On Fri, 13 Feb 2015 12:15:34 -0700, you wrote: >At 06:42 AM 2/8/2015, Isaac Marino Bavaresco wrote: > >>"Proper" feeders are very expensive. >>This machine >> >>uses a clever solution that gives the benefits of "proper" feeders=20 >>(except for some loss of performance, which is totally acceptable)=20 >>with almost zero cost. > >I have what I think is a smaller version of that machine. There is a=20 >good chance the machine on aliexpress came from the same factory as mine. > >My machine has 28 feeders and I find that just isn't enough. The=20 >reason I say that is because it takes several minutes to load one=20 >single reel onto the feed rack and thread the tape and get the=20 >plastic tape cover loaded onto the peel spool. > >That said: the machine works *very* well. No vision but it uses=20 >dead-reckoning positioning and it is *accurate*. Just like the=20 >professional P&P machines from years gone by. > >I'd like more than 28 feeders because I do so much analog work. That=20 >means that I use lots of odd-value resistors (E24 & E96 series) as=20 >well as lots of capacitor values. > >Generally speaking, 28 feeders has been enough to do one board. But=20 >it takes too much time to vhange reels on the machine. A machine=20 >that had double or triple the number of feeders would suit me nicely. Interchangeable banks of feeders would be the ideal answer to this - people= can buy as many as they need, and even if you had to swap a bank part way through a job thay may no= t be a big problem.=20 For the occasional oddball value, picking from a tray of fixed strips woul= d also be viable.=20 =20 --=20 http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .