info-mac@uw-beaver (info-mac) (12/04/84)
From: "Barry Hunter"@upenn-graphics!, To: Tom Cheng, c/o Hunter%upenn-graphics%upenn.csnet@csnet-relay Forwarded to Info-Mac. >> Subject: Macintosh Production? >> >> Does anybody out there have information on Apple's >> production methodology for the Mac? I know they use the >> Japanese system of just-in-time inventory, but I need more >> info. I vaguely recall an article in BYTE on the subject, >> but I can't seem to find specific dates and/or issue >> numbers. Much thanks in advance for any help. Although a few BYTE editors have toured Apple Computer's Macintosh Factory in Fremont, California, BYTE magazine has not to date published any detailed description of the methods used to assemble Macintoshes. You may be thinking of t(e)article "MacFactory! Apple's Highest-Tech Assembler" by David Durkee, which appeared in the February 1984 issue of \Softalk/, pages 130 through 136. The Durkee article, apparently written during November or December 1983, tells what the Platonic ideal of a Macintosh factory would be like. At the time I viewed the facility (March 1984), not all the processes decscribed had been put into place--for instance, the Macs' analog boards were not being assembled on the site, and the automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) were not running. The factory was later closed to outsiders. In the absence of further data, I assume that Apple's manufacturing engineers have been improving the factory and continuing to implement the planned automation. Another article has appeared in December 1984 issue of \IEEE Spectrum/, which arrived today. "Design Case History: Apple's Macintosh" by Fred Guterl (pages 34 through 43) appears to discuss w3the Macintosh factory as well as the design itself, although I have not had time to read the article in detail. .........Richard S. Shuford, Special Projects Editor, BYTE