Introduction

OpenPnP is a project to create the plans, prototype and software for a completely Open Source SMT pick and place machine that anyone can afford. I believe that with the ubiquity of cheap, precise motion control hardware, some ingenuity and plenty of Open Source software it should be possible to build and own a fully functional SMT pick and place machine for under $1000.

Status

• Overall state of the project is pre-alpha. There are currently no end-user usable components.
• Machine design remains complete up to X and Y with work on Z starting. Head design has not yet begun but many ideas are floating about.
• Firmware fork of Grbl is stable and working well. Still needs limit switch and homing support.
• GUI software is progressing rapidly. Major refactoring of configuration system taking place currently, to complete by next week.
• Current and past status reports can be found in Status Updates.

There are a few videos and screenshots below showing some of the things going on. Click the thumbnails to check them out.

PnP Machine Running OpenPnP	Simulator Demo Video	Software Screenshot	Y Axis Motion Demo Video

Get Started

Check out the wiki for information on getting started with OpenPnP as a user or as a developer.

News

• November 29, 2011: New Status Update posted with all the juicy details.

• November 6, 2011: Major work on the GUI in the past few weeks. Starting to get close to where the system can actually run real jobs. See the new video posted just above to get taste of how things are coming.

• October 20, 2011: GUI is now talking to Grbl and moving steppers. Grbl has been modified to execute only one command at a time which is required for proper feedback. Working on getting basic camera and crosshair support in the GUI now to make it easier to set up jobs.

• September 19, 2011: There has been a ton of work on the motion controller and hardware design over the past month. Parts are on order for the X and Y axes of the prototype and we believe we have settled on a modified version of Grbl for handling motion control.

• August 25, 2011: Outside interest is starting to build in the project, so I have put together a BrainDump of everything I'm currently thinking about.

• July 18, 2011: There is now a discussion group for OpenPnP at http://groups.google.com/group/openpnp. Sign up and join the discussion!

• July 17, 2011: Project languishing a bit as I work on other Summer projects. Plan to get back to prototype design and build within a few weeks.

• May 26, 2011: Power supply is in and working great. Have been working on motion control firmware for Maple board. The Maple will be the brain of the hardware side of the prototype machine.

• May 23, 2011: Received the stepper motors, stepper drivers and hoping to see the power supply today. Software has come along quite far. Camera interfaces are in place and have written an OpenGL camera simulator that works nicely. Working towards getting X and Y axes finished on the prototype over the next week.

• April 18, 2011: Posted a video of the software running the simulator at video and a video of the Y axis movement test at video.

• April 17, 2011: Tons of work on the software in the past week and weekend. See that page for more details. Also got some basic motion going on the Y axis and it's fast!

• April 10, 2011: Finished all four Y corner blocks and built the Y axis with all the parts I had on hand. More info on the prototype page. Starting to look like a machine!

• April 8, 2011: Wiki online. Lots of initial pages set up. Currently waiting on additional parts from supplier to complete Y axis.