@RD - you said "Pick and place machines can't pick up microscopic parts".
that's not true, they do, and ours does. most people cannot see the tiny parts and it's very common to use a microscope for placement of these parts by hand.
you also said "They also can't "make iPhones" - they can place parts on circuit boards. that's it."
you are not correct, we can get circuit boards made and sent here, we do all the time, or we can even etch them ourselves. the hard part is the parts placement.
and said "Their's isn't even that fast."
we slowed it down (using the previous version of the software) what you saw is about 50% as fast as it can be.
and lastly, you said "Wasn't clear - do they sell pick and place machines?"
it was clear, we said we just bought this machine recently and was setting it up when engadget visited.
Defensive much? I'm not harping on your company, just correcting the inaccurate statements made about pick and place (PnP) machines. Designing boards and bringing them through fab+assembly is how I make a living and I'd be happy to field a call should you have questions about the process.
@RD - you said "Pick and place machines can't pick up microscopic parts".
that's not true, they do, and ours does. most people cannot see the tiny parts and it's very common to use a microscope for placement of these parts by hand.
> RD: The woman in the video said, quote: "a mm on a side" which by definition means down to the size of an 0402, or 1.0 x 0.5mm. HARDLY microscopic. 0402s are easily hand placed with tweezers. I've placed and soldered a few hundred myself - it's just not economical when you're assembling boards all the time.
> RD: Even 0201s (0.6 x 0.3mm) are not microscopic - however this is where you start to differentiate one PnP machine from another (if it can handle sub-0402 components or not.)
you also said "They also can't "make iPhones" - they can place parts on circuit boards. that's it."
you are not correct, we can get circuit boards made and sent here, we do all the time, or we can even etch them ourselves. the hard part is the parts placement.
> RD: What is not correct? The woman in the video said, quote: "but you can basically make iPhones with this". > RD: @ ptorrone: You are confusing who "with this" is directed towards. I was not talking about your company as an entity. The woman is talking about the machine. I was talking about the machine. Watch it back, it's very clear. > RD: Enough semantics, back to the process... Circuit boards are "fabricated" in an earlier step by different machines. PnP machines place parts after the solder paste has been squeegee'd on through a mask. Then a (reflow) oven melts the solder paste and thus electrically connect the smt parts to the board's pads.
> RD: So... lets be clear. PnP machines perform one step of many: they place parts.
and said "Their's isn't even that fast."
we slowed it down (using the previous version of the software) what you saw is about 50% as fast as it can be.
> RD: You got me. It's twice as fast as seen in the video. Its not slow.
and lastly, you said "Wasn't clear - do they sell pick and place machines?"
it was clear, we said we just bought this machine recently and was setting it up when engadget visited.
> RD: The posted video says, quote: "A couple days ago we finally started setting up our pick and place machine." Therefore your above statement is false. Have you watched the video? The woman in the video did not say: "We just bought this machine..." Otherwise I wouldn't have asked the question in the first place.
> RD: Why make up a false statement then put it in writing when the video doesn't back it up? None of this is a big deal!
@RD - defensive? i answered your questions/comments politely and quickly :) i think any chatter online always comes across inaccurately. i'll address all of your new comments and questions below...
RD: "Designing boards and bringing them through fab+assembly is how I make a living and I'd be happy to field a call should you have questions about the process."
that's interesting, who do you work for? company name / URL?
> RD: The woman in the video said, quote: "a mm on a side" which by definition means down to the size of an 0402, or 1.0 x 0.5mm. HARDLY microscopic. 0402s are easily hand placed with tweezers. I've placed and soldered a few hundred myself - it's just not economical when you're assembling boards all the time.
that's great that you can place parts that small, many people cannot. when people visit and see the parts the first thing they say is "wow, i'd need a microscope to even see those parts". it's a good analogy and good example for a video on engadget. of course since you soldered hundreds yourself you likely have a different point of view.
since this is what you do for a living it would be great if you could make a video explaining this better in less than 5 minutes and make it interesting with useful descriptions and examples - many people are interested in these machines.
