Write a comment

• #1

  Jorge (SPAIN) (Tuesday, 18 August 2015 12:03)

  Just to tell that I am very happy with the machine I have got a VP2500, it really worth the money!!! Really fast delivery, good packaging and the best is the great techinical SUPPORT!!! without the help of Michael, this machine would be really difficult to learn how to use therefore I am so thankful for his technical support. The software is really profesional. About quality, it looks strong, good finishing surface. The cameras have good quality image. I had problems with the windows driver because windows 10 don't allow me to install not signed drivers, but after change it on windows, all works fine. A bit difficult to mount the reels on the feeders, but after mount few of them I have got the trick. So.. my advice.. if you need a pick and place machine almost profesional, with an average of 2500 parts / hour when use vision and your budget is under USD 10000, you shouldn't doubt about get this machine. This machine has nothing to envy to the machines that cost USD20000. Actually to work in a semi professional way, VISION is a must!! no one machine in this range of prices offer it.
  If someone needs photos or videos of it working, ask Michael and I will send.

• #2

  Allan (UK) (Monday, 14 September 2015 12:18)

  My VP2500D arrived a week or so ago, but only just got around to unpacking it and getting it setup. I went for both North and West feeders so I have 50 feeders on my machine and the optional parts tray. It was really well packed and arrived undamaged, the machine itself is actually screwed down solidly to a pallet which then has a wooden crate constructed around it. Software installed without any problem onto a Win 7 PC, there is a USB dongle for copy protection.
  
  The customer service and support is SUPERB!!, this has to be the most important thing when buying a P&P machine - they are very complex with a steep learning curve and good support is essential. Every question that I had was answered very quickly and Michael has been brilliant with his instruction. Also, a full user manual is under construction and will be available very soon, I've had access to the first 21 pages and it will be a huge help to everyone whether they are new to P&P or very experienced and just need to know the relevant setting to get up and running.
  
  I use Cadsoft Eagle to design my boards and the latest version of the VP2500D software has an option to import Eagle mounting data directly, so no need to type everything in manually - just run the import utlility and all of the component placement data is in the program and ready to go - impressive! So after three or four hours I am now placing components onto my own boards from my Eagle files using full vision placement. You have the option whether or not to use vison placement independantly for each feeder lane - using vision placement rather than "blind" placement doesn't seem to slow the job down too much, so I'll probably use it for all parts rather than just small parts and IC's. Twin heads are great as I can fit two different nozzles and use the larger nozzle on Head 2 for electro caps and large IC's and the and not have to stop the job to change nozzles. There are two upward looking vision cameras with two different focal lengths, so camera 1 can be used with head 1 for smaller parts and camera 2 with head 2 for larger parts. Head 1 can access both camera 1and 2, whereas head 2 can only access camera 2 - not really a limitation, more an observation.
  
  The design and construction of the machine is very impressive, the pneumatic tape advance system works very well. Everything seems very well engineered, quality brass idler wheels have been used instead of cheaper aluminium wheels, linear bearings are very smooth too. Quality stepper controllers must have been used, there are no noises from the motors that you get with some of the cheaper Chinese controllers. You will need a very solid table to mount it on, it has quite a bit of momentum when working so needs a solid, level base.
  
  The software is very, very good! There are options for almost everything - as an example the vision placement can be x,y only or x,y with angle correction, you can select this for each feeder lane independantly. The mark points proceedure is great - when you take out a finished board and fit a new board for placement there will always be a slight misalignment due to slight variances in the milling of the board edges and a slight difference in the position of the new pcb in the holder - neither of these are a problem, the visual mark alignment automatically finds the centre of the two fudicial marks and corrects for it so that all components will be accurately placed. This will really speed up workflow when placing many boards in a session as I intend to do.
  
  So, there's my initial impressions of the VP2500D, I am really pleased with it and it is light years ahead of the TM220/240 machines and the full vision system gives it a big advantage over the Neoden TM245p - without vision you will spend a lot of time with tweezers and a magnifier re-aligning smaller components and IC's before reflow.

• #3

  Thomas Burton (Tuesday, 03 May 2016 10:34)

  I spent a lot of time looking around at different PnP machines around the 10000USD region for our company and I have to say that I am utterly thrilled that we went with the VP2500HP. One of the biggest selling points was the fact that Michael spent two hours one evening talking me through all of the setup and features of the machine so I could really see how it would all work when I would actually be using it. Dealing with the company has been incredibly easy, everyone was very polite and helpful. The machine was excellently packed and the software was easy to install onto our windows 7 workstation.
  
  The machine itself is clearly very well engineered, it is perhaps not as ‘spangly’ as something like the Neoden but I really think you pay for quality engineering over a fancy cover! It worked straight out of the box and I was able to get it placing components within hours. The fact I was able to import an EagleCAD file straight into the software without any messing around was another big selling point and it hasn’t failed to disappoint, really easy to go from design to PCB assembly very quickly.
  
  The software is really clear and easy to use with a large number of options available so you can set the machine to your exact needs. However, being new to PnP machines there were a couple of things I needed help to set up properly. The customer support is fantastic; Michael was happy to talk me through all of the steps I needed to get it placing larger chips even though he is clearly busy designing lots of very exciting sounding features into the next software version…!
  
  Having the option of a nozzle changer is a brilliant plus for getting all the fiddly 0402 parts down with dual nozzles before switching to place the ICs. Vision for aligning everything is great as well as it means we get all the parts in the right place all the time and it’s great fun to see it whizzing around and picking up all the parts before aligning them over the camera, makes me feel like a kid watching it!!!
  
  If you’re thinking of getting a PnP then I couldn’t recommend one of these higher and am happy to send photos, videos, chat et. If you have any doubts.

• #4

  Toni (SPAIN) (Thursday, 01 March 2018 09:15)

  Hello everyone,
  
  I bought a VP2500 machine to assemble prototypes and small series of 25-50 pieces and in general I am very happy with the performance. For the start-up in a couple of days you have the machine completely configured and you can already mount circuits correctly.
  The software is complete and easy to use.
  Michael and Sunny had an excellent deal with me and Michael gives great technical support.
  The good assembly work is thanks to the two vision cameras that perfectly focus the components.
  The machine is robust and you see care in the details.
  As a detail to improve, I bought the table but it moves if you work at high speeds.
  In summary, it is a good quality price machine.

• #5

  mark derbyshire (Thursday, 08 March 2018 23:57)

  Hello, I am in the market for a pick and place machine which can handle 0201 components (20 mil by 10 mil). ALL of my designs are solely 0201. My boards are small ranging from 1" by 1" to 4" by 1". I have been looking at the NeoDen4 but I have been told, even though it is advertised to handle 0201, that it is really on the edge for handling 0201 and not worth buying. I would like to know how robustly you quantify your machine for ALL 0201 work. Please let me know. My email is mderby123@gmail.com and my site is www.bbt-line.com Thanks, Mark