Interest in DIY SMD Tools?

Hello folks,

Today, I built vacuum pick and place tool for picking up and putting down surface mount devices (SMD's). As I work in semiconductors for a living, I've had the chance to see how the pro's assembly of their boards (prototype, small batch and Multi-Million unit runs).

Obviously, in the Expat Audio Texas Lab - (my garage) I don't have a slew of tools, but I do have enough to get me up and running and assembling PCB's with surface mount devices (resistors which are 2mm x 1.5mm and smaller)

I was thinking of putting together a few youtube video's on how to get the tools needed for doing SMD stuff on the uber-cheap. (the most expensive SMD tool I have is $80 - everything else is sub $20).

Any interest in seeing how it could be done?

By the way - the two links that fed the idea for the pick place vacuum pen were:

http://garage-shoppe.com/wordpress/?p=109

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdGSFc7VjBE    <--- THAT ONE IS AWSOME>>>

Great stuff, thanks!!

8) 8) 8)

Thanks

Very interesting video. Definitely interested in more videos of this topic.
Thanks.

Umm, absolutely  ;D  I was just thinking of playing with some fast-switching HDMI chips what are SMT 

nice.. thanks man!

My best investment for SMD is a hot air rework station... but I could use younger eyes.

JR

PS: I have sent SMD parts flying across the room never to be seen again by squeezing too hard with my tweezers, so if I was doing a lot, a suction tool would be nice. I don't plan to do any more than I have to for repair and prototyping.

My problem with tweezers is that sometimes they don't want to let go, which always ends up flipping my component on it's back. Righting it again is sometimes a bit of a game of operation....BAAAAAHHHH, now it's somewhere on the floor.

a suction tool does sound like a good idea.

I'm interested! I had to turn dust the firewire chip of my fireface 800 with a dremel to replace it.

I made another controllable vacuum pen for manual pick and place today and recorded the making of on my flipcam. i'm not an expert at video editing etc, but will post as much as I can soon.

For those of you interested - i bought a $10 walmart fish air pump (which got modded to be a vacuum, a load of t-juntions for the air supply, a 3ml syringe with a luer lock and a dispensing head with an inner diameter that is smaller than the smallest device your planning on picking up with it.

Total spend ~ $15?

Cheers

Rochey

Fantastic! I'd be interested too.

okay folks, I don't want to be the authority on this... so your milage may vary

I've put up two youtubes - one with "how to make the vacuum source" and then "creating the nozzle and switch"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fAbWfyrtE0

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMetmhIzcPY

Feedback is always appreciated
However, I'm useless with imovie.

Wooo! This is awesome. Now I got something to do this weekend hehe

It is a little hard to tell what you're doing to the black bit on the first video... but i'm sure watching it again with more attention, i'll be able to figure it out.

Thanks for this!

they get rotated 180 degrees, and have an extra hole punched in them to make them fit. the link in the first post shows it well.

good luck!

/R

Very clever! Great video!

Question...

The English guys take on cheap panels... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj0Bv4UEFSs

Peter,

it was that guy who inspired me to make the vacuum pen. (i just thought - whoa, that looks easy!)

i bought an air compressor a few weeks back, now considering making a solder dispenser.

Got the footswitch from ebay yesterday

gotta get solenoid valves this week.

/R

Rochey said:

I've put up two youtubes - one with "how to make the vacuum source" and then "creating the nozzle and switch"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fAbWfyrtE0

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMetmhIzcPY

Feedback is always appreciated
However, I'm useless with imovie.

Click to expand...

Smart, I love this.

Just an idea:  How about drilling a hole into the plastic body of the syringe (at 5ml or so), so that the air flow (on/off = pick-up/drop) can be regulated -- let's say -- with the index finger?

I considered that, however, when your placing SMD parts, the last thing you want to do is move fingers or your hand when you've moved the device into the perfect position.

By moving the control to a different limb, you split control and positioning.

I picked up a footswitch for a tattoo machine for less than $8 online. I'll add a solenoid valve to it from ebay in the next 2 weeks. they are less than $10 online.

I guess you are right. Maybe I have been eating with with chopsticks for too long already...