SMD Feeder

thingiverse

This SMD feeder is designed for makers who work with resistor and capacitor "libraries" of components and produce small quantities of boards. Several other feeders were tested, but they either had problems printing without supports or were too large for the small strips of components. The feeder features a transparent window for grabbing the components and another window for extracting the cover film. One side of each feeder is open, allowing adjacent feeders or a stop block to create the other side. All prints can be done without supports. Two feeder bases are included: one 200 mm long (covering the full extent of my printer bed) and another 100 mm long for small jobs or extra components. The feeders need to be rotated on the print bed so that the open side is facing up, eliminating the need for supports. The edges of the feeder bases and feeders are sloped to ensure no supports are required. Three sizes of feeders are available: 8mm wide x 1 mm thick, 12mm x 2.5mm, and 16mm x 3mm. The stop block and threaded pins secure the feeders on the base. Holes every 5 mm on the base allow for some gaps between the feeders but ensure they are securely attached. The threaded pins screw into the stop block and secure into the base of the feeder base. Brims were used for all prints except the bases. The only print that requires a brim is the threaded pin; the rest depend on how well your printer can adhere to smaller feeders and stop blocks. PLA was used for printing. For attaching SMD component information on the feeders, white nail polish was applied to the large area at the rear, or a black fine point marker or label maker was used. The feeder designs were created in Fusion 360, and the files will be uploaded once cleanup is complete and uploading procedures are figured out.