Agilent U1272A crappy soldering

[peter.mitchell]

$3 lunches? No more man  Now my lunches even as a student starts from 3$ ...

Cmon, chicken rice is perfectly fine for lunch

[Galaxyrise]

Hey mike, when i was putting back my review set U1273A together without applying excessive force one of the screw heads snapped. Seriously 
You think Agilent might take it back?

Sorry if I'm the only one confused, but is this a unit you need to return after the review and you're worried that you'll be charged for the broken screw?

[blackdog]

Hi, mike_kawasaki

This is the serial of my U1272A
I is purchased from Farnell, the Netherlands.



Kind regarts,
Blackdog

[T4P]

Hey mike, when i was putting back my review set U1273A together without applying excessive force one of the screw heads snapped. Seriously 
You think Agilent might take it back?

Sorry if I'm the only one confused, but is this a unit you need to return after the review and you're worried that you'll be charged for the broken screw?

I get to keep the unit.

[logictom]

I have a serial number very close, also recently purchased from Farnell:
Serial number: MY53010054
I've only had a very quick peek and not unclipped the case fully, but looks like it may also have a solder paste issue as per the pictures.

Please post some photos if you can.
It is most likely a batch issue.

I just had an idea...
What if SMD assembly lines also had automated cameras that snapped and archived a photo of every board/panel as it came off the line?
This sort of issue could be pinpointed pretty quickly.

I thought this was common practice? The assembly company we use around the corner from us does this with every board so they can do exactly what you suggested.
I've not been to any other assembly houses so perhaps they are better equipped than most?
You've got me curious now, I have a friend who works in a different assembly house, I'll have to have a chat with him to see what they do there.

[kx5]

Here is mine (Rev 4 board).
Is this acceptable?

[wraper]

Yeah, not the best they could but I think it's at least good enough to not cause any problems. Mine is so bad, that I think parts will fall off if I drop it.

[digsys]

Many of the IC pads are truly woeful ! Almost as if there was no flux component and/or under-temp. I agree it's better, but NOT a
whole lot better. It's possible that this is how the batches came out of production, and the ICs in the last pix were hand soldered
(leaded) to fix up what we see here. Sooo many questions need answering.

[SeanB]

Looks like they were just short on the temperature settings and the dwell times there, it has melted, but has not reflowed properly or fully. Probably an early batch after changing to a new lead free solder paste, or a new line still being fully profiled. The components passed the pull force tests in production, but just do not look good.

[wraper]

I would say that it's just crap solder paste not thermal profile. Bigger parts with larger thermal capacity looks better than smaller ones. So I think It's not solder paste melting problem, just solder paste isn't wetting pads well.

[DonRon]

Hi Folks,

got mine two weeks ago from Conrad in Germany.
Opened it after I have read this thread - looks not as good as barny's but better as kx5's (sorry - I have no camera).
The unit was sent within the power supply carton, orginal box of multimeter was not included -  I think they put it out of the original box , so it fits inside the power supply box.
Date of cal certificate is 10-march-2013.
Serial number MY530600xx.

Greet's
Ronald

[ExtremeXS]

Sorry not very clear photos, could not get the camera to focos any closer....

But the area that is unpopulated looks like the model a couple or digits away from my serial number.

[wraper]

Best way to take good photos of PCBs I found so far is microscope + Nokia N95  . Good camera doesn't work because of big lens. But tiny phone camera with enough megapixels is the best.

[K6TR]

Mike Kawasaki
T&M Marketing Manager
mike_kawasaki@agilent.com

Thanks Mike. Good to see Agilent responding proactively with the community (yet again)
I wish more companies did this.

Dave I've enjoyed your Youtube page for well over two years. The topic in this thread has prompted me to register and comment.

While I appreciate the prompt attention Mike has given to this matter the poor soldering we see in these photos is very troubling ! The reason why it is troubling is this is not the first such instance. If you will remember you found a poorly soldered turret when you reviewed the U1253A. This would indicate that Agilent has a systemic problem maintaining quality control out of the plant that manufactures it's multimeters in Malaysia. You also will remember that your U-1253A kicked up a furror. My personal take on that matter was your review contained a level of thoroughness that demonstrates why they are so popular. In that review I thought some of your criticisms while certainly warranted were excessively harsh. This is just my personal perspective. I think the level of harshness seemed incongruent with the thumbs-up rating you gave to the 1253A the way most people perceived it.

What is before us in this thread is a very serious matter. One that deserves rigorous scrutiny and brutal candor ! Anyone can make a mistake but repeated negligence should raise some serious alarms. Agilent a company world renowned for producing some of the finest Test Equipment ever produced has seriously dropped the ball. They charge Top Dollar for their Equipment and their Multimeters are no exception. Their chief competitor in this market, Fluke, assembles their meters in the US paying US Labor wage rates. Wages which are substantially higher than those in Malaysia. The consumer does not gain anything out of this arrangement as the Agilent Meters are priced identical to the Fluke Meters. The least Agilent could do would be to apply a small percentage of the excess profits they gain from producing in Malaysia to see that the quality of what they produce out of that plant matches the quality of the meters produced in the US by Fluke.

