>A friend of mine once used a PLD to turn a plotter into a pick-and-place.

Now there is a thought. Load the pen changer with a syringe of solder paste,
and have a motor of some sort to push the plunger, syringe gets moved around
all the SMD pads putting a spot of paste on each one, then syringe gets put
back in pen holder, and vacuum tool gets picked out instead. tape of
components gets inched along the edge of the plotting area by separate motor
which gets a step command after each component is lifted from tape. Once all
components placed, remove board, and into the toaster oven. I like it.

Yeah, I reckon this could be a doer. I have an old HP plotter where the
motor drive keeps blowing up - suspect one of the stepper motors has died in
some way. Might yet investigate this, I like it.

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