Cheap handheld pick and place tool - Pick-it-up

[Pack34]

I saw Mike over at MES hack together a small handheld pump for small quantity assembly and I found this thing on ebay. It's meant for arts and crafts stuff but the thing is truly amazing for picking up larger components out of cut tape and placing them on a stenciled board. Once you get used to the rhythm it's incredible.

<$40 USD to boot!


http://www.amazon.com/Rhinestone-Pick-Up-Vacuum-Tool/dp/B00A8PLOM0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426805865&sr=8-1&keywords=pick-it-up+beadsmith

[alank2]

What size components can it do?  How small?

[dcel]

I just bought one of those too. Havent had a chance to use it yet but at $39+ free shipping it seemed like a good deal. I'm not happy with the tubing that came with the unit, it was kinked and soft. I  plan on getting smaller stiffer tubing to use with it. Let us know how well it works.

Chris

[Psi]

Cheapest is just a syringe, blunt dispensing needle, some hose and your mouth.


But the way i did it is.
I put a T join onto the fume extractor feed nipple on my Aoyue soldering station. One side of the T goes to the station (suction), the other side is freely open. The center T has a tube that goes to my syringe/dispensing needle.  Even though there is an open end on the T there's enough suction left to easily pickup 0805 and most small SMT stuff. When you place it on the PCB the stickiness of the solder paste overcomes the vacuum and it stays there. So no need for any values

eg
Soldering station vacuum feed <----T---> free open end (you can close it a little to get more suction if needed).
                                                        |
                                                        ---60cm of air hose --->Syringe
           

And here's a video mike did with some good tips as well.

[alank2]

I've got one of those liquid dispensers, could it be used to do something like this?  It already has a configurable pull back air...

[cosmicray]

What size components can it do?  How small?

If it's intended for jewelry rhinestones, they are most common in 2mm to 5mm diameters. In seed beads, 11° is the most common size (1.8-2.1mm) with 15° (1.30-1.40mm) and 18° (1.15-1.20mm) sometimes used. That should give you a reference frame.

[alank2]

I was hoping the OP had experience with 0603, 0805, etc.

[dannyf]

Cheap handheld pick and place tool - Pick-it-up

It has been available since the beginning of the mankind. It is called "fingers".

[Falcon69]

try picking up an 0603 with your fingers and placing it onto a board that has paste. Better yet, try an 0402 size, and let us know how it goes! 

[CrashO]

I assume Danny means fingers + tweezers  No problem soldering 0402's and 0201's with those. The eyesight gives more problems than the tweezers. But under the Mantis its pretty doable 

[Falcon69]

lol,

He didn't say tweezers were involved, only fingers!

And yes, eyesight poses a problem for me too with those small parts.  That's why I am making a new manual pick and place machine with bearings and all with a built in microscope so I can see the parts. It sucks having the parts tombstone or just slip off the pad completely, because I couldn't see it or my hand wasn't steady enough to place it onto a pcb using tweezers.  Soon, I won't have to worry about that anymore!

[alank2]

My problem is hand steadiness - if I could put the part where I want it and use a foot pedal or release that would be much better.  I'm going to try to play with my liquid dispenser and see if I can get it to do this with perhaps an empty syringe and no plunger...

[VK3DRB]

I assume Danny means fingers + tweezers  No problem soldering 0402's and 0201's with those. The eyesight gives more problems than the tweezers. But under the Mantis its pretty doable 

True! Without the Mantis, some things are near impossible. The Mantis "fixes" presbyopia, which many of us suffer from. You get confidence you have not caused any shorts and have good solder joints.

[Howardlong]

My problem is hand steadiness

Rule #1 - stay off the coffee.

You probably know that already. When I started out manufacturing my own designs, I was let down by an assembler on the contracted day of delivery, had the empty boards and parts handed back to me,  but had orders coming out of my butt, I did make several hundred boards by hand, each with 120 parts, mostly 0402, on panels of ten. One cup of coffee, I was OK. But two cups, I might've well had a couple of pints of wine for what good it did, no point in even starting.

[alank2]

Follow up - the liquid dispenser works great as a pickup tool.  Just take out the plunger in the syringe and put a needle on that fits the part well.  I picked up some 0805's easily, a tqfp 44, even a soic 20 by turning up the suction a bit.  Position then use a foot pedal to put a small bit of pressure to release.  I have a feeling I'll use it more for this than for paste dispensing or liquid dispensing...

[alank2]

Second follow up.  I used the liquid dispenser to load 10 boards tonight.  It is much better than tweezers, just touch a part and pick it up.  Another nice thing is that you don't even have to use the foot pedal to release a part if you have the suction adjusted properly - the solder paste is sticky enough that the part will stick to it.  I just need to get a smaller, thinner syringe because it would be easier.

[Pack34]

This exploded far more than I thought it would.

