WEBVTT

00:00:01.839 --> 00:00:08.960
tech tips viewers we are coming to you live from japan

00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:12.880
not live live in fact by the time you're watching this i'll not only have come

00:00:11.200 --> 00:00:17.359
back from japan but also traveled somewhere else and probably be back from

00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:19.039
there too so not live but definitely

00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:24.560
from japan i can prove it look that's japan and we're wearing these robes so clearly

00:00:21.840 --> 00:00:29.279
we're not lying and today we did something pretty exciting courtesy of

00:00:26.400 --> 00:00:33.600
logitech we got to tour the omron factory

00:00:30.400 --> 00:00:36.800
right here in japan where they make the

00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:40.480
roamer g switches in logitech's g910

00:00:36.800 --> 00:00:42.800
orion spark keyboard and it was

00:00:40.480 --> 00:00:48.000
actually a lot more interesting than i thought it would be it was kind of

00:00:44.480 --> 00:00:48.000
awesome stay tuned

00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:59.920
so the tour kind of began in the lobby and what i didn't actually know when we

00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:04.640
showed up was that omron actually makes a ton of different types of switches so

00:01:02.239 --> 00:01:08.159
automotive factory automation and then kind of what we're mainly interested the

00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:11.920
more consumer side of things i thought they just made like mouse switches and

00:01:10.479 --> 00:01:16.880
and not even then they have a whole bunch of different categories for the types of switches that they have with

00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:23.200
these little delightful characters so they have rocker tactile miniature

00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:25.840
special sub mini and ultra mini and they

00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:30.080
all have their own little like i think rocker's the cutest one well

00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:32.960
probably she kind of looks like a pirate except i think that's just supposed to

00:01:31.520 --> 00:01:37.360
be an eye yes yeah so not really pirate but either way

00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:41.759
they're they're supposed to be superhero characters and i i think that's actually

00:01:39.119 --> 00:01:47.360
pretty awesome so next up actually right next to the lobby was the Labs which we

00:01:44.479 --> 00:01:52.399
creatively called lab one and lab two that two it's amazing uh so lab one we

00:01:50.880 --> 00:01:56.720
didn't look at too much that's where they do uh rojas which is like basically

00:01:54.960 --> 00:02:01.040
keeping hazardous stuff out of the products apparently very important uh

00:01:59.119 --> 00:02:06.000
validation as well as new material development and then lab two which was

00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:09.840
where all the super crazy bananas stuff that we somewhat recognized was and was

00:02:08.239 --> 00:02:14.080
the only one that actually had anyone in it today although it was one person

00:02:12.720 --> 00:02:18.400
sitting at the scanning electron microscope looking at one thing so

00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:22.160
apparently nothing failed that day no they have a ton of a crazy expensive

00:02:20.160 --> 00:02:26.319
machinery in here including multiple electron microscopes like you just said

00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:30.640
x-ray machines all this kind of stuff one of them was 50 million yen another

00:02:28.720 --> 00:02:37.360
one was 10 million yen and the total cost of that whole lab just lab 2 was 15

00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:41.519
million us dollars just in case just in case something dies and you need

00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:45.680
to know exactly why down to

00:02:42.640 --> 00:02:47.840
the tiny tiny

00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:53.519
sub microscopic scale the 15 million just in case lab

00:02:50.720 --> 00:02:56.560
so then we had the meeting where everyone introduced themselves

00:02:55.440 --> 00:03:00.640
twice very formal very formal we watched a

00:02:58.480 --> 00:03:05.200
video it was an excellent video and ensures products of consistent

00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:10.959
quality other products for factory automation and industrial applications

00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:15.360
represent approximately good video omron very good video omron next time you want

00:03:13.200 --> 00:03:18.319
to make a video come talk to us come talk to us first we can help you out a

00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:23.519
little bit we'll sort that out for you guys and then it was finally time to get

