Aoyue 932 Vacuum Pickup Station

I do surface mount on 0805 size components and so did my tests on standard surface mount resistor of that size. Like others, the out-of-the-box vacuum is too powerful to let go of the part when you let your finger off the suction hole. In my pneumatic and plumbing supplies I had two brass hose barbs with 3/16" ID and a 1/4" male fitting. I used a Harbor Freight 1/4" pneumatic ball valve and screwed the two hose barbs into the ball valve to act as a bleed valve. I just trimmed about 3" of the flexible hose and spliced in the valve assembly. It was quite easy at that point to find the position on the ball valve that would bleed off enough vacuum to be able to both pick up and let go of an 0805 resistor. Of course this could all be done with PVC parts given the pressures are very low.Then it was on solving the "hole problem". I used a 3/16" bit in a drill press and drilled a new hole in the pickup much closer to the tip, but still on the main barrel. I used a piece of electrical tape to cover the initial hole. I didn't use any of the rubber tips, just the metal part of the main pickup tip worked fine. I have a selection of other sizes of industrial dispensing needles to try, but at this time did not need to use them.It seems clear there is some work to do on the design of this thing from the pipe to the user, but I suspect the vacuum pump itself is good and I should get a lot of good use out of this.

This suction device is ok but honestly it could use a lot of the modifications mentioned here.The suction is almost too much for small lenses or SMD components.It also could have used more isolation between the pump and case. The thing just rattles around.It could also use a longer hose, you want the pump unit as far away from you as possible.As a base to work from, I think its good. As a fully functioning product, not so much.

The pump is grate, actually too powerful.With a bigger nozzle I can hold up a pretty large and heavy inductor.The issue comes when working with small parts, like 0805, 0603 and smaller. The suction pickes them up fine, but won't release them.I did a simple modification to the machine by adding a small valve in line with the vacuum line. Worked grate.I think they should improve the design by adding a variable speed pump or add a regulator.I'm also planning on adding a foot control activated electro valve, I find the hole method a little bit odd, and I can't do precision as I move the part while trying to move my finger away from blocking the hole.Overall I give a 4 starts because of the solid metal case, and good pump, this pump was operated for hours at the time and worked just as expected.

Item operated as designed. I have however modified the unit to increase it's usefulness in that I can now place SMD components on a circuit board as well as remove them with reasonable ease using an appropriate needle size tip for the component size.With the addition and installation inside the cabinet, of the following components:1) A 12 Volt 2-Position, 3 Way Ported solenoid valve.2) A few vacuum hoses.3) Necessary wiring and 2-female panel sockets.The vacuum at the pen is controlled from by means of the solenoid, a foot switch to energize / de-energize the solenoid, and the 12V 1A power supply to power the solenoid.When the solenoid is de-energized, valve Port 1 and Port 2 are connected, Port 3 is not connected. Port 1 goes to the pump, Port 2 is connected to the pen. Vacuum is created at the pen tip.When the solenoid is energized, port 2 is connected to Port 3, Port 1 is not connected. Vaccum at the tip of the pen is lost as atmospheric pressure is allowed in to equalized pressure between the pen tip and vent intake connected to Port 3.The unit's exterior has not been changed except for the 5.5 mm Female Panel Sockets ( 1 above the power unit switch for the foot switch to be plugged in, and 1 on the back of the unit for the power supply to plug into in the upper left corner).To prevent small components, solder particles and the like from getting into the vacuum valve and pump unit, I have used a small engine fuel filter with the fine 10 micron mess screen, inserted in the hose just outside the unit. The filter is easily cleaned and reused as needed.

This is very well made for the price. The problem is that it has to much vacuum and no way to vary the power without drilling an additional hole. The parts I use are large 10 mm x 12 mm surface mount component. The anount of suction is so great that it sucks my skin in the hole and when I release it the tip jerks. I found that after I pick the part it would still hold the part after I removed my finger from the hole. This turned out to be a benefit as I could release the suction with the part over the PCB and the place it and the surface tension of the paste would then hold the part. With this technique it solved my problem until I can get my pick and place machine repaired. I dont think it will work well with parts smaller then 10 x 12 mm.

Not a bad little vacuum pickup unit. It's relatively quiet, for what it is. Put your lips together and go Bbbbbbb, like a kid imitating a motorboat. It's about like that - basically an aquarium pump with a muffler. I measured 10"Hg of vacuum; a little low for my needs, but probably fine for pick and place. Seemed to have pretty good flow, would suck a quart sized baggie flat in a few seconds. The 'pen' is a bit crude, but it fits luer needles, and comes with several, including little rubber cups. Has a length of silicone tubing which is nice and flexible, but would probably collapse if it generated more vacuum.

The delivered device was prepared for 110V AC, and in Europe we have 220V AC.However, it's not a problem. I managed. No one's perfect.Therefore, my rating is as high as possible.