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| Pick and place vacuum pickup |
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| Rachie5272:
I'm building a robot based on pick-and-place machines, hoping to reuse as much of the common technology as possible. I have the movement and control system figured out (it's nowhere near as capable as a true pick-and-place, but good enough for me), but I'm not sure what to do for the vacuum pickup. How exactly do commercial pick-and-place machines generate and manipulate vacuums? Ideally I would just buy a few of these parts off the shelf, but I have no idea what to even look for. Is there specific terminology I'm missing? I want something which can hold on to a part, and release it precisely. Thanks! |
| jmelson:
My machine has a vacuum venturi that creates vacuum from compressed air. Very inefficient, but it works. It has 3 nozzles, so needs 3 separate venturis. It has a valve for each that allows it to switch between vacuum and a very slight air pressure, to separate the component from the nozzle. Jon |
| MagicSmoker:
Small DC motor powered air and vacuum pumps are fairly common. See, for example: https://smile.amazon.com/Uniquers-Vacuum-Diaphragm-Compressor-Silicone/dp/B071GL3XXQ/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=dc+vacuum+pump&qid=1555321265&s=gateway&sr=8-4 Some aquarium air pumps can be used for vacuum, but it's hard to tell until you open it up. |
| Kjelt:
--- Quote from: Rachie5272 on April 15, 2019, 02:16:24 am ---How exactly do commercial pick-and-place machines generate and manipulate vacuums? --- End quote --- The pro machines have dedicated vacuumpumps from companies as Busch and Edwards which costs 4 to 5 figures. Sometimes you can pick them up cheap at auctions. If you buy the low end vacuumpumps (<$100) make sure they go as low as 50kPa (500mbar) (0 being absolute vacuum and 100kPa or 1000mbar being normal environmental pressure) which is IMO what you at least need for handling heavier packages. For only resistors , caps etc you can get away with less vacuum. If you have a cheap pump it normally doesnot have a high flow rate, meaning it takes forever till your vacuum level is reached. You can use a small iron pressure vessel (old scuba tank that is out of date can be get for $20 for instance) that you use as a buffer. It kinda acts like a capacitor for voltage ;) Then you can run the pump for an hour before working and have a nice buffer. |
| Rachie5272:
The good news is I have a ready supply of compressed air, so a venturi is probably the way to go for me. I'm only picking up small objects (tiny ball bearings), so I'm not as concerned about vacuum pressure right now. Will any old solenoid valve do for switching the vacuum line? Do I need positive pressure as well? Open PNP uses a single normally closed solenoid valve to open the vacuum line to ambient air, and doesn't use positive pressure at all. Does it make more sense to switch the line before or after the venturi? If anyone can post pictures of their machines' pneumatic systems, that would be very helpful. |
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