Really? That's How It's Made?

These data switches were being scrapped:

One is a Centronics printer switch and the other is a 25 way D type switch:

 I opened them up to see if there was anything salvageable inside and what I found was unbelievable. The connections between the switch and the connectors is done using discrete wiring.

I was expecting a PCB or maybe two, perhaps linked with a ribbon cable. PCBs were more expensive back when these switches were around, but the amount of labour needed to make these connections must have been considerable and, let's face it, PCBs were designed to replace this sort of thing.

It does appear to be hand soldered as there's evidence of melted connector plastic here and there:

These switches must have been tested before being shipped, and I suppose making a test rig to do that is pretty easy as all the connections come out to the connectors, but if you found a fault then it's off to the wiring to try to fix it. With a PCB it would have to be a PCB track fault of some sort which would be a PCB replacement or maybe fix. So surely fixing faults would be harder too?
It's a world away from a USB hub...

Here's a video examination of the switches: