I found out through research that it was an instrument closely related to our bodies. This made me very interested and I also wanted to understand the working principle of this instrument.So, let’s go for a look.

Brand：Flex Tens
Type：Circulation Massager
Color：Black
Body Area：Full body，Back，Neck，Arm
Features：Handheld，Manual

The most basic working principle is to generate electrical signals. These electrical signals can be transmitted to the muscles of the body through electrodes, causing muscle contraction. Use fixed frequency and amplitude to ensure stable transmission of electrical signals. It can also be adjusted according to user needs.
Once the muscle stimulator generates an electrical signal, the electrode will be attached to the predetermined muscle. When an electrical signal enters the muscle, the muscle tissue will be stimulated. These stimuli will further promote muscle contraction, thereby stimulating muscle growth.

Video of the entire disassembly process：https://youtu.be/6Uk_w-0qPPw?feature=shared

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———Disassemble annotations———

All components of Electrical Stimulation Tens Machine :

Basic part

1. 1 LCD screen
2. 1 amplifier
3. 4 battery
4. 1 battery back cover
5. 2 battery conductive spring (battery connection piece)
6. 2 conductive adhesive strip
7. 1 battery conductive spring base plate
8. 2 plastic case (front+back)
9. 1 keypad
10. 1 holder
11. 1 flat screw
12. 3 small screw
13. 1 long screw
14. 7 electrolytic capacitor
15. 6 rectifierdiode
16. 2 transformer
17. 1 tantalum capacitor
18. 1 slug
19. 1 main board

Charger and Conductive wire

1. 2 plastic case
2. 8 rectifier diode
3. 1 transform
4. 1 main board
5. 6 electrolytic capacitor
6. 1 bipolar junction transistor
7. 1 long screw
8. 1 light-emitting diode
9. 3 resistance
10. 2 tantalum capacitor
11. wire rubber
12. 2 wire head
13. wire

Tools used to take it apart:
1. Screwdriver: Remove all screw connected parts, such as battery cover

2.scissors: The curved shape of the scissors makes it easier to cut parts on the circuit board

3.Wir cutters ：Remove the plactic case

Design elements that I like:

1-The portable design is very delicate, and the clip on the back of the shell allows the product to be worn well on the clothes.

2-The design of the amplfier makes the entire instrument sound bright and lively. The design of the bottom LED light provides a good indication of the user’s current situation.

3-Large screen size with clear interface, suitable for users of different age groups

Apple iPod photo classic 4th Generation White (20 GB)

• YHYZ Precision Tweezer ESD-12
• JRready ACT WN10 Wire Cutters Precision Flush Pliers 5 inch Precision Extensions for Hand Tool
• Uxcell Non-magnetic Curved Tip Tweezer Anti-static Stainless Steel Precision Multifunctional
• Economic long Round Nose Pliers
• Chrome Screw Driver

Use the Wire Cutter to pry up against the plastic front panel and release five retaining tabs

Headphone Jack and Hold Switch(820-1635-A)

Standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The material used for the headphone jack was typically metal, which provided durability and good electrical conductivity.

Hold Switch

Headphone Jack & Hold Switch Flex Cable(632-0260)

Flat Ribbon Cable: flat ribbon cable, which consists of multiple thin conductive wires sandwiched between layers of insulating material. The insulating material is made of a flexible plastic.

Connectors: At each end of the flex cable, there were connectors or plugs made of plastic or metal. These connectors allowed for the cable to be connected to the headphone jack and hold switch on one end and the main logic board on the other end.

Insulation: The cable also had insulating material to protect the conductive wires and prevent short circuits. This insulation was made of a flexible, durable plastic.

Hold button (plastic)

Plastic: Plastic is lightweight, durable, and can be molded into various shapes and sizes.

Hold button

White Plastic Dock Bezel

Rear case (stainless steel)

Hard drive cable

TUSHIBA hard drive MK2004GAL

Toshiba MK2004GAL 20GB UDMA/100 ATA-5 4200RPM 1.8″ Inch Mini Hard Drive
Hybrid (HDD/SSD)

DMA/ATA-100 (Ultra)

• Toshiba 20GB 1.8-inch Mini Hard Drive General Features: 20GB formatted capacity UDMA/100 transfer ratio.
• ATA-5 interface 2 MB buffer 4200 RPM spindle speed 7.14 ms average latency 15 ms average seek time.
• 1.8-inch form factor Low-power consumption Power Specifications: DC 3.3V 500mA Regulatory Approvals.

