Is Foxconn planning on using robots to assemble a future generation of iPhones? Not yet, if Apple has its way. A report out of China says that robots that Foxconn has built for assembly work, are not precise enough for Apple's demands. While Apple requests a .02mm accuracy level for its devices, the robots can only hit a level of .05mm. In addition, robotic fingers are not as nimble as human fingers are. The bots are mostly being used now to tighten screws, and for other easy tasks.
The robots employed by the contract manufacturer can trace their ancestry back to auto assembly lines, which explains why they are not really perfectly suited for the production of today's mobile devices. And while a second generation of Foxbots is in the cards, it might be some time before they are ready to handle the kind of complex assembly that is required to build an Apple iPhone.
For the meantime, Apple is happy to offer you the iPhone made the way nature intended. That is, assembled by man, not a machine. Of course, once the Foxbots become more accomplished in a couple of years, the cost savings and speed of assembly will have both Apple and Foxconn backpedaling as fast as possible from human assembly lines.
source: Jiemian (translated), GforGames via MacRumors
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The robots employed by the contract manufacturer can trace their ancestry back to auto assembly lines, which explains why they are not really perfectly suited for the production of today's mobile devices. And while a second generation of Foxbots is in the cards, it might be some time before they are ready to handle the kind of complex assembly that is required to build an Apple iPhone.
For the meantime, Apple is happy to offer you the iPhone made the way nature intended. That is, assembled by man, not a machine. Of course, once the Foxbots become more accomplished in a couple of years, the cost savings and speed of assembly will have both Apple and Foxconn backpedaling as fast as possible from human assembly lines.
source: Jiemian (translated), GforGames via MacRumors
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