Electronics > Manufacturing & Assembly

Fixed vs. Removable Feeders on Benchtop PnP Machines

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NF6X:
I've been studying the <$10k (US) pick and place machines available on Aliexpress. My application for one would be prototyping and small, intermittent runs, not daily production. I'm only looking at machines with vision systems at the moment.

The least expensive machines have fixed feeder systems, typically hanging off one or more sides of the machine. There are also fancier machines with either pneumatic or electronic removable feeders. It seems to me that the fixed feeder systems can often handle more reels than the removable feeder systems. I presume that the removable feeder machines are probably faster since the feeders can advance each reel without needing the placement head to pull tape. I suspect that the removable feeder machines would allow faster reloading of a single reel if a spare feeder is available, and faster reconfiguration for different jobs if a whole batch of extra feeders is available.

I don't know whether the advantages of removable feeders would be worth the extra cost for my applications, though. What do y'all think about fixed vs. removable feeder systems on these machines?

harry4516:
not an easy question, Mark.
I have a fixed feeder machine.
In the beginning changing a reel was a nightmare,
but now as I have changed a lot of reels its quite easy to do, I can change a reel in a minute.
However, it's hard to draw the tape and cover-tape through all the rods and belts, easy to get knots in your fingers.

If you want to spend the money, choose a removeable feeder machine.
But please take care, feeders are not the only important thing in the PnP machine,
placement accuracy, PCB mounting, custom trays and last but not least software quality are important issues.

As you can see in the various threads here, <10k$ machines are far from being perfect, but still save a lot of time.

NF6X:
I am curious about how the cover tape take-up spooling works on the fixed feeder systems. What is involved in changing a single reel without disturbing the others? It looks to me like a new reel will just drop in, but how do you get the old cover tape out of the take-up spool? In the pictures of these units, it does not appear to me that individual take-up spools come out without major disassembly.

The PnP machines that have most caught my eye so far are both Charmhigh machines: the CHMT48VB as a fixed feeder system, and the CHMT530P as a pneumatic feeder system.

The CHMT48VB has 58 feeders, mounted on the left and right sides. Other systems with some feeders on the back look like they would take up a lot more floor space to provide access all around the machine.

The CHMT530P only supports up to 30 feeders (fewer when using feeders for tapes over 8mm, of course), but they all load from the front. It looks like I could fit a CHMT530P, a solder stencil screen printer, and a small reflow oven all on a 6' x 3' bench with only the front edge needing to be easily accessible.

harry4516:
check your circuit diagrams, I bet most of them will have more then 30 different parts.
My machine (TVM802B which is mechanically almost identical to the CHMT48VB) has 46 feeders
and I need additional custom trays for almost every board.

I'll make a video during the weekend showing how to change a reel.

NF6X:
Good point. So, I'd probably be better off devoting a whole bench to a 58 feeder unit.

Thanks for offering to make a video. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

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