A Pick and Place machine is the second step in a paste, place, reflow assembly operation. The “Place” function follows the “solder paste” function (stencil printer). The ‘place’ operation selects and delivers a component over the board and drops it into position. The simplest form of pick and place operation is by hand, that is, manually picking a component from a bin and, with the aid of a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass, positioning it on the board and completing the operation with a hand-held soldering iron.

 

This method works well if you are only doing occasional boards. Other things to consider – the size of the components (big or small) – affect the time required to hand place and solder. Fine pitch components are another issue, where more precision and accuracy are required, and the human factor comes into play. The work then become more tedious and time consuming.

 

First, we will focus on machine-assisted manual systems for users interested in going from a couple boards a day to much higher production volumes. Fully automatic systems are complex enough that we’ll cover them separately.

 

PRODUCTION VOLUME

 

Let’s start by addressing production ranges for various types of machine-assisted manual systems. For purposes of comparison, since all circuit boards vary in size and complexity, we’ll talk about volumes in terms of components per hour, or CPH. This will help you to decide what level of automation you’ll need.

 

On the very low side of the scale – using a manual hand system – the only expense is the appropriate hand tools for non-machine assisted manual placement. At the high end of the spectrum, these machines are often modular or customized for high speed unattended operation. Buyers in this market are likely looking more at ROI than initial cost.