Logic board

Logic board and display

Apple 820-1535-A Logic Board

Fiberglass or PCB Material: The main substrate or base of the logic board is usually made of a fiberglass-reinforced epoxy laminate material, commonly referred to as a Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

Copper Traces: Conductive traces on the PCB are typically made of copper.

Solder: Solder is used to attach electronic components to the PCB. It typically contains a mixture of metals, including tin and lead.

Silicon Chips: The logic board houses various silicon chips, including the CPU (Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), memory chips, and other integrated circuits. These chips are made from silicon.

Connectors and Ports: Connectors and ports on the logic board may be made from various materials, including plastic and metal.

LCD Display (F-51824FNF-SLM-AD)

(Looks like there’s some screen fluid leaking)

Plastic Front Cover: touch-sensitive surface for user interaction.

Liquid Crystal Layer: The core of the LCD screen is the liquid crystal layer, which is made of organic molecules that can change their orientation in response to an electric current. This layer is responsible for controlling the passage of light through the screen and creating the images and colors you see.

Backlight: LCD screens require the liquid crystal layer. The backlight is typically made up of small LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). Include semiconductors and various types of plastics or glass for housing and diffusion.

Thin-Film Transistors (TFTs): TFTs are used to control the individual pixels on the LCD screen. (semiconductor materials, such as silicon)

Color Filters: To produce full-color displays, color filters are used in LCD screens.

LCD Display back

White Front Faceplate

Covered the front of the device and housed the screen, Click Wheel for navigation, and other controls.

Battery(616-0198)

Lithium-Ion Cells: The core of the Li-ion battery is the lithium-ion cell.

Anode (Negative Electrode): The anode in a Li-ion battery is made of carbon or graphite materials.

Cathode (Positive Electrode): The cathode is made of a lithium-based material, such as lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) or other variations.

Electrolyte: The electrolyte is a crucial component that allows lithium ions to move between the anode and cathode during charge and discharge.

Separator: A separator is used to keep the anode and cathode from coming into direct. The separator is a porous material, such as a polymer.

Protection Circuit: Many replacement Li-ion batteries, especially for consumer electronics like iPods, include a protection circuit board (PCB).

Connectors: The battery often includes connectors for easy installation and connection to the device.

Front panel

Click wheel(657-0230)

The click wheel operates by sensing user input through its touch-sensitive ring, which can execute multiple commands thanks to four mechanical buttons positioned beneath it.

The primary technology at play in the click wheel is capacitive sensing technology. When an electrical voltage is applied across two conductors situated closely but not in direct contact, it results in the storage of energy in the form of an electric field. Even after the voltage is removed, the stored charge remains, illustrating how capacitors gather and retain energy.

In the case of the click wheel, this property of capacitors is harnessed to detect the position of the user’s finger due to the capacitance between the human body and the conductive film beneath the plastic cover of the click wheel.

Flex Cable( Foxconn 2604)

Connect the click wheel and logic board

Design elements that interest：

1. Click Wheel: I appreciate the Click Wheel’s efficient scrolling and tactile feedback, which even includes a satisfying sound when pressed. It allows me to swiftly locate and choose what I want without the need for excessive button presses. When I try other music players for the first time, I often find that clicking their buttons can be uncomfortable and strain my fingers.
2. iPod switch button:The switch button is a feature I frequently utilize on all Apple devices, although it functions differently on iPods compared to iPhones or iPads. iPods are more prone to accidental touches, but the switch button effectively addresses this issue. It simplifies the process of locking the screen and the wheel. Whether I place it in my pocket or any other location, it doesn’t negatively impact my user experience.

Componts of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB):
1. 1 LCD Display screen
2. 1 Transciever AN29160AA (transmits and receives radio waves)
3. 1 Headphone jack
4. 1 DC jack
5. 1 Microphone
6. 1 Antenna
7. 3 larger Capacitors (temporarily stores electircal charge, used for filtering.)
8. Many mini capacitors
9. 3 large Oscillators (programmable timer or clock)
10. 1 mini oscillator
9. 1 Integrated Circuit / microchip
10. 1 Battery
11. 7 Switches (6 PCB printed buttons and 1 soldered-on button)
12. 1 large Potentiometer (variable resistor with 3 terminals)
13. Many mini diodes (control and redirect energy flow)
14. Many small transistors (amplify electrical enegry)
15. 5 Coil Inductors (temporarily magnetically stores electrical charge)
16. 2 mini inductors
17. 5 resistors (resist the flow of electricity to control energy) (I calculated the values using a color band calculator)

2 Unidentified PCB Components:
1. Serial# 270
2. Serial# CQ WM50HTP (I think it assists the transceiver in some way)

Other Components:
1. Plastic case made of 2 parts
2. 4 Rubber button cover parts
3. 3 screws
4. 2 Plastic covers for removable parts.

