I have discussed about the feasibility of an affordable pick and place machine on this forum every now and then, especially one that would be aimed for prototype building. I couldn't find any when I needed one, so I built it. Building a finished machine is far too big effort to be worthwhile for one hacker only, so I took the extra effort and made it available for all: http://http://www.liteplacer.com.
On my site you'll find lots of info, software (with source), shop for a kit, support forum and more.
Please let me know your thoughts!
-Juha
Good day Juha,
Wow, you have done a lot of work and the price looks to very reasonable! Just out of curiosity how do you handle different part sizes? Do you sort your PnP file and then populate all of one part, then the next? If so, then do you allow for different pickup nozzles, etc? Thirdly, what if the part is picked crooked and/or moves during placement (i.e. vibration, etc)... do you compensate for this? Lastly, do you have any sensoring if the part is not picked and/or is dropped before placement?
Cheers,
Sam
[quote author="sam512bb"]Good day Juha,
Wow, you have done a lot of work and the price looks to very reasonable! Just out of curiosity how do you handle different part sizes? Do you sort your PnP file and then populate all of one part, then the next?[/quote]
Yes, the software does this automatically. Before placement, you can then move rows in the job file so that all parts that need certain size of needle are done first, then you can insert a needle change commad if needed (or place just those and check the results), change a needle and continue.
If so, then do you allow for different pickup nozzles, etc?
Yes, and the kit comes with a selection of these.
Thirdly, what if the part is picked crooked and/or moves during placement (i.e. vibration, etc)... do you compensate for this? Lastly, do you have any sensoring if the part is not picked and/or is dropped before placement?
No to both, although these don't seem to be a problem. If you don't push the machine to its limits, it moves rather smoothly. Although I have done most of my testing with passives and small ICs (not that much with big ICs), I can say that the machine does not drop parts. (It does eat them if you forget to change the needle and try to place 0402s with a big needle! :lol: Happened to me once...)
Good day Juku,
Thank you for your response!
Keep up the excellent work!
Cheers,
Sam