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Manufacturing

FireBoard Brings Up New Manufacturing Line

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Ted Conrad / 9 Comments

During a cool spring morning in March, the first Belger Cartage truck pulled up to our new location with the first delivery of equipment.  Carefully backing up to the dock, the workers started to unload each of our new machines.  This was an exciting moment for us as the idea of bringing our own manufacturing in-house was quickly becoming a reality.

Since that March morning, we’ve not only become proficient at running our production line but we’ve been working on fine tuning our factory operations and making our process more streamlined.  Our story here is a brief overview as to how, when and why we decided to setup our own PCB assembly line.

In the world of electronics, most circuit boards are now fabricated and assembled overseas. (For reference, the assembly is the actual placement and soldering of components onto the circuit board, typically called a surface mount assembly line). At FireBoard, we have strived to build a more vertically integrated company and thus do most of our design work in-house. Since we started in 2015, we have been designing our own hardware but used an outside contract manufacturer for electronics assembly.

Although to many, setting up a surface mount assembly line would be an unusual step, for us it felt like a logical step forward. Our team at FireBoard is focused on building powerful, innovative and helpful products to solve simple problems. Our use of technology to solve these problems requires a careful mix of well designed hardware coupled with elegant and robust software.

“We have a special passion for hardware, and this felt like a natural step for us”, said Steven Briggeman, co-founder of FireBoard. Our new facility located southwest of Downtown Kansas City allows us to literally make our own circuit boards, which has numerous benefits, including the following:

  • Reducing our lead-times from 8-weeks to 1-2 days
  • Having better quality control
  • The ability to rapidly build new prototypes
  • Reducing costs especially as our volumes increase
  • Refine the production and quality control process to keep our manufacturing operations efficient

With this in house expansion we’ve also expanded our workforce and created new opportunities for our employees.  This also speeds up our development cycle for future products and accessories.

Our main placement machine is a Juki RS-1 which theoretically could place up to 42,000 components per hour. For us, this means we can easily take care of our current production demands while having extra capacity as our volume increases. We paired this with a G-Titan Stencil Printer and a used BTU Pyromax 8-zone reflow oven. One word to anyone who is considering equipment purchases: we’ve been happy with the Juki machines and would definitely recommend them to others.

As we continue to refine our manufacturing process, we’ll try to keep our readers up to date with any helpful stories on this blog.

Any questions regarding our SMT line or manufacturing operations can be directed towards info@fireboard.com

Our first delivery of the new machines for the surface mount assembly line

 

Maneuvering the RS-1 in from the truck

 

Busy Move-In Day at FireBoard

 

FireBoard Labs Assembly Line: Juki G-Titan, Juki RS-1 and BTU Pyromax Oven

 

©Photograph by Christopher Payne

 

was last modified: October 29th, 2019 by Ted Conrad
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About Author

Ted Conrad

Ted Conrad

Ted worked in the investment industry for the first 14 years of his career, focusing on building expert systems and proprietary software to support investment strategies. Always tinkering and soldering with electronics in his spare time, FireBoard has brought together Ted’s passion for not only building businesses and software, but also building hardware to solve simple problems for everyday life.

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9 Comments

  • Dan Pidde

    September 29, 2020 - 11:51 am

    Congratulations Fireboard team. Vertical integration in the PCBA world definitely helps with quality, lead times, prototyping, among many other reasons. Just imagine if you had the board fab in house!

    Reply to comment
  • Dean Chrispen

    August 11, 2020 - 12:07 pm

    Just purchased the Fireboard 2 not only because it is a great product, I bought it because its made in the USA. Thank you for that!

    Reply to comment
  • Dean Johnson

    June 19, 2020 - 8:52 pm

    I will buy FireBoard not just because I am convinced I will like it but because it is made in America.

    Reply to comment
  • Reg Gosnell

    May 15, 2020 - 4:27 pm

    Kudos and high admiration to a company breaking the China chain! Make it right here and do it better than anyone!

    Reply to comment
  • Mike Czinege

    October 30, 2019 - 10:32 am

    Awesome news. It’s very encouraging that a local KC company is backward integrating into the manufacturing process. You are becoming the Weathertech of the thermometer world. I like to support local companies that are innovative with good products and will be buying a FireBoard thermometer for Christmas this year.
    Congratulations and thanks for the dedication to quality and local business.

    Reply to comment
  • Florian Weidhase

    October 30, 2019 - 2:11 am

    wow. That’s … pretty amazing. You’ve come a long way and I am happy to have been there for the journey.

    Reply to comment
  • Bob

    October 29, 2019 - 9:54 pm

    That’s pretty cool! What I really like is that your vertical integration means more American workers have job, and a future. The money spent in your facility changes hands probably 6-8 times right there in your town……….it’s a significant investment that pays off in your community! I own two of your fireboard units………and you can bet I’ll be a return customer.

    Reply to comment
  • Some Guy

    October 29, 2019 - 4:49 pm

    This is awesome guys. Thank you for bringing this work to America!

    Reply to comment
  • Wayne Bennett

    October 29, 2019 - 4:43 pm

    You guys rock!
    I bought a stand alone Fireboard with drive and use it for my large green egg. I recently upgraded my Yoder Pellet Smoker YS640 to the Fireboard ACS Controller and it was the best instructions I have ever read. All went very well and the Fireboard controller is by far the best controls for a smoker ever. The best controller and smoker on the market all made in USA!

    Reply to comment

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