00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:30.239
suited up i think the best part of this for me was a that they even had

00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:32.000
yes official omron branded like kimonos

00:03:30.239 --> 00:03:34.959
and then the second best part for me was when luke tried to put on the

00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:38.720
one-size-fits-all for japanese people slippers before we

00:03:37.440 --> 00:03:42.000
went into the lab that didn't really work out also my kimono was really short

00:03:40.799 --> 00:03:49.440
priceless flood kimono just in case there's a tsunami you're ready for it i'm oh

00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:52.799
okay we're going there

00:03:51.440 --> 00:03:56.879
wow once we're inside the factory i was

00:03:54.480 --> 00:04:01.760
actually blown away by how loud it was there was a lot going on so

00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:04.159
much stuff happening all the machines are running like some factories you'll

00:04:03.040 --> 00:04:12.000
enter and it's like oh they're only running two or three lines right now it's like nope onron is 100 all the time

00:04:08.480 --> 00:04:14.000
it's crazy so we made our way to the

00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:19.519
very first step in the manufacture of a roamer g-switch where they had like a

00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:23.680
metal big metal spool feeding into a machine

00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:26.720
um that would then split it in two and

00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:28.400
then punch out the like main design

00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:32.080
yeah and then from there it actually goes on to a new reel that then gets

00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:36.880
carried somewhere else in the factory so that's like some cutting edge technology

00:04:34.320 --> 00:04:40.240
real to real that's a joke

00:04:38.880 --> 00:04:46.479
so the next station is where things actually got pretty interesting and i started learning things i did not know

00:04:43.919 --> 00:04:50.720
about romer g switches so there's a couple machines here and at the first

00:04:48.960 --> 00:04:57.520
sort of functional station in the first one it basically places a little like

00:04:54.800 --> 00:05:00.560
super tiny wire the second station actually checks to make sure that it's

00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:05.520
there that's probably a good thing the third one forms it and tries to get it

00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:08.800
within tolerances and then the fourth one checks again but

00:05:07.280 --> 00:05:14.080
with imagery to make sure that it's exactly all laid out how it should be

00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:15.840
and then there's a second machine

00:05:14.080 --> 00:05:19.759
and that entire machine's job is to put another entire set

00:05:17.520 --> 00:05:24.639
of these contact points on which is something i didn't realize

00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:28.160
about romer g switches all switches will have a contact point but like we just

00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:31.840
said there's two sets on this one so if you happen to get dust or some other

00:05:30.320 --> 00:05:34.800
type of material on one of the contact points causing it to fail the other one

00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:39.840
could still work and you wouldn't even notice that there's anything wrong with your keyboard so there's a redundant

00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:43.199
actual actual actuation which

00:05:41.919 --> 00:05:47.919
a few things that you were pointing out which is the differences between japanese manufacturing and german yeah

00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:52.320
because we've seen a few factories now two german ones and one japanese and

00:05:49.919 --> 00:05:55.759
there's no doubt that the germans and the japanese are the most likely of

00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:00.560
anyone in the world to let us see their factory because they're clean they're

00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:03.840
efficient they're organized and they're world-renowned for being great

00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:09.199
manufacturers but we noticed a fundamentally different philosophy

00:06:06.880 --> 00:06:14.240
the germans on the one hand are like kind of measure 50 times make sure it's

00:06:11.840 --> 00:06:17.120
absolutely perfect cut once yeah and you look at the cherry mx switch there's

00:06:15.520 --> 00:06:23.520
only one point of failure but the things don't die yeah whereas the roamer

00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:27.440
g-switch in omron i mean maybe

00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:31.680
and maybe they do but maybe they kind of accept that

00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:36.240
one of those contact points could fail possibly possibly it could but hey if it

00:06:34.400 --> 00:06:39.600
does well there's two so we built that redundant scene for you and another

00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:44.800
thing i learned about romer g's at this station is this is a freaking expensive

