This post is a follow up to the “pick and place” category of articles, if I can call it that, I am trying to keep my promise of discussing some commercial pick and place machines. I researched for a good entry level (non DIY/kit) pick and place machine that could cover assembly needs without a lot of baby sitting. I am not talking about high end machines here, but something like what Adafruit or Sparkfun first got into, something suitable for a startup both feature/budget-wise. Even these entry level commercial machines are easily in the tens of thousands of $. You can easily spend twice what you’d pay for a brand new reliable car. I don’t know about you but when I think of spending that kind of cash I’d want to do my homework and know everything I can possibly expect from the product. This article is not meant to be exhaustive but I hope to cover most concerns and give a good idea what is important to look for, I can only wish there was a concentrated resource like this when I first started my research. It’s a long writeup but I hope those interested in the subject will appreciate the aggregation.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
