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Retooling My Shop Purchased Parallax's old Pick and Place — Parallax Forums

Retooling My Shop Purchased Parallax's old Pick and Place

Brian CarpenterBrian Carpenter Posts: 728
edited 2010-02-05 20:41 in General Discussion
About 6 years ago i was fortunate to be able to build a 600 sq.ft. shop on my back yard.· I used from day one as a woodworking·shop.· Some of the time for personal enjoyment and for some time, professionally.· Life moves on and hobbies and priorities change so i am now retooling my shop for new endevors.· [noparse]:)[/noparse]· Terry Hitt and I made a small little purchase that i fortunately get to house at my place.· (PA is way to far away).· See the pictures below.· We were trained for an hour or so on how to use the machine over a month ago and i just got it set in my shop this afternoon.· Hope i can remember what i was taught and begin learning other things besides just turning it on.· I am lacking air at this point.·· i sent the head for my air compressor in to have it rebuilt.· I am hoping that by the end of next week i will be able to start the first of many assembly projects in my little shop in the back yard.·


ps.. If this machine looks familiar, most everyone on this forum has held a product of this very machines creation.·

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It's Only A Stupid Question If You Have Not Googled It First!!

Post Edited (Brian Carpenter) : 7/14/2008 4:45:25 AM GMT
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Comments

  • Timothy D. SwieterTimothy D. Swieter Posts: 1,613
    edited 2008-07-13 07:26
    OK, so what is the machine? I would guess a low volume pick-n-place or maybe a small CNC of some sort for PCBs. It doesn't look dirty enough to be a CNC and with the computer rack under the machine I would guess that it is more electronic in nature than mechanical.

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    Timothy D. Swieter, E.I.

    www.brilldea.com·- Prop Blade, LED Painter, RGB LEDs, uOLED-IOC
    www.sxmicro.com - a blog·exploring the SX micro
    www.tdswieter.com
  • uxoriousuxorious Posts: 126
    edited 2008-07-13 07:57
    Multitroniks LVX Pick n Place from the mid 90s? This machine ought to be pretty nice to have in the shop. Did you get many feeders with it? I am guessing it will place down to 0603 and about 15mil pitch ICs? Might be able to get aftermarket nozzles for 0402s? Did it come from Michigan?

    Looks very similar to the Quad machine we used to have. The Quads had a full function remote control that allowed you to create programs on the fly, visually with the camera system. Made it really easy for prototyping.

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    ~~ dRu ~~
  • Brian CarpenterBrian Carpenter Posts: 728
    edited 2008-07-13 14:29
    Timothy and DRu,

    It is, infact, Parallax's old Pick and Place. Up until their recent purchase of a new Pick and Place, this is the one that has been making Basic Stamps of all flavors in their Sacramento Fab. When Terry and i went to visit several weeks ago, Ken showed us there new pick and place. We asked what they were doing with there old machine. Ken worked us a deal that was not to be refused. I drove back 2 weeks later from Phoenix to Sacramento and loaded it into the back of my 3/4 ton pickup truck. We were told that we shouldnt have amy trouble with the 0402's but we will see. I would like to find a certified Tech to come out and go through it with me to make sure that i have set it up correctly.

    DRu,
    It is a LVX Pick and place with camera and all the works.

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    It's Only A Stupid Question If You Have Not Googled It First!!
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2008-07-13 15:20
    Brian,
    I recognize that machine. Very happy to see that you got it setup.

    Indeed, nearly everybody on this forum owns something made on that P&P. I'm happy that you and Terry took that machine off our hands. Though we paid a pretty penny for it, we had also outgrown it and needed a more modern interface with higher-volume throughput and a better user interface. That machine was always associated with a single operator inside Parallax, but our new one is easier for everybody to use. That machine will place 0402s, and I think you have more than enough feeders.
    Now you can place and replace until you're happy with the results. You are independent and more capable on your own. Be sure you set up a very good stocking system for the parts you will purchase. Sounds basic, but you wouldn't believe the importance for planning a small production run! Just like Timothy says in one of the Propeller forum threads "getting into bagging" and related kitting is a heck of a lot of work. The same is true for internal production.

    If you have trouble getting it up and running, give Rich a ring at Parallax. We can help you as a friend of our business. . . probably wouldn't want to do that if we sold it on eBay.

    Ken Gracey
    Parallax, Inc.

    Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 7/13/2008 3:26:58 PM GMT
  • Brian CarpenterBrian Carpenter Posts: 728
    edited 2008-07-13 17:21
    Ken,
    You guys are great.

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    It's Only A Stupid Question If You Have Not Googled It First!!
  • SolarboticsSolarbotics Posts: 1
    edited 2010-02-05 20:41
    Hey Brian. I just sent you an email, but thought I'd follow up here too.

    We just received a similar machine as a part of a bigger purchase (a 2000LX), and are wondering about finding some feeders to make it useful. Have you figured out any good sources for parts for this beasty?

    We have a few interns that are beating it into useful condition, and have already soaked a whopping $70 into it (ebay motor driver replacement). tongue.gif

    Now we're looking for more feeders, and maybe a vibe feeder. What accessories came with it?

    Ken - is Rich still there at Parallax? Can we call him for some tips on using this? We're wondering about PCB fixtures.

    Thanks,
    Dave
    Solarbotics Ltd.
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