00:06:41.919 --> 00:06:49.440
switch the amount of metal in that thing unreal

00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:54.240
another real joke but when they let us into a completely

00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:56.720
different building for the next thing that's what we knew

00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:04.639
was getting real that's another real

00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:08.080
okay anyways the first station it pulls those contacts that we were just working

00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:11.520
with downwards cleans them up a little bit and i was fascinated by that yeah

00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:16.800
you were and then we saw the most innovative human machine

00:07:13.919 --> 00:07:20.720
i've ever seen ever i didn't realize that every romer g switch is literally

00:07:19.039 --> 00:07:24.720
made by people standing next to each other moving them along the production line

00:07:23.039 --> 00:07:29.039
until they're finally blown into the little trays for delivery to logitech by

00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:32.560
yours truly bet you didn't know that either actually that's a bad joke too

00:07:30.960 --> 00:07:36.400
there's a real machine behind all the people that yeah every roamer g-switch

00:07:34.479 --> 00:07:41.759
does not come with some Linus dna you're fine this is legitimately the coolest

00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:44.960
piece of manufacturing equipment i have yet

00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:49.599
seen this thing is balls to the walls bananas and there's two full lineups of

00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:53.680
them so station number one of this monster takes all that metal from before

00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:56.639
that frankly i was wondering how they get all that innocent yeah i was pretty

00:07:55.440 --> 00:08:02.240
worried about that uh so takes all that before cuts it and

00:07:59.280 --> 00:08:06.000
then positions the folded cut pieces vertically a real space saver next up

00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:09.919
those pieces aren't actually aligned properly so it turns it and then kind of

00:08:08.080 --> 00:08:14.879
mushes them together for that awesome redundancy that these switches have next

00:08:12.479 --> 00:08:20.240
that whole thing gets picked up and then placed into the housing that is fed via

00:08:17.520 --> 00:08:23.599
a hopper system from the back with like vibration

00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:27.440
feeding and then like an automated orientation checking thing that's

00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:30.639
actually pretty cool pretty ridiculous next up was lubrication so there's

00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:34.959
actually the lubrication station there's actually

00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:39.839
three different lubrication drops you are the lubrication officer and that is

00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:44.480
where it gets a lot of its 70 million key press validation from is this

00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:49.519
lubrication will last that entire time so after a quick qc stage not the final

00:08:46.880 --> 00:08:55.200
one by any means at all we get to see the little rod that aids light

00:08:51.760 --> 00:08:57.519
transmission added to the switch so

00:08:55.200 --> 00:09:02.640
what's so special about the romer g is that the led actually shines up from the

00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:04.560
middle through this uh light dispersing

00:09:02.640 --> 00:09:08.880
rod and then evenly illuminates the entire top of the key switch a big

00:09:06.560 --> 00:09:12.880
advantage over other mechanical keyswitches in the market which are only

00:09:10.880 --> 00:09:16.880
able to effectively illuminate about half of the switch making them a little

00:09:14.640 --> 00:09:21.279
less a little less even looking for lack of a better word

00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:25.360
next up is where we get a lot of the feel of the switch from so at first we

00:09:23.839 --> 00:09:29.440
add the spring which just kind of gets placed there and then immediately

00:09:26.959 --> 00:09:33.200
afterwards they have the two blue and white pieces fed from hoppers in the

00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:37.440
back and then placed together kind of behind the main assembly line and then

00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:41.920
those two pieces go on top of the spring compressing it all the way down and that

00:09:39.760 --> 00:09:46.399
blue piece is just kind of the top uh housing of the switch then the white

00:09:43.920 --> 00:09:49.519
piece is actually a large plunger this is again where you get a lot of the feel

00:09:47.920 --> 00:09:53.519
from of a roamer g after the top and bottom housing are

00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:58.480
clamped together it's time for the final qc check the switch is pretty much done

