Robin Reiter's Pixel Pump, the RP2040

Robin Reiter's open-hardware Pixel Pump, the surface-mount pick-and-place tool powered by a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller, is now shipping to backers — and can be ordered for rapid delivery for those who missed out on its crowdfunding campaign.

Reiter unveiled the Pixel Pump two years ago, promising an open-hardware device to speed manual surface-mount device (SMD) pick-and-place. Its swish housing holds a vacuum pump under the control of a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board, with the ability to activate and deactivate suction on the pen via a foot pedal. A simple control panel allows for switchable pick and drop trigger modes, configurable vacuum strength, and a reverse mode to switch the pump to blow.

In July 2022 Reiter launched a crowdfunding campaign for mass production of the finished Pixel Pump, now bundled with five stainless-steel nozzles in a variety of sizes and with a professionally-produced case replacing the 3D-printed housing of the prototypes. Reiter also unveiled a companion product, the SMD Magazines — offering a spring-loaded mechanism for quick retrieval of taped SMD components.

Now, a year on, the Pixel Pump is shipping. "The completion of all products including packaging, certification, software, manufacturing, and assembly was done almost entirely by us in our workshop and we are very proud of that," Reiter writes. "This whole process has taken a lot of time and energy, and I am very excited to finally be able to send you the products and continue on with manufacturing the next batch."

Heading to the Crowd Supply warehouse now and to project backers soon, the Pixel Pump and SMD Magazines are heading out to 124 crowdfunding backers — with excess stock from the first production run being offered with rapid shipping to those who missed out or who want an additional unit, priced at $499 plus $39 for an eight-pack of SMD Magazines. "It should ship very soon," Reiter says of newly-ordered units.

More information is available on the Pixel Pump Crowd Supply campaign page.