I am so glad you guys are on top of things and have caught/noticed/seen this delamination issue so that it can be addressed & corrected before production.
Depending on how bad & widespread it is…. this was a potential Q8 disaster in the making. :person_facepalming:
Hat’s off to you all for being on top of things. :+1:
.
I guess that’s why multiple proto’s where asked for… If it’s a proto board then the issue could be resolved easy. If not it might be a good idea that the team looks for a mpcb producer? Although I don’t think I ever heard of thorfire lights having this issue or they never designed a light pulling 20A in stock form.
Is there an accelerated-aging test to detect this kind of problem?
I’d guess repeated heat-cycling would provoke it, if it’s going to happen.
That’s a fairly common method of testing for potential failures, isn’t it?
Someone who knows something, please comment ….
That’s one of those QA issues — think of everything that could possibly go wrong, and fix the production
and one of those QC issues — do tests of samples of the produced work to find patterns of errors.
My impression was:
It may be a situation where these mcpcb were made on a older machine that doesn’t get much use anymore. It’s a good machine to use for small batches and prototype stuff, but when full production starts, the newer, faster, fully automated mcpcb machine will be used. That’s the thought that popped into my head.
I’m sure it wasn’t hand made and hand etched, etc…
I’m actually curious if Thorfire makes them or they buy them from another company.
Either way, either it’s a problem they already know happens, and know how to watch for, or it’s one they’ve never seen happen and need to take into account.
If it is a “prototype” MCPCB, used only in these Q8 Prototype 3’s ; that should be easy enough to verify.
If, on the other hand; it is the real deal that was supposed to be used in production…… it is a darn good thing the problem was recognized before production so it can be addressed & FIXED.
Otherwise, as I already said; depending on how bad & widespread the problem is…. it could have spelled a Q8 disaster.
As it stands right now all #3 Prototypes have been received & if I remember correctly, three have had MCPCB problems.
I googled for thorfire pcb delamination . Only a handful of results turned up but none pertaining to Thorfire. Seems like delamination has to do with moisture being trapped inside the pcb but what do I know from a simple google search.
Seem like little margins always attract me, working with microns in painting ( layer thickness ) and working my grinding machine the smallest tolerances i worked with had to be within 4/1000 of a mm ( 0.0001574 inch ) + / - 2/1000 mm ( 0.0000787 inch ) to either side of wiggle room.
Team sports dont do much for me, i like individuals performing great feats.
10 Sony VTC6's, 6 for me & 4 for my son, I was bored and after reading about the issue with flat-tops in the Q8 I chopped a bunch of 3mm slices off a soft annealed section of 5mm copper bar I had lying around, hammered them down to ~2mmx6mm. I found my old man's ancient Weller 8200 soldering gun in the garage that I though was long lost and had at the cells with it.
The results are 8 cells with copper button tops & 2 without, plus I gave my 6 cells smart new suits & ID numbers. :D
My sentimental missus noted it was nice to be doing something for my son with one of my late dad's old tools.