[TheLegace]

I own this book. It was invaluable navigating Shenzhen electronics markets. In Shenzhen it is easy to find any electronic part you need and has an extensive recycling ecosystem. You can find parts on the street which find it's way upstream and end up in completed phones. Those phones are then resold.

That was my goal when I was there to build an iPhone in my hotel room by buying every individual part. And except for the thumbprint(because it needs to be reflashed) everything worked perfectly. I even named it my non-Sweatshop iPhone.

[conception]

That sounds like an amazing vlog/blog article. Any chance you made one?

[starkparker]

Not OP, but: https://www.strangeparts.com/how-i-made-my-own-iphone-in-chi...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14100989

EDIT: Noticed that's Naomi Wu with the top comment on that HN discussion.

[elkos]

It's been a while since last time I've seen her, is she okay?

[ametrau]

Ha. I was thinking about that exact video when I saw the title.

[cortesoft]

> I even named it my non-Sweatshop iPhone

Are the conditions at the parts factories any better than at the final assembly factory?

[KeplerBoy]

Probably. I guess the final assembly requires the highest amount of cheap relatively unskilled labor.

Actual chip foundries are no sweat shops.

[2ICofafireteam]

On the Assembler side of things, my experience is that the right temperament is much more important and difficult thing to find than any specific skill.

Regardless of the skill set needed to do the job, being able to tolerate repetition with no pause outside of break times and adhering to instructions whether they understood their necessity or not was what made for a good Assembler; it wears most people out. I would joke that to be a successful assembly line/cell worker you needed to view each new unit as a visit from an old friend and not own guns.

My experience (in BC) is that the amount of skill/cost of your assemblers can vary.

Where I have worked, low volume production of relatively complex products required more skilled/trainable people because they ended up putting the whole thing together and they were paid well; some sub assemblies could be handled by less technical/skilled Assemblers.

On higher volume lines, if we needed highly skilled workers then it was a sign that we should look at the process and break up or farm out the steps that needed them.

^Actual chip foundries are no sweat shops.

I know nothing about semiconductor production, but maybe they can be sweaty shops? A room can 21 degrees, but if you're in a bunny suit...

[mensetmanusman]

How much cheaper was it?

[smashed]

It doesn't have to be about saving money.