Enhance UX of LitePlacer

[mawa]

Discussion questions:

Is it common to place all parts of a specific type at one job time?

In what order are parts to be sorted / placed ?

Background:
Some parts with different heights can be very near to each other.
Therefore if you place the higher component first the nozzle aka needle could touch this placed component on its way down placing the lower part.

More questions:

How important is the display of the Gerber PCB image?

Many programs allow a simulation of the placement on such an image. Is that something we should add?

[mrandt]

In what order are parts to be sorted / placed ?

I use a relatively short nozzle so Z-travel to PCB is almost 40 mm. This gives me quite some vertikal clearance, so even taller components do not get knocked over.

Generally speaking, highest component would often be placed last, so it does not get touched by a moving nozzle.

I think it is up to the operator to determine the best order. It will be hard to automate that task.

Thinking about that issue, it might be necessary to be able to "ungroup" same parts and place one or several of them later.

What I have seen in commercial machines are "restricted" zones per part in the library, which have 3D coordinates (including Z-level). The software then makes sure the nozzle and currently help parts do never enter the restricted zones of parts already placed. The head can either navigate around or over those.

Sounds like something we could implement but might be quite some effort.

How important is the display of the Gerber PCB image?

For me that would not add much value. If I need a map of my PCB, I can always pull that from my CAD.

When moving to placement locations, I prefer to see the real PCB in the camera view.

What else would I need the preview for?

[JuKu]

IT would be a very big task, as you would need to calculate machine movements in as well. For this level of machine, the only practical solution is to raise the nozzle high enough that the components can travel over each other.

http://youtu.be/p9Z5m2vO2DE for 's.