00:09:56.399 --> 00:10:02.880
so it's grabbed and then it moves through a number of stations so at the

00:10:00.800 --> 00:10:07.600
first one it's uh warmed up if you know what i mean

00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:12.800
and at the second one it goes through an electronic validation of how the switch

00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:20.720
press feels to an electronic ARM then it goes

00:10:16.880 --> 00:10:23.680
into a like a laser engraving slash

00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:28.240
photo validation chamber and if it passes the validation it gets a laser

00:10:26.079 --> 00:10:34.000
etching on the side of the part number and the manufacturing date where it is

00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:39.680
finally taken off the qc carousel dropped onto an assembly line

00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:45.440
belt and then blasted actually it's awesome i love the little air blast

00:10:41.680 --> 00:10:47.760
blasted by air into the correct tray

00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:52.320
inside one of the bins for eventual delivery to logitech

00:10:50.959 --> 00:10:56.399
what a cool cool piece of machinery definitely one

00:10:54.640 --> 00:10:59.839
of the best automated assembly lines i've ever seen

00:10:57.680 --> 00:11:03.600
we haven't seen that many that's true for those of you wondering what happens

00:11:01.839 --> 00:11:09.040
to those switches that didn't make it to the conveyor belt of epic awesome win

00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:13.519
well they are validated as failed and then pulled off the line immediately and

00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:16.640
sorted by why they failed so if there's a main reason why a whole bunch of

00:11:15.040 --> 00:11:20.399
switches are failing they'll know exactly what's going on they can take

00:11:18.079 --> 00:11:26.480
those back to the lab they also don't get a laser engraving at all so if your

00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:30.959
keyboard for some reason had no laser markings on the bottom it's made out of

00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:34.640
failed switches that someone somehow managed to obtain from a dumpster behind

00:11:32.880 --> 00:11:38.160
omron and you should probably get that checked out yeah

00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:42.320
speaking of checking out we're checking out and so uh the only folks left to

00:11:40.560 --> 00:11:47.040
talk to you are actually some pretty important guys that we met here from

00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:50.480
both logitech and omron who want to talk about a little bit more behind the

00:11:48.800 --> 00:11:56.160
scenes what exactly got into their heads when

00:11:52.800 --> 00:11:58.640
they went oh yeah well let's just take

00:11:56.160 --> 00:12:02.720
gaming mechanical key switches and completely reinvent them

00:12:00.560 --> 00:12:07.279
which i actually discussed quite deeply with one of them while naked in a hot

00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:11.040
spring did you really i did that's hot

00:12:07.279 --> 00:12:12.800
it is it was

00:12:11.040 --> 00:12:17.360
so logitech was looking at the market and we saw that there wasn't a

00:12:15.680 --> 00:12:22.560
mechanical switch that was built specifically for a gaming application

00:12:19.920 --> 00:12:27.279
omron is well known throughout the world for building mechanical switches so that

00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:30.639
seemed like a natural partner to build a gaming switch from the ground up

00:12:35.680 --> 00:12:38.680
here

00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:48.079
the this project took us about the two and two and a half or three years to

00:12:45.680 --> 00:12:53.360
finish the adjective tool for building the aromagy switches is for

00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:55.839
live longer move faster and much

00:12:53.360 --> 00:13:00.880
brighter than the one we have today the actuation distance went to 1.5

00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:04.480
millimeters instead of two it gives you an advantage within the context of a

00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:08.480
game to do your action much more quickly than your opponent we increased the

00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:12.000
durability by 40 over a standard mechanical switch that's out on the

00:13:09.680 --> 00:13:16.240
market today up to 70 million activations and in regards to

00:13:13.760 --> 00:13:20.880
reliability there are two activation points so as you're pushing down even if

00:13:18.800 --> 00:13:26.560
one fouls the other one will continue activation so there's no risk of a a

00:13:23.040 --> 00:13:26.560
lost action in a gaming environment

00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:48.839
my