Another one

[Gopher]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/chipsetter/chipsetter-one-a-desktop-pick-and-place-machine/posts/1692469

[Jason]

Not fast, but faster than some "toys".

[Gopher]

It "Looks the part" and they are right not to chase speed, the claimed 30 micron accuracy is up there with a proper machine and if a plastic feeder really works that is pretty impressive. Placement area looks vaguely sensible to. It seem to be getting a little stick online from opensourcers etc "why didn't you use openPNP?" etc and while there may be some justification in that its not like anyone else has used that stuff to make a decent commercial product, the Liteplacer is almost comical, tho for some it may be useful..

[Mike]

I'm really not sure why you'd want to risk that amount of money on an unknown outfit with very few real details, no software yet ( by their own admission) , and uncertain delivery time, when you can get a  similar spec for a similar price from China right now.

Most reports I've seen on the various Chinese machines are that the hardware is basically OK, the software, like most Chinese software,  is terrible to use but does just about work, and machines have typically paid for themselves pretty quickly.
The OpenPnP project is a potential route to fix the latter issue.

Feeders are still a problematic area, and there is no evidence that the Chipsetter guys are any closer than anyone else. 

I'd be highly surprised if this makes its funding target, and if it does, how will it compare to what will the Chinese will be offering by the time this project delivers  ?

[Gopher]

It is a lot to gamble for sure, being Kickstart averse myself I can't begin to guess what others make of such a sum. They really should have had something a little more ready before coming to Kickstarter, especially on the software front to reassure people. Such an effort is far from trivial and the idea they can knock up a new platform over the next 12 months (or less according to the text) seems ridiculously ambitious. Like so many of these projects I always worry when a bunch of people only one of whom has more than 10 years experience in anything really think they can solve the industries problems just like that. The target seems low too, it seems to me its fairer to your backers to find some VC or a loan on the back of some strong pre-orders & interest, the risk here is instead spread between a handful of people who presumably are not wallowing in cash (or they'd just buy something known and 2nd hand).