I'm doing some SMD hand soldering occasionally and am looking for a better way of getting SMD resistors from a strip, so their orientation is upside up and their reading is e.g. from left to right.
I normally just peel off the cover foil, but then the "pile" looks like the picture below.
I thought of removing the foil and use adhesive tape to get them out. Then, the resistors are aligned equally, but upside down, so, not practical.
So, what are ways to get SMD resistors from a strip, such they are upside up and aligned equally?
BTW, to get a clearer picture I showed 1206 resistors, but I mainly use 0603 (Imperial code).
Best Answer
You should try vacuum tweezers. They are a bit varied, there are some super cheap ones and others more sophisticated:
Cheapest option, which I dont recommend. When you press or release the vacuum pump the tweezer moves, which makes placing parts precisely a bit harder.
There are some automated versions, some come with a pedal for instance where you can enable or disable the vacuum. (the image is illustrative, I don't know which features it has)
Some of them have a metal arm which you can use to help place the parts even more precisely. This is a "cheap" one from Tindie, but there are some that are a lot more rigid and expensive (didn't find a picture when writing the answer).
Or build your own (out of the first one).
I have 2 that are made with aquarium pumps, these guys posted a guide on how to build one. Mike (Mikes Electric Stuff) has a nice video about the topic as well.
Some time ago I posted a video of some PCB population some boards using mine. In my case I sealed an aquarium pump with hot glue leaving only one exit for the air, and I block that exit with my hand. When the exit is blocked the part is released (tackyness from the paste helps release the part from the resitual vacuum).