Parts feeder
The parts feeder allows the pick and place machine to efficiently work with components on tape reels. It is designed to hold the tape, remove the covering material, and advance the tape to the next position after a part has been picked.
Conceptual design of a 12mm width feeder:

A fully loaded pick and place machine may have anywhere from 20-80 feeders installed, so keeping the cost for each feeder as low as possible is important. To that end as much of the sensing and control electronics is moved to the feeder bank as possible. Current target cost is sub $50, aim to reduce further with future work.
Actuators
# | Use | Description |
1 | pull cover tape | dc motor |
2 | actuate cover | pager motor |
Sensors
# | Use | Description |
1 | detect tape movement | potentially an opto-coupler to measure tape extension, or optical module in feeder bank |
Electronics
# | Use | Description |
1 | Feeder ID, and feeder width | Small serial eeprom embedded in feeder |
2 | Connection to feeder bank | Spring loaded terminals / pads |
Feeder bank
Each feeder mechanically connects to a feeder bank on the machine. The bank has several purposes
- Mechanical: to hold the feeder in a fixed position
- Identification: to identify feeder ID, and notify control system of insertions and removals
- Tape position: it may be possible to measure tape movement with mouse optical sensors, reducing part count in feeder.
- Actuation: to drive the motor in the feeder when the tape needs to advance
Further reading
Original thread on CNCZone discussing parts feeder:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/rc_robotics_autonomous_robots/139418-open_source_generic_component_feeder.html