I started my PnP machine as a modified copy of LucentPnP, but as I assembled that machine I also realized that a plastic design moved to much. The entire machine was unstable and needles would move several mm under speed. Achieving 0402 was difficult, 0201 was close to impossible – so I decided to move on – remove all plastic on critical points and remake a complete, new design – metal only. I started with the needle system and decided on a 2/4 needle design that is illustrated below:
I am still using 2020 frames and this head design focus on easy manufacturing of metal parts – I needed a design I could build myself from parts that are commonly available. No fancy CNC usage – only simple drilling. The result amazed even me – I have never done much metal works before, but once I started designing and started realizing how I could achieve results it came out nicely. The drawing show a 4 head design, but I actually plan a 2 head – and the design above can be anything from 2 to 8 head. The reason I want a 2 head is because a 4 head cost more, is heavier and occupy more space. The 4 head above is 10cm wide, meaning that I waste space on the machine. As a hobbyist I don’t care much about assembly speed, so a 2 head is fine. But, I want an option to build a faster, larger machine later.
This work is open source, I use FreeCAD and manual and design files will be available – for now I hold back a little because I actually need to build and test the machine myself. I have all the parts, but lack time at precent. That will improve as authumn comes back.
This new PnP Machine is 99% metal (Aluminium) and uses only easy to get parts so that anyone (including myself) can buy and build a custom machine. The design consist of 5 sub-designs:
1 – PnP Header design.
2 – PnP main machine.
3 – Feeder design.
4 – Control system electronics.
5 – SW/FW.
I will cover all designs in detail partly through this blog, but also through separate pages that focus on this machine only.