O-M-G cheap pick and place machines coming!

[zapta]

...  I believe that the uber-EE's that frequent this forum will like our $5000-$10000 machine more than our $300 kit.  That's always been the plan, however, the Hackaday version is focused solely on the cheap kit, which has made for some confusion.

How do you see it working for hobbyists, will it be possible for example to feed a single MCU without having to purchase a longer tape?  Have you considered feeding from loose trays?

[JohnSL]

This is a really cool thread. Getting back to the topic of low-cost, I built a manual machine for about $50. You can read more about it and see videos here:

http://trains.socha.com/2014/07/building-fsr-circuit-boards.html
http://trains.socha.com/2014/07/building-manual-pick-and-place-machine.html



I have a video too, but I wasn't able to figure out how to embed the YouTube video in a post. If someone tells me how, I'll embed that as well. I have a friend who has been making the circuit boards and we've made about 100 so far. We're both over 40 (by more than a little), so I take off my glasses and he uses an Optivisor, and it works great. We're using 0603 components, so nothing too small. And each circuit board has four LEDs, so getting the orientation correct is much easier than doing it by hand.

I was inspired to make this manual machine after assembling a couple of PCBs by hand with tweezers under a microscope. That worked, but this machine is faster. And this is true open source--I uploaded all the design files on Thingiverse (link from my blog) and wrote assembly instructions. Anyone can do whatever they want with this design.

[mikeselectricstuff]

I wasn't able to figure out how to embed the YouTube video in a post.

Just paste the link, but delete the s from https

[miguelvp]

Nice

I have a video too, but I wasn't able to figure out how to embed the YouTube video in a post. If someone tells me how, I'll embed that as well.

Here you go, just put the url in the page, make sure it's not the https version of the link
and it automagically embeds it.



Edit: my tablet's browser crashed so I didn't get the warning that Mike already answered the embedding of youtube videos.

[JohnSL]

Oh, that's way too easy. No wonder I couldn't figure it out. 

Thanks

I wasn't able to figure out how to embed the YouTube video in a post.

Just paste the link, but delete the s from https

[zapta]

I wasn't able to figure out how to embed the YouTube video in a post.

Just paste the link, but delete the s from https

I always wondered by it doesn't work for me. Thanks.

[zapta]

Nice

I have a video too, but I wasn't able to figure out how to embed the YouTube video in a post. If someone tells me how, I'll embed that as well.

Here you go, just put the url in the page, make sure it's not the https version of the link
and it automagically embeds it.



Edit: my tablet's browser crashed so I didn't get the warning that Mike already answered the embedding of youtube videos.

Very nice. This is something I would buy, assembled or as a complete kit (except for the vacuum pump, valve and pedal which I already have). Virtually zero setup and can feed from loose parts.  Currently I place them with free hand and then nudge the parts under a microscope to improve the accuracy.

[M4trix]

miguelvp, thank God someone brought this up again. I'm also building something similar to the JohnSL manual PnP machine. I still have to figure out how to rotate the pen by 360 degrees without twisting the air hose. 

Edit: btw, good job John. 

[mikeselectricstuff]

. I still have to figure out how to rotate the pen by 360 degrees without twisting the air hose. 

2 concentric sleeves

[and101]

miguelvp, thank God someone brought this up again. I'm also building something similar to the JohnSL manual PnP machine. I still have to figure out how to rotate the pen by 360 degrees without twisting the air hose. 

Edit: btw, good job John. 

If you look at this head you can see how I got around the problem.  We used a needle shaft with a hole drilled down the centre and another drilled sideways in between two polished sleeves that sat snugly within a block of delrin that made up the handle. A pair of rubber O-rings made sure the seal was tight without restricting the rotation.  The motor was connected into the top which gave an air tight seal around the shaft.  We then drilled a hole in the end of the delrin handle and used a small brass insert to connect the vacuum hose.  The motor can rotate the needle as far as it needs to go without the air hose moving.

[M4trix]

. I still have to figure out how to rotate the pen by 360 degrees without twisting the air hose. 

2 concentric sleeves

Hm, I was thinking about that.  I will come back tomorrow with some drawings. Heck, let's build this sucker! 

Edit: and101, thanks for the tip! Excellent project there btw. 

[pickle9000]

If you look at this head you can see how I got around the problem.  We used a needle shaft with a hole drilled down the centre and another drilled sideways in between two polished sleeves that sat snugly within a block of delrin that made up the handle. A pair of rubber O-rings made sure the seal was tight without restricting the rotation.  The motor was connected into the top which gave an air tight seal around the shaft.  We then drilled a hole in the end of the delrin handle and used a small brass insert to connect the vacuum hose.  The motor can rotate the needle as far as it needs to go without the air hose moving.

That is an amazingly nice handpiece, beats the crap out of anything I've seen. 

[mikeselectricstuff]

. I still have to figure out how to rotate the pen by 360 degrees without twisting the air hose. 

2 concentric sleeves

Hm, I was thinking about that.  I will come back tomorrow with some drawings. Heck, let's build this sucker! 

Edit: and101, thanks for the tip! Excellent project there btw. 

..of course you only need +/-180, or at a pinch +/-90, as you can offset when picking. If you use something soft like silicone tubing, twisting may not be a problem.
 

[EEVblog]

That's innovation.  It's not as glorious as other types of innovation, but it's still progress.  I'm actually on the third revision of the delta mechanism, and the fourth revision of the component feeders (still need one more rev after the first full system tests).  If we find something that works, then others can copy us (abiding by the CC-BY-SA, hopefully).  If we fail, we'll be an example of what not to do.

