SSDs, or solid state drives, are fast, powerful, and changing the way your computer runs and stores files. Here at Kingston, our focus is making the industry\u2019s best and most reliable SSDs.
\nOur process starts with great design. In the Kingston Engineering Department, our engineers put together the designs for our award-winning SSDs. Kingston solid state drives come in form factors like the 2.5\u201d SATA and M.2 PCIe NVMe among others. When the SSD design is complete, it\u2019s sent to the Prototype PCB Assembly stage.<\/p>\n
The PCBA prototype then goes through various design validations, compatibility testing, and reliability assessment. During compatibility testing, the SSD is put in real-world environments with specific motherboards, systems, or classes of systems it\u2019s designed to support. After compatibility testing, the design hardware and software are then released to mass production for assembly, testing and packaging. Kingston has 59 manufacturing lines worldwide, and can produce hundreds of millions of products a year. Our production process features thorough testing through a multi-stage regimen. The first stage of this process is Incoming Quality Control (IQC). Kingston sources the raw materials necessary for building its storage products from the world\u2019s leading suppliers.
\nNext is the Material Kitting stage. Necessary components are loaded onto the line to get ready for assembly. Then comes the most crucial manufacturing stage: Surface-Mount Technology (SMT). SMT lines are the beating heart of the Kingston manufacturing process, assembling thousands of products an hour. With the components loaded, the first step in the SMT line is the screen printer. Here, solder paste is spread over a stencil of the approved SSD design, which transfers it onto the circuit board. The boards then pass through an Automated Optical Inspection, or AOI station, where they\u2019re examined for solder placement. Once this is done, surface mounting for passive components like resistors and capacitors proceeds, followed by Controller, DRAM, and NAND. Then they pass through the Reflow Oven. Components are subjected to temperature cycles designed to cue the solder paste, based on the specific product design. After Reflow, all products must undergo a final inspection.<\/p>\n
With surface-mounting complete, the SSDs are ready for Labeling. SSD panels are put through an automated labeling system that can adhere up to 1000 labels an hour. Labels don\u2019t only tag the product part number, but include security features to help identify genuine Kingston products. After Labeling, the SSD modules are ready for Depaneling. Many of our products are initially constructed on large sheets of circuit board. At this point they are separated, depaneled, into individual drives.
\nNow SSDs are ready for testing. Kingston is proud of developing one of the industry\u2019s most advanced testing processes, with unique test environments and 29 patents. All our SSDs must pass every step in our rigorous multi-tiered testing system to leave the factory. The MST test, which puts the flash memory through stress testing, is sandwiched by two rounds of function testing. If a single bad flash-die is identified, that drive is considered defective, and will not proceed.
\nWith these rounds of testing complete, 2.5\u201d SSDs undergo case assembly. M.2 SSDs skip to the next step, not needing case assembly. When the SSD is built, it goes through another round of Labeling and QC Testing. SSDs are checked for quality control and device info. This is followed by a visual inspection, then the drive goes to QA Gate for a final function test.
\nAfter testing is completed, Kingston\u2019s SSDs are finally ready for distribution. They\u2019re sent to the Packing Department to be packaged, processed, and shipped out to distributors, retailers, etailers, and customers worldwide.<\/p>\n
Kingston manufactures millions of solid state drives every year. We fulfill contract manufacturing for the world\u2019s largest PC and server manufacturers, as well as the world\u2019s largest data centers. Our manufacturing process is best-in-class, and our rigorous testing program makes us truly remarkable in the industry. From the quality components we use in our SSDs, to the stringent testing processes we employ, Kingston ensures the products and services we provide our customers are world-beating. <\/p>\n