Expat Audio first Proto run for SMD flow.

Gents,

We're very slowly gearing up for an SMD module range of parts. (to take the pain out of soldering all those resistors and caps etc!)

Here are a few video's of the first run through from putting solder paste on the boards, through pick and place, to reflow.

1 - Reflow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT4LpGpDLBs
2 - Pick and Place
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jD3Gg8T0bI
3 - Additional IC's placed manually
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjWydgN_o9M
4 - Reflow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOtI5IYKMxc

That last video cuts short because I run out of memory on the camera,

Sound and Video sucks -- I was doing everything unplanned, and I have the air compressor running int he background for the pnp, and a fan to try and cool the garage on a warm Texas night.

Feedback and Questions are welcome.

/R

Nice to see that it's coming to fruition!

very cool to see how it can be done on a small diy scale.  thanks rochey!
did the pick n place miss a resistor because you forgot to program that pick item or was did the system glitch?
keep it coming!
cheers!
grant

Operator error

My pickup point for that reel was off. It would pick up erroneously and drop the resistor.

What is your goal with this? Is it just for personal projects, selling completed boards, or offering smd assembling as a service to customers? I could imagine there being decent demand for small runs of smd assembly depending on the pricing of everything.

John,

All the above!

The main purpose was to drive expat audio to a module based business. Given that pro audio parts are rather steep in cost, this would have meant building in small batches. Even Chinese assemblers don't like small batches!

Regarding an assembly service - that may be something I'd consider once EA is running smoothly. Even then, there'd be a fixed list of components that we'd assemble. I'm not changing reels for every Tom dick 'n Harry... Just setting up the machine for 1 project has given me an appreciation for the work and effort put in by the usual assembly guys.

Thanks for your interest!

Rochey