Datasheet for Transciever AN29160AA:
https://datasheetspdf.com/pdf-file/749064/Matsushita/AN29160AA/1

Tools used to take it apart:
1. Screwdriver
2. Solder sucker (to remove the LCD display screen)
3. Soldering iron
4. Wir cutters (to remove the protective plate)

Design elements that I like:
1. I like that the antenna is hidden inside the handle of the radio case.
I used radios for my gallery technician job for years and I hated when the antenna would get caught on my clothes or on objects around me. I also hated when they dug into my side while heavy lifting or when bending in odd positions to install lights and artwork on the ceiling.
2. I like that it is voice-activated.
This radio would have been really helpful with my job when I needed help with installation and my hands were full.

Making processes of a PCB:
PCBs are mechanical supports that electrically connect electrical components using conductive pathways.
1. Create the circuit diagram
2. Create a schematic of this using PCB layout software. There are many open source options such as AutoDesk Wizard, KiCad and PCBWizard.
3. Design the physical board layout. This is what your schematic will be printed onto. The software used will help you compare them to determine the best board size. You will also need to decide how to design the connections for soldering. Through-hole components are the easiest to solder, but they take up more space than the more complex soldering options.
4. Etch your PCB. This can be done from home with a laser cutter, photo paper, a blank copper-coated plate, hydrogen peroxide (or ferric chloride with water) and a drill.
-Laser cut the schematic onto the photo paper
-Use heat from an iron to transfer it to the copper-coated plate
-Put the plate into the hydrogen peroxide and shake it until the copper coating is etched off the unexposed copper
-Sand off the printed ink.
-Drill holes for the electrical components.
Done!

Photos of behind the protective plate and behind the LCD screen display.

The product I chose to tear down is iphone 6 because my eyes just sticked to it when I saw the white cubic package. Everytime I was super excited to get a product from Apple. There’s actually a funny story between me and Iphone. Back to 2012, I was in my first year of middle high school, and visited the US by a study camp. That’s the first time I saw iphone 4 which used by a girl in my team. By contrast, I was using the phone that my mom got for free by charging calls – so jealous. Also, since then, Iphone has become a symbol of technology, design, fashion and wealth. For iphone 6, an interesting finding is that it’s the best selling model among all Iphone. So, let’s go for a look.

Tools

Process

The main process is to remove the screws and then take the parts out.

Components

The inside of iphone 6 is compact and neat by the well designed layout. Apart from the battery, which takes up half the area, many electronic components are distributed around. They are fixed by brackets and screws, and powered by circuit boards.

When I finished the disassembly, I was shocked by Apple’s exquisite design and precise manufacturing. All the parts are easy to disassemble, which means more convenient repair and recycling. Also, this is the first time I take a close look at the elecronic components whose function has been used by me every day. Just list some of them below.

• Back camera

• Front camera

• Logic board
• Front: components related to frequency signals
• Back: components related to storage, Wi-Fi, touch screen control etc

• Speaker

• Home button

• Lithium-ion battery: surprisingly foud that the battery is soft. After research, it is because Apple use the soft packaging technic. Soft-pack lithium batteries are liquid lithium-ion batteries covered with a polymer shell. The structure is packaged with aluminum-plastic film. It is safer because when a safety hazard happens, the soft-pack battery will only bulge and crack and won’t explode. Besides, it’s ligther and has more capacity.

For my teardown assignment, the product I chose was the Flip UltraHD camcorder during the Yankee Swap. When I got the product, I started exploring it on the surface level and found the in-built usb connector and a sling to wear the camera over your hands. The usb was a fascinating feature as it’s not something I’ve come across in cameras, especially for its time. 

