Introducing the new PushPullFeeder, the hardware side of the ReferencePushPullFeeder in OpenPNP. Inspired by Dining-Philosopher’s Litefeeder and Jed Smith’s Litefeeder++ friction wheel, this feeder has the following design goals and ideas:

• Use case: prototyping/very small runs.
• All 3D-printed, no hardware (screws, springs etc.) required.
• Complete solution: reel holder, feeder mount, cover tape spool, spent tape chute.
• Supports 2mm pitch/0402 parts, i.e. it can feed two parts per tape advancement.
• Simple and no-fiddle tape and reel loading, including cover tape spool clamp.
• Feeder can be mounted between two mounted feeders, no tools, no side access required.
• Relatively fast print: ~3.5h (or less) for complete feeder.
• Low cost: $2 per feeder (PETG filament).
• So cheap, you can store all your reels with the feeder attached. Cartridge style.
• All parts can be replaced, has punch-out holes to remove parts without breaking them.
• The tape inset (see where the tape is inserted in the animation) is all you need to exchange for use with different tapes (paper thickness, embossed pocket width and depth, etc.). Provides snug fit for low vibrations and high precision pick location repeatability.
• Insanely parametric OpenSCAD solution with Customizer parameter user interface, extensive comments in the code.
• Open Source Hardware, GPL license.

Watch the video:

Read the OpenPnP Wiki about how to setup feeders.

Get the OpenSCAD model:

• https://github.com/markmaker/PushPullFeeder

Tell me what you think in the discussion.