Olin repair center
This project is in pre-alpha and still under development. It has not completely launched yet and many details are still being worked out, so information on this page is subject to rapid change. Keep this in mind as you read.
Introduction
This is a Repair center beta test run by the Olin university chapter (main contact person is Nikki Lee). The initial brainstorming for the Olin repair center can be found at Olin university chapter/Repair center. This pilot is being run loosely in conjunction with 1cc.
The Olin repair center will serve as a repair center pilot program, exploring various ways of doing things in order to provide recommendations to future repair centers.
Goals
- to serve as a pilot repair center, testing new ideas for other repair centers
- to create useful documentation on XO repairs
- to help with the development of a Field Repair Guide
- to help repair laptops for 1CC
- to give Olin students valuable engineering experience
- to have fun
The current plan of action is to deal primarily with RMAed machines, as this saves Olin from dealing with potentially complicated financial issues (shipping, billing, paying for parts, etc.). Parts will be obtained from 1CC, and laptops/parts can be delivered by hand and exchanged during office hours.
Things we do
Laptop testing
One suggestion has been to create a "distributed laptop" mockup, where a laptop is disassembled and laid out so that all of the major components (motherboard, antennae, keyboard, screen, touchpad, etc.) are easily accessible and can be swapped easily. This would allow testing of specific parts in any XOs that we cannot run hardware diagnostics on (such as nonbooting laptops) by simply plugging them into the system and running diagnostics. This would allow for easy identification of faulty parts that can be done quickly by one or two people.
Laptop repairs
(links to documentation will be posted once we have decided where this should be kept)
Laptop tracking
Ideas, brainstorming, testing, and reviews for laptop tracking methods will be posted here as generated. The current "XO monger", Greg Marra, has been tracking laptops on campus by hand. However, repair center operations necessitate more thorough tracking, implementing some sort of tracking database.
Tracking team members:
RT
status: in progress
Pros:
- tracking system that has been used before
- some people are already familiar with it
- customizable
Cons:
- default interface is overwhelming, and highly non-intuitive
Trac
status: running, but only visible on Olin's network
Pros:
- fairly easy to use
- customizable; lots of existing plugins
Bugzilla
status: running, but only visible on Olin's network
Pros:
- easy to install
Tools
We have a number of tools that the repair center can use in its operations. In some cases, external people who want to use these tools to work on their own XOs may be able to work out arrangements; contact Nikki Lee to discuss possibilities. We have 24/7 access to all the tools listed here.
Tools we have
- A materials science lab with scanning electron microscope, impact tester, ovens, and other monitoring equipment.
- An electronics lab with high-end oscilloscopes, signal and spectrum analyzers, fabrication tools ranging from pliers and breadboards to a CNC PCB mill and a small oven for reflow soldering of surface-mount pieces, and and a wide range of components.
- A machine shop with lathes, drills, mills, laser cutter, water-jet cutter, welding station, CNC machines, and a rapid prototyper (This is not open 24/7 and access is somewhat more difficult for students to get, as training is required before using all of these machines).
- An experimental computer lab (the "Advanced Computing Lab," or ACL) where virtual (Xen) machines are available for server and software experimentation.
- A number of XOs of our own - see Olin university chapter for a look at our current inventory.
Tools wanted
- Broken XOs (MP preferred) and components
Getting involved
This project is a collaboratively organized undertaking. If you are interested in helping, please let us know - contact Nikki Lee. People with IT/tech-support experience in the Boston area are particularly welcome.
If you want help with your part of this project, you can post specific tasks below. Please detail what kind of help you are looking for here, a timeframe or expiration date for the posting, along with contact information or how people who are interested should get involved.
Improve this page!
We are looking for volunteers to help improve this project page and keep it up to date. If you see how you can make something more coherent or organized, please jump in and edit; if there's a resource you think would be useful to this project, please add it. If there's something about the project itself you have ideas about, you can add it to this page directly, or start a discussion on the talk page. You do not need to contact anyone about this job - just do it! This posting never expires.
Agreement forms
We need to draft a number of simple forms for collecting information from XO owners who want their laptop repaired - a standard "ticket" to note down descriptions of the problem as well as an informal contract for performing services. Mel Chua is also working on drafting agreements between OLPC and repair centers, but could use help. Contact Mel if you'd like to pitch in. The repair center "forms" need to undergo review by OLPC staff at 1cc before being posted to this wiki.
Feedback
We need lots of feedback on this project, particularly of the constructive sort. Leave your notes on the talk page or contact Nikki Lee with comments and suggestions you might have on anything related to this project.
Tool suggestions
We're looking for tools - both physical and software - for fielding questions, repairing laptops, and keeping track of those we do repair. If you know of a good tool or a good source of tools for anything that might be useful for an XO repair center, please let us know by adding your thoughts to the tools section of this page. We prefer using free and open-source tools, and hope to get as much equipment as possible donated.
Test suggestions
Let us know what things you'd like us to try out or pilot. If there is something that you think would be useful for repair centers to already have, or a system you'd like to try in a real-world situation to see how it handles the task, we can try to do it - for example: testing out tracking methods. Add your ideas to the talk page.
Milestones
Upcoming
If you have an upcoming event (meeting, hackathon, etc.) related to this project, please list it here along with details of how to participate. Once an event is over, please move it to the Past Events section, below.
Past
Activities related to this project that have already occurred, for archival purposes.
- 2/10/08 - first broken XOs received
- 2/18/08 - broken XOs tested, opened up