Before I talk about my process, a little bit about the video camera. The Flip UltraHD is a pocket-friendly camcorder with an 8 GB built-in memory that can record unto 120 minutes of 720p videos. It was acquired by Cisco, which is an IT and networking brand, in 2009 from Pure Digital. However, Cisco discontinued the product of Flip around 2011 as the company was realigning their operation. Some of the prominent features of this camera is that it’s easy to use, has rechargeable AAA batteries and includes FlipShare which is software that is compatible with Mac and Windows devices. Some of its drawbacks were that it does not have slot for memory card and has no cable to connect to HDTVs. 

The Process

Initially, it seemed like the process was going to be easy and pretty straightforward. However, like most things, that was not the case. Never did I imagine that I would be dismantling every single part of this camera. Various tools were used to tear this camera to bits. 

Tools Used:

Screwdriver

The biggest challenge throughout the process was finding the right screwdrivers as there were screws of various sizes and all of them were relatively small too. Out of them, removing 2 screws attached to the circuit board was close to impossible and after great help from my classmates and the VFL team, I finally had to cut it out using a plier (the screw still attached to the plastic in the image).

Pliers

Some of the parts were bolted pretty tight and hence, required a plier to be able to separate it from the rest. As mentioned earlier, it was used to cut out one of the screws as well as to remove the circuit boards. 

Exacto knife and Heat gun

Both these tools were used to take out the black front panels since they were glued pretty tight to the rest of the camera. 

Components

Here is a list of some of the major components in the Flip UltraHD.

• AAA Lithium Batteries
• USB Connector
• Flex Circuits
• Detachable Flex Cables
• 4 way D-pad Buttons
• Mircophone
• Mic Board
• Screen Module
• Camera
• Microswitch

My Reflection

Recently I have been trying to experiment a bit with film photography and that was the reason I chose the camera as my object for the teardown. Even though the product looked pretty minimal from the outside, my teardown process was quite long as there were many layers within the camera. There were a crazy numbers of screws that I easily missed since they were really small. However, there were a couple of things that really fascinated me. As I mentioned earlier, the in-built USB connector was a feature that really impressed me. For a camera that is so easy to carry around, including a USB within it fascinated me completely. I loved carrying the camera around because of its convenient size and sling, and how it would easily fit in my bag and pocket. Overall, I had a great experience during the teardown process, discovering new components with every screw I unbolted.

Resources used:

https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Flip_Ultra_HD#Section_Tools

https://www.cnet.com/reviews/flip-ultrahd-review/

https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/why-cisco-killed-the-flip-mini-camcorder/

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://library.wvu.edu/files/d/ca4a97a7-8f04-40e8-94e4-c41aa7cedebb/flipultra.pdf

The electronic piece that I took for the teardown is the AT&T Microcell. I thought Wi-Fi routers are pretty interesting as I had some prior experience with putting electronics together (I put together my own PC) and I thought the motherboard for the router should be quite similar to the PC ones. Therefore I decided to give it a try. 

Step 1: The first step to take the components apart is to remove sticker from bottom of case to reveal the 2 screws and unscrew them. After taking the screws out, pull the orange part away (initially I thought they were glued together, but then I realized that they were snapped together so I had to pull them apart). 

Step 2: Once the orange part comes out, check the interior to see which side is screwed together with the motherboard. This is important because this helps identify which part needs to be taken apart first (which is the part that is not screwed with the motherboard).

Step 3: After identifying, unsnap the white siding that was not screwed with the motherboard and unscrew the 4 corners of the PCB.

Step 4: After taking one of the white slidings out, remove the other white sliding.

Tools used: Screwdriver, X-acto knife, plier.

List of components and materials:

• Case: Plastic and rubber
• Motherboard: Copper
• WiFi: Ralink RT2150F
• GPS: RoyalTek REB-1315LPNX
• FPGA: Xilinx XC3S400A
• SDRAM: Winbond W9812G6IH
• Flash: MX 29LV320DBTI-70G
• Baseband+ARM9 Processor: picoChip PC202, based on ARM926EJ-S processor
• SDRAM:Samsung DDR2 K4T51163QG-HCE6
• Flash: Spansion GL512P10FFCR2
• Ethernet Transceiver: SMSC LAN 8700c-aecz

The Ralink and the other picoChip are two System-on Chips.

Manufacturing Techniques:

• SSH port on base-station, Nmap OS, and service versioning reports
• The router was built like a tower/cell with a bright orange to give a sense of energy while providing network coverage.