SMD Machine suggestions?

Chat about pick and place machines, reflow ovens, assembly techniques and other SMT tips & trix

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DMCShep
 
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Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2014 3:10 am

SMD Machine suggestions?

Post by DMCShep »

I tried my hand (excuse the pun) at hand-soldering an SMD chip, and I simply cannot do it. I was wondering what kind of devices there are that can assemble and solder a board for me. I normally use KiCad for designing, and was hoping for something that could grab a chip, place it, and solder it all automatically. Hopefully something that won't cost ten grand or anything like that, I'm doing this as a small-time business venture and can't fit high-end machines into my budget.

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm researching my options at this point, but I haven't a clue where to even start.

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juku
 
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Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:38 am

Re: SMD Machine suggestions?

Post by juku »

The process is: put solder paste on the board, place components, solder the board (usually in an oven). No single machine does this, other than a full production line. For small money, manual paste applying is fine. The oven and controller is a couple of hundred at lowest. Placing the parts manually is possible, but quickly gets tedious in a business environment. The cheapest machine is LitePlacer (disclaimer: mine), www.liteplacer.com. The last few chapters of the faq page should be interesting for you. :-)

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SDMI
 
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Re: SMD Machine suggestions?

Post by SDMI »

Have you considered using a CEM?

Much lower overhead compared to purchasing equipment.

You may contact me if you have any questions.

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