> RD: What is not correct? The woman in the video said, quote: "but you can basically make iPhones with this".
for the context of the video, i think that's correct. limor is one of the few people in the world that i know that can make an iphone in her apartment.
> RD: @ ptorrone: You are confusing who "with this" is directed towards. I was not talking about your company as an entity. The woman is talking about the machine. I was talking about the machine. Watch it back, it's very clear.
you are seeing clips edited together, not in order, not everything is there. that said, i think most people understand that iphones don't just pop out the side. but now that you've commented i am sure it's even more clear.
> RD: So... lets be clear. PnP machines perform one step of many: they place parts.
i don't think anyone is confused by that, the video clearly shows the placing of parts.
> RD: The posted video says, quote: "A couple days ago we finally started setting up our pick and place machine." Therefore your above statement is false. Have you watched the video? The woman in the video did not say: "We just bought this machine..." Otherwise I wouldn't have asked the question in the first place.
again, thousands of people have watched this video, dozens of people emailed us saying it was cool that we bought a pick and place machine - so far you're the only one that seems confused by this. but to make it super clear, we don't sell pick and place machines. it's not on adafruit.com, it's not a kit, we really like the machine we bought.
Sony's just released a 15.5-inch addition to its VAIO S Series that not only adds a crucial bit of extra display acreage, but also bumps things up to a full 1080p.
The most commented posts on Engadget over the past 24 hours.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
Pick and place machines can't pick up microscopic parts.
They also can't "make iPhones" - they can place parts on circuit boards. that's it. Their's isn't even that fast.
Wasn't clear - do they sell pick and place machines?
@RD - you said "Pick and place machines can't pick up microscopic parts".
that's not true, they do, and ours does. most people cannot see the tiny parts and it's very common to use a microscope for placement of these parts by hand.
you also said "They also can't "make iPhones" - they can place parts on circuit boards. that's it."
you are not correct, we can get circuit boards made and sent here, we do all the time, or we can even etch them ourselves. the hard part is the parts placement.
and said "Their's isn't even that fast."
we slowed it down (using the previous version of the software) what you saw is about 50% as fast as it can be.
and lastly, you said "Wasn't clear - do they sell pick and place machines?"
it was clear, we said we just bought this machine recently and was setting it up when engadget visited.
@ptorrone
Defensive much? I'm not harping on your company, just correcting the inaccurate statements made about pick and place (PnP) machines. Designing boards and bringing them through fab+assembly is how I make a living and I'd be happy to field a call should you have questions about the process.
@RD - you said "Pick and place machines can't pick up microscopic parts".
that's not true, they do, and ours does. most people cannot see the tiny parts and it's very common to use a microscope for placement of these parts by hand.
> RD: The woman in the video said, quote: "a mm on a side" which by definition means down to the size of an 0402, or 1.0 x 0.5mm. HARDLY microscopic. 0402s are easily hand placed with tweezers. I've placed and soldered a few hundred myself - it's just not economical when you're assembling boards all the time.
> RD: Even 0201s (0.6 x 0.3mm) are not microscopic - however this is where you start to differentiate one PnP machine from another (if it can handle sub-0402 components or not.)
you also said "They also can't "make iPhones" - they can place parts on circuit boards. that's it."
you are not correct, we can get circuit boards made and sent here, we do all the time, or we can even etch them ourselves. the hard part is the parts placement.
> RD: What is not correct? The woman in the video said, quote: "but you can basically make iPhones with this".
> RD: @ ptorrone: You are confusing who "with this" is directed towards. I was not talking about your company as an entity. The woman is talking about the machine. I was talking about the machine. Watch it back, it's very clear.
