Electronics 101 Primer: It's Modules (Not Single Chips) Delaying Bronco Deliveries

[North7]

Disclaimer: I am no engineer and know nothing about the salvage market. But: Roughly 6 million crashes per year. Roughly 10-15% of them are totaled. That means there should be salvageable modules and chips inside modules in over 600K cars per year. Many of them may be too old, but that's still a lot of chips. Cost to salvage and repurpose them may be high. But are wrecks a resource?

1. The cost to salvage and repurpose components would greatly exceed the cost of new components.
2. The long term reliability of the components would be highly suspect.
3. Chip designs are continuously evolving so it is unlikely chips would be of the same design if they were more than 2-5 years old.
4. You cannot pop-in a different design chip in a circuit board location designed for a different part (like trying to insert a 24 pin device into a 16 pin slot). Next, you would have to rewrite and retest all the software and all the associated vehicle systems.
5. The class action lawyers would be lining up to sue the auto manufacturer of building "new" vehicles with "old" components.

Don't confuse traditional auto manufactures with Tesla, they had an agile design and company infrastructure that allowed them to use different, NEW chips.

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[Luv9rove]

This post is a good lead-in for...

Electronics 101 Primer
It is not the chips that are actually missing in any shipped/delayed vehicles. Chips are simply one element, or one component, inside of an electronic assembly, sometimes called a module, device or unit. These units are held up at the supplier awaiting the actual chips to arrive so the units can be completed and tested. Only then are the units shipped to Ford.

Dealer's will not be receiving "Chips", dealers will be receiving "Complete Modules" which contain the missing chips, for example, here is a Heated Seat Control Module for the Mustang.

An example of the actual Chips, they are the small black devices, on the green circuit board, in the open module below (three examples circled in red):

Here is an example of an acutal F-150 module being replaced. Ford ICE Mountain workers or Dealers are doing nothing more than plugging in full assemblies, similar to this.



Electronics 201 Primer

DEALERS DO NOT INSTALL CHIPS!

That is not how electronics are built, the chips are received at the module suppliers and then go into the fabrication process that involves multi-million dollar production equipment. Depending on the component type, surface mount, through-hole, etc, it will use different machines and processes, see examples below.

Then, during and after all of the assembly production steps, the modules are tested and reworked as needed, then and only then are the 100% functional modules shipped to Ford.

Unfortunately, automotive marketing and media types don't know how to say, as soon as our suppliers get the chips they will build the modules and ship them.

Here is an example of a SMT, surface mount component pick & place machine that inserts the components onto the circuit boards.

Then, depending on the type of components, it's time to solder, this example is a Wave solder station where the stuffed circuit boards, with through-hole components, get soldered, in that flowing, molting solder bath.

Electronics 301 Primer

Ford technician's do not install "chips", this is a specialized skill set performed by factory automation equipment or Electronic Technicians when a single one needs to be replaced.

Automotive Technicians do not have the training, tools or knowledge how to do this without blowing out the chips due to static mishandling. Further, you have to have factory specialized test equipment to validate the installed chip is properly working within the module.

Some chip package styles will not even allow for manual install.

Good post!! I shudder think of some mechanic doing chip or even control board installations. Anything beyond "plug it in" gets too complex.

 

[Lil Red Broncette]

Ford Tec’s are better trained than assembly line workers.

It would take more time to hand solder "some" components after the circuit boards have been run through the factory automation assembly process. First, they would have to reprogram the pick & place machines to leave out the missing components. Second, all of the normal test steps, after first stage assembly, could not be run on non-functional units.

If they did go this route, the time consumed by hand soldering in a few components and then running all the units back through the test stages would take 3-5 times longer then just waiting for the components to come in and be run through the full normal automated assembly and test process.

We have a saying for this, "you want it bad, you get it bad".

The labor to add modules after the build is far more costly than the labor to do it on the assembly line, yet that doesn't stop it from being done. The same rational applies at the board assembly. Leave the machines idle or build what can then do it. I've seen it done myself on SMT lines to keep it going to get the assemblies built and add the missing part later. Lots of factors in that.

Nevertheless, the other part of what I stated about just plugging in modules after the fact doesn't come without its own issues.

 

[jdawg]

This post is a good lead-in for...

Good on you for calling this out. I looked at this post and said to myself "Thanks Cptn Obvious." Then reflected for a moment that there are people who just don't know and might want to know.

 

[North7]

Good on you for calling this out. I looked at this post and said to myself "Thanks Cptn Obvious." Then reflected for a moment that there are people who just don't know and might want to know.

Exactly, think about what percentage of us have spent any time in electronics related industries, maybe 10% - 15% at best? What is common knowledge to us is a mysterious black box to most.

 

[JBlanco]

Good post!! I shudder think of some mechanic doing chip or even control board installations. Anything beyond "plug it in" gets too complex.

I was aware of the modules, not chips, being installed, what I don't want is a tech disassembling my brand new vehicle and scratching/breaking tabs of the interior plastics to install a module.

If given the option, I would wait until I receive a complete vehicle that doesn't have to be taken apart again...

 

[jwoobs]

A friend told me recently that a now retired Ford employee told him this was already happening.

This used to happen even pre-Rona too, just not at this scale.

I wasn’t involved first hand but I think a specific type of chip was discontinued in some ABS modules. To continue to supply service parts they were yanking them out of junkyards.

 

[CowboyKid]

1. The cost to salvage and repurpose components would greatly exceed the cost of new components.
2. The long term reliability of the components would be highly suspect.
3. Chip designs are continuously evolving so it is unlikely chips would be of the same design if they were more than 2-5 years old.
4. You cannot pop-in a different design chip in a circuit board location designed for a different part (like trying to insert a 24 pin device into a 16 pin slot). Next, you would have to rewrite and retest all the software and all the associated vehicle systems.
5. The class action lawyers would be lining up to sue the auto manufacturer of building "new" vehicles with "old" components.

Don't confuse traditional auto manufactures with Tesla, they had an agile design and company infrastructure that allowed them to use different, NEW chips.

OKEE DOKEE. Pretty much what I suspected, but ignorance is bliss and I was hopeful.

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