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LitePlacer upgrades!
High resolution cameras
These have been in the works for too long time, but sometimes, life interferes plans. But now, the high precision camera upgrades are available!
I searched for some time an suitable upgrade product for the endoscope type cameras in the original product. I bought about twenty different cameras and camera modules. I selected this one for the affordable price, high resolution and good image size. Most notably, the camera has:
Up to 1280x1024 resolution (1280x1024@7.5fps, 800x600@30fps)
Very good image geometry, almost no "fisheye" distortion
Adjustable focus to short enough distances
Practical form factor
Also, I designed adjustable mounts for the cameras. The mounts can adjust camera rotation to ±10 degrees, which is more than enough here. The lever in the picture is the rotation adjustment, as well as the cable mount fixing point. Also, the camera tilt can be adjusted at x and y direction, so that the camera can aim exactly vertical (you can see the two adjustment bolts with one mounting bolt in the image). In other words, height will not matter in vision position measurements. In general, I'm rather exited about the potential of the cameras, and I look forward to fully taking advantage of them in future software enhancements.
As you can see, the mounts are 3D printed. The upgrade kit comes assembled and is available in the shop now. LitePlacer is open source: The design files with part links will be available soon at LitePlacer web site.
Precision drive shaft
On some cases, the black drive shaft has been a source of inaccuracy. The shaft has been somewhat undersize, and some shafts more so than others. This has resulted to Y pulleys being mounted slightly eccentric, which causes position errors on Y direction. While one motor revolution is 40.0mm, the 20mm point in between can be ±0.1mm off. A new shaft is available in the shop in a few days. The shaft diameter precision is tight, and almost the same as the bearing inner diameter. To ensure compatibility, the shaft and bearings are sold together. These will be available in the shop a few days.
Note, that if you order both of these upgrades, they will ship together, when the drive shaft upgrade parts arrive.
Automatic nozzle change
If you still have the very first machine version with the lab needle type nozzles, upgrading to the current nozzles with automatic change capability is highly recommended.
Buy the machine
If you still don't have a LitePlacer pick and place machine, consider this email as a sales pitch: I endure to support my customers and I am developing the machine to make it even better! You can buy the machine and accessories here.
Price adjust
Please note, that if US dollar vs Euro exchange ratio doesn't recover soon, I will adjust the USD prices slightly.
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That's all for now.
Best regards,
Juha Kuusama
LitePlacer