Fantom drives are external hard drives and solid state drives manufactured by MicroNet Technology, a California-based company. Fantom drives are designed in the United States and primarily assembled in Taiwan and China.
Fantom drives have been around since 1995 when MicroNet Technology was founded in Simi Valley, California. For over 25 years, Fantom drives have been providing data storage solutions for consumers and businesses around the world.
As a hard drive and SSD manufacturer, MicroNet Technology focuses on storage innovation. They aim to provide high-quality, cutting edge products that offer reliability and performance. Their storage devices are assembled in ISO-certified factories and go through rigorous quality control testing.
While Fantom drives are designed in California, the actual manufacturing and assembly of the products takes place overseas in Taiwan and China. This allows MicroNet Technology to utilize the technology manufacturing infrastructure in Asia and keep costs lower than if everything was produced in the United States.
Product Design
The product design for Fantom drives happens at the MicroNet Technology headquarters in Simi Valley, California. Their engineering team conceptualizes new storage products based on the latest technology and consumer demands.
MicroNet has several patents related to storage device technology and industrial design. Their engineering team creates innovative product solutions to meet the data storage needs of customers whether it’s higher capacity drives, improved performance, or better reliability.
Some of the key things the MicroNet engineering team focuses on when designing new Fantom drives include:
- Incorporating the newest hard drive or SSD technology
- Finding ways to improve performance and speed
- Adding useful features like encryption or backup software
- Ensuring drives can withstand shock, vibration and extreme temperatures
- Coming up with eco-friendly, efficient power designs
- Creating sleek, modern enclosures
The Fantom brand prides itself on staying on the cutting edge. MicroNet is continually innovating and evolving their product line. They aim to bring new Fantom drives to market that provide better solutions for ever-growing storage needs.
Component Sourcing
While the engineering and product design happens in California, many components that go into Fantom drives are sourced from other places. The primary internal components include:
- Hard disk drives or solid state drives
- Controller board
- Cables and connectors
- Power supply
- Outer enclosure
The main storage media used in Fantom drives are hard disk drives from major manufacturers like Seagate, Toshiba, Western Digital and solid state drives from Samsung, Intel, Micron. These companies fabricate the NAND flash memory and integrated circuits used in SSDs.
The controller board is designed by MicroNet Engineering. It may be outsourced for manufacturing but the design architecture comes from their team.
Cables, connectors, enclosures and power supplies are sourced from vendors mainly in Taiwan, Japan and China. The advantage of utilizing suppliers in Asia is that they can produce these components at massive scale and very competitive pricing.
Manufacturing and Assembly
While the design process for Fantom drives is done in the United States, the actual assembly of the final products takes place overseas. MicroNet Technology leverages electronics manufacturing services companies or OEM/ODM partners primarily located in Taiwan and China.
Doing the manufacturing in Taiwan and China allows MicroNet Technology to take advantage of skilled labor pools, efficient supply chains and scaled production. Some of the key manufacturing and assembly steps include:
- Sourcing components like circuit boards, cables, power supplies and enclosures
- Loading firmware and testing controller board functionality
- Integrating and testing hard disk or solid state drives
- Assembling all components into enclosures
- Performing final testing and quality control
- Packaging finished products for distribution
MicroNet partners with reputable ISO-certified factories that follow strict standards for quality and working conditions. By leveraging these established electronics manufacturers, they can get Fantom products assembled efficiently while still closely overseeing the process.
Quality Control and Testing
While outsourcing manufacturing and assembly to Taiwan and China allows Fantom drives to be produced cost effectively, MicroNet still follows rigorous quality control processes.
All components used in Fantom products are sourced from trusted, audited vendors. The hard drives and SSDs are from top-tier brands known for reliability. All parts go through inspection before being used in assembly.
At the factories, the assembly process is meticulously controlled and documented. Each step is performed by workers trained in electronics manufacturing. The facilities utilize electrostatic control and other precautions to avoid contamination.
Finished products go through a battery of automated and manual testing. Fantom drives are stress tested for operation under different voltages, temperatures and vibration levels. Random sampling ensures drives meet strict performance benchmarks for speed and accuracy.
MicroNet Technology has dedicated staff in Asia that oversee production runs and enforce quality standards. Products only ship once they pass all required testing milestones. Extensive procedures are in place to catch and correct any defects before drives leave the factory.
Fantom Drives Product Line
Fantom Drives offers a diverse range of storage products and capacities. Some of their key product lines include:
- External Hard Drives: These portable drives connect via USB and range from 500GB to 18TB. There are models for Mac, Windows, Xbox, PS4 and other devices.
- External SSDs: Their solid state drives come in 250GB to 8TB capacities, deliver faster speeds and more durability.
- RAID Storage: For advanced users, they offer RAID external drives that can be configured for speed or redundancy.
- Network Attached Storage (NAS): Their NAS solutions allow central storage that can be accessed from anywhere on a network.
- Surveillance Drives: Optimized for constant writing, their surveillance HDDs support security camera systems.
Within each product line, there are different models with varying speeds, features and connectivity. Fantom caters to consumers, creative professionals, gaming enthusiasts, small businesses and enterprises. There is a storage solution for just about every need and budget.
| Product Line | Key Features |
|---|---|
| External Hard Drives | USB 3.0/3.1, up to 18TB capacity, PC and Mac compatible, plug-and-play |
| External SSDs | Solid state with no moving parts, USB 3.2/USB-C, read/write speeds over 500MB/s, aluminum housing |
| RAID Storage | Multiple drive configuration, hardware and software RAID options, drive spanning, RAID 0/1/5 support |
| Network Attached Storage (NAS) | Central network access, backup for all connected devices, remote access, RAID support |
| Surveillance Drives | 24/7 constant writing, tuned for RPG, CCTV and NVR systems, up to 10TB |
Conclusion
In summary, Fantom drives are designed at the MicroNet headquarters in California but manufactured and assembled primarily in Taiwan and China. This strategic setup allows MicroNet to engineer innovative storage products while leveraging the technology manufacturing infrastructure in Asia to produce Fantom drives cost effectively.
Fantom drives go through extensive quality control testing before being shipped out. While outsourcing the assembly, MicroNet maintains strict processes to ensure the reliable, high-performance products that Fantom brand is known for. The result is a diversified storage solution lineup catering to consumers and businesses alike.