> RD: Enough semantics, back to the process... Circuit boards are "fabricated" in an earlier step by different machines. PnP machines place parts after the solder paste has been squeegee'd on through a mask. Then a (reflow) oven melts the solder paste and thus electrically connect the smt parts to the board's pads.
> RD: So... lets be clear. PnP machines perform one step of many: they place parts.
and said "Their's isn't even that fast."
we slowed it down (using the previous version of the software) what you saw is about 50% as fast as it can be.
> RD: You got me. It's twice as fast as seen in the video. Its not slow.
and lastly, you said "Wasn't clear - do they sell pick and place machines?"
it was clear, we said we just bought this machine recently and was setting it up when engadget visited.
> RD: The posted video says, quote: "A couple days ago we finally started setting up our pick and place machine." Therefore your above statement is false. Have you watched the video? The woman in the video did not say: "We just bought this machine..." Otherwise I wouldn't have asked the question in the first place.
> RD: Why make up a false statement then put it in writing when the video doesn't back it up? None of this is a big deal!
@RD - defensive? i answered your questions/comments politely and quickly :) i think any chatter online always comes across inaccurately. i'll address all of your new comments and questions below...
RD: "Designing boards and bringing them through fab+assembly is how I make a living and I'd be happy to field a call should you have questions about the process."
that's interesting, who do you work for? company name / URL?
> RD: The woman in the video said, quote: "a mm on a side" which by definition means down to the size of an 0402, or 1.0 x 0.5mm. HARDLY microscopic. 0402s are easily hand placed with tweezers. I've placed and soldered a few hundred myself - it's just not economical when you're assembling boards all the time.
that's great that you can place parts that small, many people cannot. when people visit and see the parts the first thing they say is "wow, i'd need a microscope to even see those parts". it's a good analogy and good example for a video on engadget. of course since you soldered hundreds yourself you likely have a different point of view.
since this is what you do for a living it would be great if you could make a video explaining this better in less than 5 minutes and make it interesting with useful descriptions and examples - many people are interested in these machines.
> RD: What is not correct? The woman in the video said, quote: "but you can basically make iPhones with this".
for the context of the video, i think that's correct. limor is one of the few people in the world that i know that can make an iphone in her apartment.
> RD: @ ptorrone: You are confusing who "with this" is directed towards. I was not talking about your company as an entity. The woman is talking about the machine. I was talking about the machine. Watch it back, it's very clear.
you are seeing clips edited together, not in order, not everything is there. that said, i think most people understand that iphones don't just pop out the side. but now that you've commented i am sure it's even more clear.
> RD: So... lets be clear. PnP machines perform one step of many: they place parts.
i don't think anyone is confused by that, the video clearly shows the placing of parts.
> RD: The posted video says, quote: "A couple days ago we finally started setting up our pick and place machine." Therefore your above statement is false. Have you watched the video? The woman in the video did not say: "We just bought this machine..." Otherwise I wouldn't have asked the question in the first place.
again, thousands of people have watched this video, dozens of people emailed us saying it was cool that we bought a pick and place machine - so far you're the only one that seems confused by this. but to make it super clear, we don't sell pick and place machines. it's not on adafruit.com, it's not a kit, we really like the machine we bought.
@ptorrone
Fantastic. I agree about online correspondence coming off differently than intended. I'm sorry if I came off aggressive.
Engadget has posted at least one decent video showing the assembly process:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/video-watch-an-ssd-get-made-at-the-runcore-factory/
I looked for a pcb fab video and didn't find an end-all be-all video, just lots of little clips.
I will refrain from talking about work-work on the internet. Ping me and I'll write back this afternoon. (I'm in SF) Rob@robdog.com
@RD - RD: "Fantastic. I agree about online correspondence coming off differently than intended. I'm sorry if I came off aggressive."
not at all, it's great talking with someone who does these sorts of things for a living!
RD: i may ping you after the holiday(s) it's crazy at the moment, we're making kits 24/7 !