Here's an opening post in the thread that I would like to dedicate to the discussions around the software package that I'm working on.
First of all, the bad news. While the main idea is to make it as cheap as feasible, at this stage it's not going to be free or open source for several reasons. One of them is the commercial machine vision library that the software is built around.
The good news is that the software is designed to work with any type of webcam and this fact alone will reduce the total cost of the machine rather significantly.
Here I will list the goals and non-goals for the first version that I'm planning to release before the end of the year.
Goals for V1.0:
- Develop a program that would be used to turn a typical CNC router table into a fully featured PPM
- Make every parameter adjustable by the user to accommodate for a wide range of machine configurations
- Implement vision correction for component pick up and placement
- Support simple tape (drag), strip, tray and vibratory feeders
- Support two USB cameras for teaching and component alignment
- Use simple fiducials for PCB placement correction
- Simple automatic nozzle changer
- 0402 or larger components
- 0.5mm pitch IC's, including BGA
- component placement at any angle of rotation
- Support stepper, servo and linear servo motors with and without encoder feedback
- Placement throughput up to 1,500 CPH with vision alignment
Additional major features planned for the V2.0 which will be coming later next year:
- Panelized PCB
- Up to four USB cameras
- 0201 and 0.4mm pitch components including micro BGA
- Advanced feeder control
- Advanced nozzle changers with visual correction
- Gerber converter
- Up to three placement heads
- Throughput up to 4,000 CPH with three heads
Here's a shaky teaser video showing basic 0603 capacitors being placed in a row at around 1,000 CPH with 0.05mm accuracy. The machine that I'm using is pretty fast and rides on linear motors. Here it is moving with 1.0G acceleration. Higher quality videos and screenshots are coming later, so be sure to subscribe to the thread for the future updates.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI93vLnBAjU"]YouTube - PPM.[/ame]
Beta testing can begin as soon as next week and I know that some folks have already expressed their interest. I think I can handle up to three beta testers at this point. In addition to the software package, you will need to order KFlop motion controller from Dynomotion and purchase a bunch of some cheap webcams to play with. I will make another post in a couple of days covering webcams specifically. One other requirement for the beta program is that you should have your machine ready, equipped with basic home switches and motor drivers. The PC requirements will not be very dramatic. Any modern dual core CPU should be able to handle the workload. The monitor resolution should be 1280x1024 or greater.
And finally, the price for the beta is $400. Released version will probably be under $1,000 and will include some extra parts, like drilled stepper for the placement head, webcams, illuminators and quality optics.
And by all means, shoot out all your feature requests and suggestions while it's not too late. I will try to implement as many as possible before the release.
Regards,
SCSI