SMT (Surface Mount technology) Pick & Place Machines are machines that take a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) that has been screen printed with glue-ey gooey solder and add components to it. The machines basically put the the right stuff on the right place on series of PCBs.  They put the little LED light right where it needs to be for example.

These machines have been a mainstay of PCB production for many years.  Some SMT Machines such as Assembléon’s A-Series can place 111,000 components an hour to an accuracy of 25 micron.

Swiss Essemtec has just introduced the Cobra, notable not only for combining speed with flexibility but also the industry’s first real foray into design. The Cobra can be filled with the next job while the current run is in progress.

The first video gives you a good look at how an SMT Pick & Place machine works. The second video is a slick one outlining the Essemtec Cobra.

So, why am I so interested with SMT pick and place machines? If we are to use combinatorial manufacturing and combine 3D printing with mass production technologies, some process has to put it all together.

In combinatorial manufacturing the main virtue of mass production is combined with the main virtue of 3D printing. Mass production can produce many identical components cost effectively. 3D printing can produce one unique item cost effectively. By combining the two you get an item that packs a lot of functionality but is unique.  And the magical technology that can string the two together is pick  & place.