CHM T36VA Pick and Place Machine Part 1

This is the first in a series of video's in which I will show how to set up and use a CHM T36VA Pick and Place Machine. In this video I will give a brief demonstration of it running and a quick overview of the machine itself.

[@John-ro2yk]

Your comment on "support" is spot on. Support is a lot of work, and it probably doesn't help when the expectation is to be in English when your native language is Cantonese. I appreciate your series of videos. Thank you.

[@richardfstout]

Jerry, thanks for posting these videos! I am a new owner of this machine, and have found very little initial training and educational material. So I really appreciate what you are doing! I look forward to learning more.

[@michaellane3239]

Thanks for the demo. I'm considering one of these machines and your videos will be very helpful.

[@JerryWalker001]

Let me know if you want any video's on particular aspects. They are good machines but like all cheaper machines they need a bit of user effort to get the best out of them.

[@pcwrangler09]

Thanks for this. Looking forward to the next vid.

[@ionix2000]

Thanks for the video. Can you please tell us or show us how you connect the PC to the machine?

[@theconservativehusker]

Do you remember having issues with the serial to usb port not being found? I am having this issue. My boss has had this machine for a while, and now we are trying to run it with a windows 7 and the original firmware.

[@MPaulHolmesMPH]

Do you know if there is a way to have a given feeder be pulled a little more to the right rather than having the hole in the tape be at the upper left corner of the metal? I keep having the legs of SOIC packages hit the metal when they are pulled up by the vacuum. I know how to move the vacuum nozzle a little to the right, but that doesn't help.

[@JerryWalker001]

It sounds like you need to adjust the 'pull' to get the component into the correct position.

[@UnexpectedMaker]

Thanks for making these videos Jerry. How many USB ports does the machine need on the external PC? And what type? I assume Type-A USB 2.0?

[@JerryWalker001]

Unexpected Maker, The machine has two connections. One is a USB and is for the video cameras. The other is RS232 and is for controlling the cnc part of the machine although it is supplied with a USB to serial convertor cable so it requires 2 USB ports. I use USB 2 but it should work fine with USB 3. Connections are the usual type A at the PC and one type B at the machine (the other is a D type connector). The machine is supplied with the required cables. (NOTE: I have no affiliation with the manufacturer).

[@UnexpectedMaker]

Awesome, thanks. I’m thinking of running it from a MacBook Air running windows 7 in a VM, as I don’t have a pc for it and don’t want to spent the ,only to buy one when I have a few Macs free. Trying to avoid paying extra for the 48VA.

[@JerryWalker001]

Let me know how you get on. It is not normally a good idea running CNC machines in a VM environment as they often take a few liberties with the operating system to provide the required timing.

[@UnexpectedMaker]

@@JerryWalker001 I can always bootcamp it if I need to, but just trying to avoid buying another PC, even a second hand one, just to run a PnP. I'm hoping at some stage OpenPNP might become a real thing for the CHMT36, and if I go the 48VA/B then I don't think OpenPNP will ever be an option..

[@coreycastro3013]

Good afternoon Jerry, I'm trying to set this up as part of my internship. Is there any way I could get in contact with you for some help with the setup. Thank you, I appreciate your time.

[@DerekSpeareDSD]

How is this machine running now two years later?

[@JerryWalker001]

It is still working fine. It has now placed over 1000000 components. The only problem I have had with it is the reel guides are fairly brittle and tend to crack after a while but they are easy to replace with 3D printed copies. Also the reel tension needs adjusting every so often to prevent feeding reels that are not wanted. The X axis belt needed adjusting after around 500 hours. I lubricate the rods every few weeks and they still look good although one of the bearings is getting a bit noisy but again should be easy to replace. I use it mostly for 0805 and 0602 plus SOT23 and as they all use the same size nozzle I mostly fir the same size to both heads and I am still using the first ones I purchased.

[@DerekSpeareDSD]

@@JerryWalker001 I am watching your videos and expect to be ordering one of these for our business if I can actually use it :D Do they give you the software when you buy one, a download link?

[@JerryWalker001]

@@DerekSpeareDSD Mine was delivered with a memory stick containing a version of the software but I did not use that version as it only supported 2 point board calibration. Their website had a version that did support 3 point calibration so I used that instead. The only downside to that was some of the menus are in Chinese and as I do not speak Chinese I had to figure out what some of the options were but it is not difficult. A lot of the information on line tends to imply that you must use certain pcb CAD systems but that is not true (usual social media lazy reporting) you can use any software which can produce positional output files although you will need to figure out what to name each field and what order to sort them (see my videos).

[@yarshunj7003]

I've been using this for a while now and it's been working well for all the components I'm using except the TPS61202. In my first full run it placed everything as I intended and misplaced this slightly so I started changing the component height/feed spacing. Now, the machine draws the component and goes to the bottom camera, does not sense anything and attempts to draw the component again, goes to the camera and states an error "not drawing material:. What might be the problem?

[@JerryWalker001]

Which height did you change? It sounds like you have the part out of camera focus. Try stepping manually so that you can see the component through the camera and see how it looks.

[@mertcapkin7263]

how does this machine advance the components to the next one on the reel/spool, with the head?

[@JerryWalker001]

There is a small solenoid which lowers a pin. The pin engages with the hole in the tape reel and the head then moves the programmed distance for the component type and this pulls the tape out. The tape cover is wound under tension onto the waste take up reel. The pin is then raised and the next component has been exposed and can be picked up by the nozzel.

[@mertcapkin7263]

@@JerryWalker001 great, thanks a lot!

[@mkjeevarajan]

Hello jerry,thanks for the video, i am planning to buy this machine,what is your suggestion .thanks.

[@JerryWalker001]

Be sure to run plenty of test boards before commiting your real boards. Double sided tape on old boards makes a good test and you can peel it off and try again. Buy a few reels of very cheap resistors and design a test board with them at different angles and play with it. Be sure to have fun.

[@ImGriffinP]

Are you able to measure the length of the feeder reel system for me? Trying to see how it is.

[@JerryWalker001]

The total length between the reel holder end plates is 49.5cm

[@MiteshPatel-vp2hz]

How to set error ‘’ Y Axis lose step ‘’

[@MostlyPennyCat]

I guess the obvious issue with those reels is that if you want to change the one in the middle, you have to change _half_ the reels to get to it

[@JerryWalker001]

No, you can change them one at a time in any order. You withdraw the bar and then the reel will lift out. It is not as easy as the casette based systems but it is still fairly easy.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

@@JerryWalker001 OK. Clearly I'm missing something, wouldn't they all fall on the floor if you pulled the bar out?

[@JerryWalker001]

Underneath the reels there are two more bars with reel separators. If you pull out the cental bar then the reels rest on the lower 2 bars.You can then replace whichever reels you want to and then refit the bar which passes through the centre of each reel. I sometimes even run the machine without the central bar fitted. If you look at the reels from the end (front of the machine) then the two lower bars are at approx 5 and 7 oclock positions.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

@@JerryWalker001 Oh so they are, I thought they were some other kind of waste reel like the one by the peeler. That makes much more sense.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

@@JerryWalker001 Wow, thanks for the information. Has somebody put a knowledge base wiki together? OK, second but much more general question, on SMD workflow. This just does pick and place, right? Obviously you need a row oven. Second hand desktop ones turn up on eBay, not too pricey. But this won't print solder paste on it, will it? I'd need a third machine to do that, right? I have a mind to design and sell analogue synthesiser modules based around the Yamaha FM synthesis chip (like in the Megadrive and the Yamaha DX-7) and there's millions of new-old-stock chips available but only in surface mount, in flat-pack not DIP.

[@deegl]

Have you ever tried 0402 ?

[@JerryWalker001]

Yes it works fine with 0402 but you have to be very precise in setting up the feeders. Also I have only assembled small palletts when they have 0402 components (max has been 180 x 140mm). Also make sure that there are plenty of 'spare' components in the reels as it will drop some. Be sure to use the correct nozzle size and clean it with IPA before each use to avoid components sticking to it.

[@deegl]

@@JerryWalker001 That info is very useful, thanks a lot!