Salutica Allied Solution Internship

Salutica Allied Solution - is a one stop manufacturing company. Before that, it was known as the Balda Solution Sdn Bhd. This company mainly focus on bluetooth electronics devices. There are many products produced by Salutica, mainly Sony Ericson mobile phones, Canon Digital Camera and Compact Camera, Nokia mobile phones and to site a few. Nowadays, Salutica mainly focus on many type bluetooth earphones produced by Salutica.

Salutica mainly using manpower for assembly. However, it also has a large area containing high tech machineries. It has the various type of molding machines, milling machines, drilling machines and laser cutting machines. It even has a 3D printer specialize for R&D purpose and some other high precision scanning machines or Scanning Electron Microscopes. Salutica event has bought a millions ringgit Nano-Machines in early year 2014 to produce nano-coating for water-resistance electronic devices which are popular nowadays. Through this machines, many sport earphones can be produced to prevent sweat from damaging the devices circuit or battery.  

People – All the staff working at Salutica Allied Solution are very nice. They are willing to teach junior like me anything about production. I was led by two friendly staff to have a trip around the company on my first day to have a view on the environment, product and facilities.  Many of the staff are very experience and some have work here more than 10 years. The HR department and Pay roll department are friendly and willing to answer any questions about my jobs.  Even my bosses are good to me and willing to correct me on any mistake and teach me patiently.

Products – There are many products produced by Balda Solution before my joining into this company. They include Sony Ericson W580, Canon Digital Camera, Nokia phones, Bluetooth Earphones and to name a few. During my internship, Salutica is producing mainly Sony and Plantronics products. Fobo also included. Fobo also upgrade into Fobo MAX, Fobo TIRE (measuring tire pressure and send notifications to your smartphone) and more. Every products here are given a special production name. Internship - Here is my experience after a three-and-a-half-month training internship during my second-year holiday. I was first placed in the Research and Development Department (R&D) also named as the Product Development Department in Salutica Allied Solution.  Normally, other tech or engineering companies would not allow trainees or fresh graduates to join the R&D group of a company unless you got years of working experience or performance.  I was so surprise and happy to be able to enter the R&D group. This was like a dream come true as I like product-designing.  This was the chance for me to learn about the early production process like the designing the product surface and the type of materials to be used for a product. During my internship, I learned about the ProE Wildfire 4.0 drawing software.

Neonode Smallest Phone

Sony Ericsson W580 

There are many designers in this department. From molding designers and product designers to tools designers and circuit designers, all seating at the same office quietly doing their jobs.  Even the apps developers and software designers seat in the R&D corner. There are many products’ prototype on their desk. Their even got a research lab for the designers. It was fantastic to me.

Unluckily, during my pre-internship in the R&D department from January to April 2014, there was no new product that require designing. Thus most designers are modifying the current product in order to solve some production issues. By the way, I was placed in the mechanical designers department.  On my first day of internship, two friendly staffs lead me for a trip to every corner in this engineering company. One of them is my very senior from Sam Tet secondary school. Through the tour around the company, I found that there are many departments in this company. For example, R&D, financial, management, assembly, mass production, packaging, circuit assembly, precision department. 

During my first month internship in R&D, I was led by a staff to help him in solving the jig problem for a Sony Bluetooth In-Ear Earphone. Through him, I learn that even a jig to hold the device during the gluing process need high precision. Even a single “mm” need to be achieved to prevent gap during the product assembly. This is to provide a good finished product to consumers.

Jig used to hold on the Sony Bluetooth Earphone

Sony Bluetooth Earphone

On my second month of internship, I was transfer to the assembly department to have some training. After some learning on the early development process of a product, I get the chance to touch on the second process which is the assembly or the production process. In this company, most of the assembly processes are done by human [operator]. Most of the operators came from Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and Cambodia. However, there are local operators too.

During my internship at Salutica Allied Solution, I get to know about 5 products, namely Sony Bluetooth Earphones, Plantronics Montrose (Backbeat Go) Earphone, Plantronics Backbeat Fit sport earphones, Fobo, and Fobo Max (new version of Fobo). Fobo is a useful, productive Bluetooth product that link with your smartphones to help you in different ways. (Attached image below is the Fobo Tag). Fobo is created, designed and produce by Salutica Allied Solution itself.

Fobo Tags

During my second month internship at Salutica, I mainly touch on the Plantronics Backbeat Fit bluetooth earphones. What I get here was truly fantastic. My boss gave me a chance to serve as a true manufacturing engineers. I get the chance to solve the production issues, modifying tools to make production easier and even repair the earphones. However, in order to have a better understanding about the product, I start learning the process step by step like an operator. Of course, most of the operators are friendly and helpful. They teaches me all the process from battery frame assembly, nano-coating, modules assembly, PCB assembly, to name a few. Basically, I get the hands-on I wished for as a future engineers. Through the assembly process, I get the chance to solder again after my last solder at Form 3 which is about 5 years ago. Basically, I hold the solder pen more than a pen during my whole internship period.

Honestly, its facility here (machines) is in large scale and ‘wholesome’ for production. It would not be the bottle neck for a production line. Besides, internship here provides variety hands-on and it is more than a university can provide to you.

On my service at the assembly department, I get to know two more staff. One of them are fresh graduate and the other is also an intern from MMU. Btw, I am from Universiti Teknologi Petronas. By the present of them, my working turn out to be enjoying and happy. I am working as an engineer, facilitator, operator and repairer in the assembly department. This is because I am asked to do anything from repairing devices, figuring out solution for production problems and light installing to production line table arranging. But I am happy to do as asked. I am learning everything during the process although some are tiring until I sleep as soon as I go back home.

Furthermore, I get to know that the company also bought a Samsung Galaxy S5 for the research software team for bluetooth compatibility testing for the Fobo project. This is interesting and fun to have some review on the flagship phone.
 
 Some of the pictures are obtained from google.com..........sorry ya.