<snip>Reference to Mike's syringe mod</snip>

Mike's video is what made me start searching. I found this guy and it prevented me from really having to modify anything. I combined this product with some syringe tips I had leftover from my cheap solder paste dispenser and the rubber caps he references in his video from the cheap $2 handheld versions.

For larger components I'll use the rubber boots on the stock syringe needle which is perfect for larger components that I won't load into my Pick-and-Place. I just can't justify a reel microcontrollers.

For smaller odds-and-ends I can swap out the stock syringe needle for the finer ones from my paste dispeser. Those handle down to 0603 components just fine. I haven't tried 0402s since I don't load those into my PnP anyway, as I like to try to keep everything hand solder-able for easy repair and being able to throw something together by hand if I need to.

Needles like these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMD-PCB-Solder-Paste-Adhesive-Glue-Liquid-Injection-Dispenser-Dispensing-Needle-/371184254811?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item566c4e3f5b

Rubber boots found on these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solder-Desoldering-Pump-Sucker-IC-SMD-Vacuum-Sucking-Suction-Pen-Remover-Tool-1-/131290953177?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e918cf5d9

Interesting tid-bit with those boots found on the pump. I actually used one of them to pick my PnP machine. I had an issue with some oversized components not being picked up right by the metal nozzles. I ended up sticking one of the boots over the nozzle and adjusting the height for all of the components for that head. Worked like a freakin' charm.

I was hoping the OP had experience with 0603, 0805, etc.

0805 and 0603 components are just fine if you pick up a smaller syringe tip. The stock bent one seems to work okay for resistors but it tends to like to suck up LEDs. Also, when using the smaller components, be sure to turn the pressure all the way down.

I assume Danny means fingers + tweezers  No problem soldering 0402's and 0201's with those. The eyesight gives more problems than the tweezers. But under the Mantis its pretty doable 

True! Without the Mantis, some things are near impossible. The Mantis "fixes" presbyopia, which many of us suffer from. You get confidence you have not caused any shorts and have good solder joints.

I've been using this guy for smaller parts like that and to double check my reflow of fine pitch SMD after they go through the oven.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-0MP-Handheld-USB-Digital-Endoscope-Microscope-with-12-0mm-Tube-Diameter-/150667869961?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2314813f09

My problem is hand steadiness - if I could put the part where I want it and use a foot pedal or release that would be much better.  I'm going to try to play with my liquid dispenser and see if I can get it to do this with perhaps an empty syringe and no plunger...

Which one are you using? I have one in the link below I used to use before I caved and started stenciling everything.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solder-Paste-Glue-Dropper-Liquid-Auto-Dispenser-Controller-KLT-982A-/160982115243?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257b4823ab

[alank2]

Which one are you using? I have one in the link below I used to use before I caved and started stenciling everything.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solder-Paste-Glue-Dropper-Liquid-Auto-Dispenser-Controller-KLT-982A-/160982115243?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257b4823ab

Yep, mine is just like that one.  It worked pretty good.  I'm not using any rubber boots, just the metal tips of various sizes.

[zapta]

I saw Mike over at MES hack together a small handheld pump for small quantity assembly and I found this thing on ebay. It's meant for arts and crafts stuff but the thing is truly amazing for picking up larger components out of cut tape and placing them on a stenciled board. Once you get used to the rhythm it's incredible.

<$40 USD to boot!


http://www.amazon.com/Rhinestone-Pick-Up-Vacuum-Tool/dp/B00A8PLOM0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426805865&sr=8-1&keywords=pick-it-up+beadsmith

The pump is good but the release hole on the hand piece is suboptimal in general, it has residual suck even when fully open and releasing the hole tend to shake the hand piece at the critical point releasing the part.

A foot pedal controlled electro mechanical valve (available on ebay) solve both problems.  Also, if you want a more ergonomic hand piece you can print one from the link below. Also, in my experience, just two needle sizes are requires to handle all parts from 0402 to micro USB connectors.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:607270

[Stonent]

How about this?

Just take the syringe and drill a few holes in the side and put a rubber stopper with a barbed hose connector on it to a vacuum source.

You then hold it like a pencil mainly with your thumb and second finger.  You alternate between picking and placing, by covering and uncovering the holes with your first finger. Having more than one hole allows you to adjust the suction to the part so you can place it more gently.

The picture I drew has the tube rotated sideways so you can see the holes, but you would probably put them on top for easier access with your finger.

EDIT: I just realized Mike basically mentioned this as an option with a hole in the side. Must have been my inspiration from a previous viewing.

[alank2]

Found a better tool to use instead of the syringe I was using as a pickup tool.  They ran it for $6 last week.

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G20542



It unscrews and comes apart easily.  All I needed was the tube and the black plastic tip side (which screws into the metal).  I used some heat shrink tube to connect a plastic tube to the end of it and wala, I've got a nicer pickup tool for my liquid dispenser.



I doubt the heat shrink would survive too much positive pressure, but I barely use any to overcome the vacuum...