Aoyue 932 vacuum pick-up

[JuKu]

Because of Mikes' very nice video (), I decided I wanted a vacuum pick-up tool. I didn't want to spend much for a nice, foot operated unit, so I bought an Aoyue 932. At 40€ or so, could I go wrong? I haven't yet assembled a real board with it; I want to get my procedures right first. So, my first impressions:

This thing sucks. Well, that is kind of the point of the whole product, but it sucks way too much. There is a small hole on the side of the hand piece, but there is still more than enough suction at the tip to keep ICs attached. I drilled the hole much larger, but if I drill it any larger than it is now, the handle is going to break. 0805 components still don't fall off, so I really need to do the hack below. Noisy, but what did you expect from a sub 40€ unit with a pump in it? The needle is too big: even without the rubber heads, it is just about usable with 0805, I would assume problems with 0603. Doesn't matter much to me: I'm old and therefore, would have trouble handling 0603 and smaller, so I design with 0805. YMMV. Otherwise, seems to be good value and with some tweaks, very usable.

Tweaks: Yes, this needs some. For me, the angle of the tip is not good, it obstructs the view under the microscope. The tip is easy enough to bend as needed. I also filed the tip to suit the angle. It does need something to turn off the vacuum completely - a solenoid valve would be perfect, but I don't have one, at least not yet. (haven't looked yet  but I don't know where to get a suitable one either). Something that I can operate with my left hand would work as well. But it definitely needs something. Ideas are welcome.

[ftransform]

I am thinking about making a dual purpose vacuum pickup/solder paste extruder using a refrigerator compressor..  A simple Y  switch valve could turn the extruder on and off.

The only design difficulty I forsee is a filtration system on the compressor output as they tend to mist oil from the output.
But I will be god damned if I buy something like that.

I like these pumps because they run relatively quiet compared to a air compressor.


A ghetto alternative you can do to the solenoid valve is to put a T on the system and put a piece of flexible tubing on it. You keep it crimped with your foot and when you want to release the vacuum you simply open the hose connection to demolish the vacuum built up in your system. I think a piece of vinyl tubing would work well, perhaps with some vacuum grease smeared on the inside. Only thing I would consider is a filter so you do not get junk from your floor into your vacuum pump. Perhaps a harddrive air filter would work well here. If the area of your system is kept small the vacuum should reestablish itself quickly. You can fine tune the characteristics of it by varying the outlet resistance via clogging, so you do not get atmospheric pressure in your system but a lower vacuum. A fine "clog plug" could be created by rolling up electrical tape/canvas.