Sure, and that's why I fully support what you are doing.
If you think the delta system might be workable then it's certainly worth a shot, and of course everyone learns from it which is great.

The delta design is REALLY hard to screw up, we're doing lots of camera calibration before, and even during the job, to account for any misalignment that could happen. 

I don't doubt that, but is it a good enough platform to use for $5K-$10K PnP machine, and the level of precision people would expect in that price range?
That's the big question here, I guess we'll find out.

If our delta mechanism is a dead end, we'll try CoreXY or something like that, we won't either (A) just give up or (B) try to make it work even though it's flawed.

Excellent!
Again, I think what you are doing is awesome, you seem to have the commitment to drive this beyond what most people/teams have done, I hope it works well.

[EEVblog]

This is a really cool thread. Getting back to the topic of low-cost, I built a manual machine for about $50

That looks very usable.
Begging out for a small camera where you can do it all through a monitor.

[EEVblog]

Pulling the cover tape.
I thought Vbesemens had a neat way of doing this, that would kill two birds with one stone - assuming that the cover tape is strong enough.

Nice. Yes, that's close to what I had in mind.

[photon]

This is a really cool thread. Getting back to the topic of low-cost, I built a manual machine for about $50

That looks very usable.
Begging out for a small camera where you can do it all through a monitor.

Yes, something like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/400433543387 would be a nice solution for about $100.

[JohnSL]

This is a really cool thread. Getting back to the topic of low-cost, I built a manual machine for about $50

That looks very usable.
Begging out for a small camera where you can do it all through a monitor.

I originally had a USB microscope mounted, but ended up taking it off. Because the microscope was at an angle, it was difficult to figure out where the device would end up being placed. I tried using a Processing program that displayed crosshairs, and this helped. However, both my friend and I found that using our eyes worked better.

[JohnSL]

I have a question about vacuum pumps. Right now I'm using a fish pump reversed to make it a vacuum pump, following these directions (and using the same pump): http://www.instructables.com/id/Circuit-Board-Lab-POV-Business-Card/step5/Build-an-SMD-Vacuum-Pick-and-Place-Tool/

This doesn't have much of a vacuum, so I'm wondering what others would recommend as a step up, but not expensive.

[David_AVD]

The $100 glue dispensers off eBay / AliExpress are also good as a vacuum unit.  You will need a shop air compressor and regulator though.  We use one of those units for dispensing solder paste and placing SMD parts.

[JohnSL]

The $100 glue dispensers off eBay / AliExpress are also good as a vacuum unit.  You will need a shop air compressor and regulator though.  We use one of those units for dispensing solder paste and placing SMD parts.

Do you mean one like this: http://www.amazon.com/Sanven-Controlling-Solder-Liquid-Dispenser/dp/B00HIY1YWE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407043878&sr=8-2&keywords=solder+paste+dispenser

If so, how would you use this? It looks like it's designed to provide a puff of pressured air, and then a vacuum after that. I've never used one, so I'm not really sure how it works.

[SeanB]

They provide vacuum using a simple vacuum generator using the Coanda effect. Makes a reduced pressure area at the nozzle of fast flowing air, but uses a lot of air for this purpose, and can be quite noisy in operation as you cannot restrict the outlet air with a muffler easily without having a pressure change that negates the vacuum.

Aquarium pump or an old fridge compressor ( with oil separator on the outlet and some method to return the oil to the compressor) and a large pressure vessel to store the vacuum along with a switch to run it as needed. A filter in the inlet line as well to remove dirt ( and sucked in parts) before the vacuum valve will also be good. A cheap small car fuel filter ( smallest 5 or 6mm one you can get) does fine here.

This method is used by Tektronix/ Xerox on the Phasor series of wax transfer printers to transfer wax during cleaning cycles. Works well there.

[zapta]

I have a question about vacuum pumps. Right now I'm using a fish pump reversed to make it a vacuum pump, following these directions (and using the same pump): http://www.instructables.com/id/Circuit-Board-Lab-POV-Business-Card/step5/Build-an-SMD-Vacuum-Pick-and-Place-Tool/

This doesn't have much of a vacuum, so I'm wondering what others would recommend as a step up, but not expensive.

I am using this pump http://amzn.com/B00A8PLOM0 and am very happy with it. You can adjust the suction and I never need to get to the max, even though I don't use those rubber suction cups, just a plain needed (smaller area = less force). Also, you don't need to reverse it. For hose I am using flexible silicon fish tank tube from a local pet store.

[David_AVD]

The $100 glue dispensers off eBay / AliExpress are also good as a vacuum unit.  You will need a shop air compressor and regulator though.  We use one of those units for dispensing solder paste and placing SMD parts.

Do you mean one like this: http://www.amazon.com/Sanven-Controlling-Solder-Liquid-Dispenser/dp/B00HIY1YWE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407043878&sr=8-2&keywords=solder+paste+dispenser

If so, how would you use this? It looks like it's designed to provide a puff of pressured air, and then a vacuum after that. I've never used one, so I'm not really sure how it works.

Yep, that's the type.  I'm sure there's a couple of threads in this forum that covers what they do.

One of my guys set it up and uses it at work.  He used a spare dispensing tube with a small hole in the side (finger covers it) for the pickup "pen".

[and101]

It may be worth keeping a lookout on ebay for a laboratory vacuum pump.  They are better built than the chinese fish tank or dispenser pumps and are designed to run all day.  A small diving bottle or something similar makes a good vacuum chamber for smoothing out the flow from the pump.