Over the Rogue River and through the woods...

About 20 minutes outside of Grants Pass, over hills, and through the woods there is a place where clever and friendly people are making very cool toys. No, I'm not referring to Santa. I finally made my way out to the Alltrax Manufacturing Plant!

I could have easily passed it. There isn't a big sign or even a paved drive, but the address was correct. As an employee passed me carrying a multi-colored umbrella, I drove down towards three buildings into a clearing and saw all sorts of golf-carts. Between the barrels of used electronic parts and various odds and ends, I knew I had the right place.

It was after closing-time so I knew I'd have to snoop around a bit to find someone to talk to. I stepped out of my jeep and looked around. Alltrax is surrounded by evergreen trees and rolling hills. Even under the clouds and rain, I could tell that it was an unusually beautiful place for a manufacturer to nestle into.

Richard Csuk approached me and welcomed me to the facility. He was a well-spoken individual with a cheerful disposition. After we made our introductions, I grabbed my grocery bag full of Caldera beers and we entered the main production building. Richard walked away to turn on the lights. While he did that, I turned around to face the doorway and started to feel like I had stood there before. Whenever I feel deja-vu, I tell myself that I must be right where I am meant to be.

When the lights came on, I was instantly in awe of the various machines, tools, and gizmos. Rich walked me through the entire production process.

The main boards first run through a robot that attaches various components to it. Then more parts are manually added by the Alltrax experts. After that, the boards are rinsed in a special solution and soldered by a machine that looks like a motorized pizza oven.

This automated soldering machine has a fountain of hot solder that the boards pass over. Rich refered to it as, "...like [a metal version of] a chocolate fountain." Once the machine was on, I enjoyed watching the solder cycle as it formed a flat and reflective surface. It looked cool... Images from the movie Terminator 2 slid across my eyes.

At this point, Mr. Csuk and I cracked open a few Ashland Ambers from the Caldera brewing company. He continued to walk me through the production process which involved trimming, more attaching and the addition of the Alltrax-blue heatsink. In the midst of this process, the boards are put through a customized set of dishwashers and clothing dryers. This removes contaminants and prepares the main-board for the final steps of their assembly process. "Yes, electronics can be washed," stated Rich as he pointed out a box of Cascade brand dish-washing detergent.

By hand, Each controller is run through a custom-built testing station before it leaves the facility. Controllers that fail a test are repaired and re-checked until they function to standard.

The rest of the night got a little blurry, but I got the oppurtunity to meet one of the founders of Alltrax, Damon Crockett. At that point I took a lot of notes and tried to follow the tech-talk as best as I could. Rich & Damon shared lots of important ratios, safety facts, and building techniques that all electric creators should use. They were very honest about their experiences with their work. When I'm further along in this project, I can't wait to visit them again and meet more of the Alltrax staff. Hopefully, they found the beers we left in the fridge...


Thoughts for the future:

• I'd like to go back to Alltrax during their hours of operation. It would be fun for me to see their production-line in action and visit with their crew.
• From the Alltrax experience, I want to find some of my best technical notes to share on this blog.