T2 Machine - A lot of rework

[Joerg Fichtner]

Hello everyone in the forum,

I got a Chinese T2 PnP machine working in about 3 months.
I achieved a placement accuracy of about 3/100 of a millimeter.
At really high speeds, the machine now also places 0402 components absolutely reliably.
There are some threads circulating about this T2 PnP machine that reported poor results and stolen software. I can confirm all of this.
Anyone who buys the machine in China, switches it on, and wants to use it will achieve nothing.
The feeders and machine are more or less useless as they were delivered!
But I liked the mechanical concept behind this $1,500 machine.
There are $50 feeders available for it, and I even bought 25 of them.
I completely disassembled the machine and replaced everything that wasn't usable.
-Remeasured all mechanical components
-New milled Parts
-New cameras (120 FPS)
-Linear guides and much more.
This adds up to another $600.
The feeders also need to be rebuilt to ensure reliable operation.
And most importantly:
The entire advanced setup in OpenPNP must be completed completely and very carefully.
And yes: My T2 machine now also runs with the "original" OpenPNP software. The software I initially received from the Chinese is bullshit.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped bring OpenPNP to where it is today.
Everything that's in the software is now coming into its own.
I used to assemble circuit boards professionally (15 years ago) with Essemtec equipment. This machine is now just as reliable and far more accurate... Sure - that's mainly due to the image processing capabilities in OpenPNP.
If anyone wants to sell such a machine – even if it's broken – I'd be happy to buy a second one for spare parts. I have no other interest in it.
Unfortunately, I don't have time to document everything here, but I'm happy to give brief tips.

Thanks again to Mark and everyone else,

Best regards, Jörg

 

[Carsten Jensen]

Great stuff.. I've had mine for 2-3 years now.. 

still standing idle on the table.. I really don't feel the energy to get started with this POS.

I bought mine because the physical build looked better than most

did you replace the controller as well?

it looks like you've replaced the head completely

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[Joerg]

yes, the phsical idea is good - in terms of a money ratio.
I not have changed the contoller. In mine I have the latest Duet Board. It is form mid 2024.
The Firmware on it workes with the last Version of Openpnp, so I not have changed it.
Yes, the Head needed to replace the guid rails and slides with original Hiwin, because of poor precision.
You can do a lot on such a machine on openpnp but not! have a poor running z axis.  
Most important is the Software:
I guess! the chinese gave thier customers a really old version of openpnp were they had started try to bring in thier own setup guide but not have finished it.
I was really impressed to see what will be available when openpnp strated in it´s "real" last version.

[ThePoll100]

Hey, what did you change in the feeders to make them work properly? Regards

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/openpnp/fc30eb25-3653-4ded-8dc2-85acd14df3e7n%40googlegroups.com.

[Joerg]

Ball bearings and 2mm pich wheel for precision improvement.
And lots of other things. I cant reply in short here,
regards

[Carsten Jensen]

I actually had the company try and configure my software using theirs.. it was shipped with one custom version of openpnp,

and later I received a newer custom version.

the technician whom configured my setup stopped responding my mails, and so did the vendor.

I'm really keen if we are a little louder, making reviews on youtube so other people won't buy their bad products.

They also falsly advertised they used openpnp and not a custom version of it.

it may be a lot to ask, but seing your setup on video will greatly motivate me (and perhaps others?) in rebuilding mine, just explain what you did

and with which new units - perhaps (if you want) share the measurements of your milled head.

/Carsten

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/openpnp/fc30eb25-3653-4ded-8dc2-85acd14df3e7n%40googlegroups.com.

[Joerg]

Hello Carsten and all here,

I want to say a few more things about this:
I think there are two companies in China that sell the T2 machine, if you don't count the Aliexpress dealers.
1. picksoeasy.com
2. desktopequip.com

!This is important for me to mention!
I believe picksoeasy ships the machine with the original OpenPNP software.
Maurizio, who lives in China, does this and has published some good videos about the machine.
I would say that you should buy a T2 machine from him.
Maurizio ships the machines with original OpenPNP.
Unfortunately, I bought the machine from desktopequip.com,
and only later found Maurizio's website.

Here are some details when I received the machine from desktopequip.com:
- Y-linear carriage broke in the middle in two parts
- A hard crash into the Y-axis, the pulley was broken and the Y-driver was completely bent
- A destroyed Z-axis - lower roller bent
No - that wasn't transport damage!
I then started disassembling the machine and discovered that 50% of all the screws weren't tightened at all. 
Threads were just poorly cut, and so much more. No chance of doing anything with it.

In my case, it was clear that I wanted to rework everything anyway.
I've been developing electronics for 40 years, including for large companies, and have sometimes had boards with 2,500 components.
You can't work with an assembly where you have to hope it will work out well until the end... it will drive you crazy.... 
That means reliability! Even if it's just one circuit board.
And that's exactly why I focused on it.
Feeder example:
The feeders are open at the top, so components can fall in during handling.
And the Chinese are so great and grease the gears -- Oops!
On the second day, I dropped a 0402 into the feeder, which blocked the feed motor and immediately burned out
the motor driver IC in the feeder.
The feeders are now all closed at the top, as is common practice in the industry.
There's far too much to document.

Carsten, can I send you a private email?
Regards, Joerg