Robin's smt Pick and Place build

[mcrspark]

I joined this forum just so I could watch this built. Thanks! Cheers from the US.

We want to purchase the automatic Pick & place machine 1500 cph to 2000 cph. can you provide us ? please, send the details on [email protected]

[flippersplace]

Robin, it's been a while and the weather has warmed up over there.. any updates?

[Robin Hewitt]

Robin, it's been a while and the weather has warmed up over there.. any updates?

I'm redesigning the 8mm tape feeders, the design was fragile and complex, I wanted robust and simple with few moving parts.

Then I had decided to forget everything I 'knew' about tape feeders and start again. It was a liberation, I have the basic ideas, but designing that perfect lever system takes time :whistling:

[Robin Hewitt]

Got a few hours on it today. hope to have the spadework done soon so I can start on the interesting bits

[sigicnc]

Z axis and rotation looks so compact... as one piece of metal.

Beautifullll!

[pdl]

Hi Robin

I have an old ECM85 Mk2 that could do with updating but i would like to make a pick & place machine myself.
I would like to make a machine that could pick up programable chip and place them on a programmer IE Pick Place and Program.

What software are you going to us or using?

I am looking at a used Quad 4C machine this week as i need one for the work i do.

Keep up the good work if i can help in anyway please contact me.

Pete

[Robin Hewitt]

Hi Pete

I know very little about P'n'P machines apart from having seen someone elses in action stuffing my boards and a bit of web searching. I know even less about the software.

Progress is stalled until the workshop warms up a bit, I am a fair weather machinist. OTOH it has sprouted a couple of motors and a toothed belt since my last pic

If you are used to P'n'P software I do have a question about how other people do it before I write my own...

Board alignment: The holes do not always align 100% with the smt pads. Has that ever been a problem? How does P'n'P software help you square things up?

Robin

[pdl]

Hi Robin

The pick and place machine that i have a the minute is Dos based but i have a copy of Versatronic RV1 software.
Versatronics are not around anymore.

Many thanks

Pete

[pdl]

Hi Robin

I am selling my Dos based pick & place machine with lots of feeders it a MAMIYA ECM85MK2.


Pete

[flippersplace]

Hi, I'm in the middle of a similar project. So far I am good for 0805 parts, 3216 LEDs, SOT23 parts.

Re your query about software:

Mine does not have a vision system, it simply depends on accuracy of the machine driven via Mach 3 and GCode. But I don't do manual GCode.

I have a Excel Workbook with a separate spreadsheet for:
- Heads
- Feeders
- PCB Array offsets
- Each PCB
- GCode output

For each PCB I paste in the Pick Place export from my PCB CAD package. I manually redit rotation, and enter a head and feeder. I paste in a block of formulas alongside.

I then manually enter a step sequence (gives a small leeway to optimise pick up order for efficiency)

The aforementioned formulas reference the Head & Feeder sheets to calculate pick and place offsets for each head/feeder combination, and place offsets for each head/refdes combination

I also update worksheet PCBArray with the PCB name and no of PCB's in X & Y directions for this assembly run.

I then run a macro over the above which for each rotation generates GCODE to:

- Initialise all Mach 3 variables used per feeder to keep count of the the next component to come out of that feeder

Main loop:
- Pauses waiting for operator (me) to place the PCB array holder and use the USB camera to zero offset G55 to the PCB holder calibration point
- calculates and sets an offset for each PCB in the PCB array relative to G55 offset for that rotation
- creates calls to the GCode pick place subroutine for all refdes in this rotation
- creates the GCode pick place subroutine called above

= Repeat until all rotations processed

Once a PCB is setup in the workbook (which only takes 5-10 min) can be tweaked quickly, ie if a head is faulty I just edit the heads per refdes and rerun the Macro.

Seems to work so far.