As you get older (like me), your vision and motor skills don’t quite keep up anymore. Combined with the ever-decreasing size of electronic components, this makes it increasingly necessary to rely on magnifying glasses and microscopes.
Some of my projects include PCBs with more than 100 components in the 0402 package. Even with magnification tools, placing so many tiny components is difficult and time-consuming.
Fortunately, there is a solution. Over at https://openpnp.org, you can find software for running a pick-and-place machine. The hardware is something you build yourself, and the site provides several examples to get started.
I built my machine using old 3D printer parts and a pegboard frame (see videos below). The design includes two cameras —one for calibration and one for positioning. The accuracy and repeatability are high, and the machine handles 0402 components without problems.
It’s not particularly fast, but it’s still much faster than placing and soldering all the components by hand.