[mike_kawasaki]

While I appreciate the prompt attention Mike has given to this matter the poor soldering we see in these photos is very troubling !

K6TR, I agree it is troubling.  Must admit I'm not a Manufacturing Expert but am working on a Manufacturing Quality Engineer to be named as the owner of this escalation.

Agilent a company world renowned for producing some of the finest Test Equipment ever produced has seriously dropped the ball. They charge Top Dollar for their Equipment and their Multimeters are no exception. Their chief competitor in this market, Fluke, assembles their meters in the US paying US Labor wage rates. Wages which are substantially higher than those in Malaysia. The consumer does not gain anything out of this arrangement as the Agilent Meters are priced identical to the Fluke Meters. The least Agilent could do would be to apply a small percentage of the excess profits they gain from producing in Malaysia to see that the quality of what they produce out of that plant matches the quality of the meters produced in the US by Fluke.

K6TR,
Don't think this is a company secret, but Agilent builds almost all their T&M equipment in Penang, Malaysia.  The manufacturing team is worldclass (IMHO) and we've done thorough benchmarking.  The Agilent T&M quality is #1 in the world when measured against all competitors and their repair records.  We've even documented that the Malaysia team's quality is BETTER than when we manufactured in the US.  (You might imagine this was an internal question the team asked and we've verified.)

However, that doesn't help solve the issue raised in this thread about the U1272A. 

As stated above, the Agilent team is committed to constantly improve our quality as we see it as a competitive differentiator.  This issue is being taken very seriously and I am talking to the Division Management later tonight to get an update; with the first action requested to assign a quality engineer to analyze the issue.

I take great pride in our quality; but we all have issues and what differentiates companies is how quickly they respond and solve problems.  This will be another test for Agilent!

Mike

[eKretz]

I must agree that it seems to be indicative of a recurrent issue if this has happened before with a different product from a different line, but it seems that Agilent is taking the matter quite seriously, as they should. I'm guessing that they will pass the test and improve their QC at the same time. Obviously there is a problem with finished parts inspection as well as process control.

[KJDS]

What has surprised me is that the issues would have been evident to any of the employees assembling the boards into the housings. If those employees areb't empowered to stop the line, call over the line management and get the issues addressed then the facility isn't world class.

I've seen many world class facilities and they've never called themselves world class, merely stated their limitations and shown how everyone is contributing to improvements.

I've also seen a lot of facilities that describe themselves as world class and none of them have been close.

[mike_kawasaki]

What has surprised me is that the issues would have been evident to any of the employees assembling the boards into the housings. If those employees areb't empowered to stop the line, call over the line management and get the issues addressed then the facility isn't world class.

KJDS, touche!  That's a great viewpoint.  We should find these problems earlier in the manufacting process!

(and sorry for mis-typing your user ID last message -- too much multi-tasking).

Mike

[eKretz]

Indeed, someone in management at that facility should be getting a serious workover for this. Especially if this  had been brought to management attention by a line worker. I don't see how it couldn't have been now that I think about it. Most likely is the person who was in charge made the decision to let it pass, hoping it would fly under the radar, and as it seems it always must, that approach backfired.

[mike_kawasaki]

Quick Update... The Division Marketing Manager has confirmed that the Support Team has placed this as a high priority.  They are investigating the issue and expect an update within the next week.

Thanks again for the EEVBlog community for raising the issue. 

Mike

[Corporate666]

What has surprised me is that the issues would have been evident to any of the employees assembling the boards into the housings. If those employees areb't empowered to stop the line, call over the line management and get the issues addressed then the facility isn't world class.

I've seen many world class facilities and they've never called themselves world class, merely stated their limitations and shown how everyone is contributing to improvements.

I've also seen a lot of facilities that describe themselves as world class and none of them have been close.

I agree with you and I think a lot of people are waiting for an answer on this - I *hope* the answer will be an actual explanation and not something like "we've taken steps to resolve this but we can't comment further". 

I doubt there is a company in the world that doesn't experience problems - even those renowned for quality.  Apple had their Wifi antenna issue, Intel has released bad batches of processors, etc.  The main thing is how the company handles an issue when it's been raised... looks like Agilent is doing all the right things so far, and it's great that the hounds have not descended on them

Looking forward to Mike's updates.

[amyk]

What has surprised me is that the issues would have been evident to any of the employees assembling the boards into the housings. If those employees areb't empowered to stop the line, call over the line management and get the issues addressed then the facility isn't world class.

Or maybe the employees couldn't care less/don't know, given that their job isn't to inspect PCBs but to assemble them as fast as possible?

[KJDS]

What has surprised me is that the issues would have been evident to any of the employees assembling the boards into the housings. If those employees areb't empowered to stop the line, call over the line management and get the issues addressed then the facility isn't world class.

Or maybe the employees couldn't care less/don't know, given that their job isn't to inspect PCBs but to assemble them as fast as possible?

In which case, teh facility isn't world class, but a sweatshop.

[mikes]

In which case, teh facility isn't world class, but a sweatshop.

That's only your opinion.

[KJDS]

In which case, teh facility isn't world class, but a sweatshop.

That's only your opinion.

No, it's a fact based on the definition of a world class manufacturing facility.