Mikey-
Active Member
APT
Hey guys! Here is a post about the first factory I visited in China; APT displays in Tianjin. As a brief re-cap, I was paid by several companies to film their facilities and sort of introduce them as a provider for electric bike parts through electric bike review, and Blue Monkey Bicycles. The companies include APT displays, Shengyi Motor, Julet Connectors, EUNORAU bikes/kits, Kclamber Torque Sensors and finally Bafang Motors. I'll be posting here, as well as on the YouTube channel when a new video is released.
Unlike most places I visited, APT had their facilities in three different places; an office, an assembly facility, and electronic circuit board production. The first stop, assembly, was much more detailed than I expected. Starting from a circuit board, the workers used many magnifying glasses, gloves and protective equipment treating the unit as the sensitive electronic that it is. As the unit went down the line, it was tested several times before getting to the next important step. This is probably a cost saving measure as well. Further down the line, the unit was pulled into a dust free chamber, where a worker would mount the glass plate, ensuring a tight seal. After that the face components were installed: the buttons, the plastic case and the disposable screen. Immediately after, the unit is laser engraved with a serial number, and finally the unit is tested again before being put into a plastic bag, and sent away.
Before it gets to this point, it begins its life as a printed circuit board (PCB). In the other facility, empty PCBs are sent to APT for the electronic components to be mounted. The itty bitty electronic parts: resistors, diodes, capacitors and so on, are mounted by very precise machinery, which I learned is the same machinery used by Samsung Electronics. The board is first scrolled in adhesive paste, then the components are placed into position before going into yet another machine for precise heating to mount the pieces to the board. After this step, the last machine scans the new board and compares the scan to an operable template, looking for variance. With none, found, the unit is visibly scanned by an employee before being packaged and sent to the assembly facility, seen prior.
Lastly, we visited the office. In here there are designers, engineers, coders working along side of the shipping, sales, and accountants that keep the place going. At the office complex, I got to try out the finished displays on working bikes. Since I had to pack light, I didn't bring a helmet with me to China, and they didn't have one for me to use, so I stayed inside the business complex during the ride to avoid traffic. The displays were quite pretty, I really enjoy the full color read out; it's very fast to read and clear to understand. For a long time I've been using displays without full-color, so this first ride in awhile, in a new country with these pretty displays was quite novel.
The staff at APT was very professional and precise. Clearly, they can produce a great product, at a healthy scale for 10 years or so by now. I had a hunch that some of them were frustrated that they couldn't express deep or technical speech on account of a language barrier.
As a parts supplier, APT doesn't have much of a presence with the general public. But after reviewing this material, now you the reader can say, as an industry insider, that you know the company that produces displays for 400+ eBike companies around the world. The more time I spend digging into this side of the industry, the more I admire Tora Harris' description of an "eBike Family". It's tempting to forget the people on the other side of the world, working away making parts for bikes we enjoy. Having seen them myself, I appreciate the human element of eBike manufacturing, and hopefully bringing you along for the ride with these videos can do the same.
Hey guys! Here is a post about the first factory I visited in China; APT displays in Tianjin. As a brief re-cap, I was paid by several companies to film their facilities and sort of introduce them as a provider for electric bike parts through electric bike review, and Blue Monkey Bicycles. The companies include APT displays, Shengyi Motor, Julet Connectors, EUNORAU bikes/kits, Kclamber Torque Sensors and finally Bafang Motors. I'll be posting here, as well as on the YouTube channel when a new video is released.
Unlike most places I visited, APT had their facilities in three different places; an office, an assembly facility, and electronic circuit board production. The first stop, assembly, was much more detailed than I expected. Starting from a circuit board, the workers used many magnifying glasses, gloves and protective equipment treating the unit as the sensitive electronic that it is. As the unit went down the line, it was tested several times before getting to the next important step. This is probably a cost saving measure as well. Further down the line, the unit was pulled into a dust free chamber, where a worker would mount the glass plate, ensuring a tight seal. After that the face components were installed: the buttons, the plastic case and the disposable screen. Immediately after, the unit is laser engraved with a serial number, and finally the unit is tested again before being put into a plastic bag, and sent away.
Before it gets to this point, it begins its life as a printed circuit board (PCB). In the other facility, empty PCBs are sent to APT for the electronic components to be mounted. The itty bitty electronic parts: resistors, diodes, capacitors and so on, are mounted by very precise machinery, which I learned is the same machinery used by Samsung Electronics. The board is first scrolled in adhesive paste, then the components are placed into position before going into yet another machine for precise heating to mount the pieces to the board. After this step, the last machine scans the new board and compares the scan to an operable template, looking for variance. With none, found, the unit is visibly scanned by an employee before being packaged and sent to the assembly facility, seen prior.
Lastly, we visited the office. In here there are designers, engineers, coders working along side of the shipping, sales, and accountants that keep the place going. At the office complex, I got to try out the finished displays on working bikes. Since I had to pack light, I didn't bring a helmet with me to China, and they didn't have one for me to use, so I stayed inside the business complex during the ride to avoid traffic. The displays were quite pretty, I really enjoy the full color read out; it's very fast to read and clear to understand. For a long time I've been using displays without full-color, so this first ride in awhile, in a new country with these pretty displays was quite novel.
The staff at APT was very professional and precise. Clearly, they can produce a great product, at a healthy scale for 10 years or so by now. I had a hunch that some of them were frustrated that they couldn't express deep or technical speech on account of a language barrier.
As a parts supplier, APT doesn't have much of a presence with the general public. But after reviewing this material, now you the reader can say, as an industry insider, that you know the company that produces displays for 400+ eBike companies around the world. The more time I spend digging into this side of the industry, the more I admire Tora Harris' description of an "eBike Family". It's tempting to forget the people on the other side of the world, working away making parts for bikes we enjoy. Having seen them myself, I appreciate the human element of eBike manufacturing, and hopefully bringing you along for the ride with these videos can do the same.
