Wooting 80HE - Problems fixed

In our last update, we talked about the delivery of the 80HE being delayed because of a defect that showed up in 0,5% of all produced keyboards. This update is about how we fixed it.

Finding the problem

To find the problem, Jeroen, TY and Juli visited the factory to do some testing and prodding of the PCBA’s. Meanwhile in Germany, Rocky was testing and prodding his own PCBA’s.

Eventually we found the trigger event for the defect, but we couldn’t find the condition yet.

The trigger event

When the daughterboard, that’s connected to the mainboard in a particular way, is powered (by plugging in a USB-C cable) there is a small (0,5%) chance that the USB IC pins get damaged. When these pins are damaged, it permanently short circuits the keyboard.

Trial production‍

After we found the trigger event, we ran a trial production, changing certain processes so that the PCBA would not have a powered daughterboard while connecting. We produced 750 keyboards and found a total of 0 defects.

Reproducing the defect

We still had one problem. We couldn’t systematically reproduce the defect. No matter how hard we tried, we just couldn’t break the IC pins. We did however find out what the condition was under which the defect occurred.

ESD protection problem

When reviewing the whole production line of the PCBA, we found the problem in the ESD protection. The ESD wristband, ESD table and the computer were not in sync with each other. This exposed the whole environment, creating a chance of ESD damage.

JST connector problem

Another thing we found was all about the JST connector. A JST connector has 3 pins, each pin has its own function: one is for data, the other for grounding and one is for power. It’s important for these connectors that the grounding pin comes first. 

With a USB-C cable, it always connects the grounding pin first, simply because it’s a bit longer than the other pins. But a JST connector has 3 equally long pins, so which pin gets connected first depends on how you plug it in.

What does this mean for your 80HE?

Don’t worry, your 80HE will be just fine. One piece of advice though: Never power a device and always ground yourself when working on its electronics.

We are now retesting all assembled keyboards and modules to make sure there are 0 defects and we didn’t miss anything.

Delivery is delayed by approximately 6 weeks. You can check your new delivery date in the Wooting Hub.

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