I’m dating myself a little here, but do you remember those pick-a-path books from years ago?  Basically, you get to the end of a chapter and you’re given a few choices.  Depending upon your choices you are sent to different areas of the book and can get drastically different endings.

Yeah, this post really isn’t about that.

Can a MakerBot or RepRap be converted to a Pick and Place CNC? 1  I suppose if you did you would:

1. Need to install a camera
2. Have to write a bunch of nifty software
3. Have something that can feed the MakerBot2 the electronic parts
4. A solder dispenser
5. Have a little arm that picks up the electronic parts, rotates them3 as required, and deposits the electronic parts
6. Can the HBP get hot enough to reflow?  I suspect not – otherwise it would fry it’s own electronic bits.

This doesn’t seem far fetched to me.  Let me rephrase.  It doesn’t seem far fetched to me that someone with programming and electronics skills could develop attachments for the MakerBot or RepRap that would work as a Pick and Place.

Update: I hit publish and then remembered a moment later I wanted to attribute VoxelFab with reminding me about Pick and Place machines with his recent post.  Thanks man and congrats on the new blog.

1. Showing my ignorance:  Are pick and places CNC’s?  They certainly seem like they would be computer numerically controlled… [↩]
2. or RepRap [↩]
3. or the board [↩]