Tape & Reels Splicing tape / shims

[vincentp]

Hi !

long story short, I'm the new owner of ktownsend's machine (7722FV), and I've I started playing with it for a couple of days.
I'm getting organized now with supplies and jelly beans (I have most of them already). For some of the parts, I either had smaller quantities or stupidly cut the cover tape a little bit too short when peeling it manually during my LONG sessions of manual part placement...
So... I'm cleaning the shop trying to use some of the partial reels I still have for my first run, some of those are expensive parts and I can't just put them in a box for prototypes (150 "prototypes" would take me back to my manual assembly era).

I've tried kapton tape but it's obvious the tack is to weak. So far clear packing tape is working but I find it a bit weak compared to the actual splicing tape.

I'm looking for some advice about splicing tape so that I can attach cover tape extenders (I saved many of them from previous reels).
I've seen also combo shim+tape to bind 2 reels together, which I don't need right now but just in case.

Of course, google is already my friend and found a good dozen of companies here and there, mostly in china, no online price and huge quantities.
Farnell has a few of those adhesive shim / binders and also the extenders (which are very pricey for what they are).

I'm more after those small piece of that (red) heavy tack tape that is used to attach the tails or beginning extenders. Not tons of them, just in case I need it in the shop.

Couldn't find anything on digikey / mouser. An ebay shop ?

Thanks !

[adafruit_support_mike]

Try calling Digikey or Mouser and asking what it would take to get a roll of the stuff they use. Obviously they have it (I usually buy from Mouser and they push their MouseReel spooling option a lot), and most intelligent companies will respond well to people who say, "I want to give you some money, but the thing I want isn't in your catalog. How can we make this work?"

[Alphatronique]

Hi

you may check
http://www.vtekusa.com/equipment/tape-splicers/
i not knot price of refill kit since i buy my kit used whit box full of consumable
so i not yet need to refill anything yet ...

i prefer adhesive tape splice that riveted metal splice like Digi-key use now
that metal one may misaligned and broke feeder teeth

for cover tape tape i use 3M10705-ND and or reuse sold Digi-reel tape extender

Best regard

[vincentp]

thanks a lot marc,
as for digikey etc, I tried with farnell, they eventually sell super small batches, you feel like you buy expensive packs of bandages I'll see with vtek if they have medium sized supplies.
for now, to be honest, I used 3M clear tape, good tack, and I was able to repair and connect old pieces of tape and protective cover, and I never jammed a feeder.
I'm close to finish my old reels, so I doubt I will need actual splicing as I order my parts reeled, for free (farnell) or a small fee (mousereel, digireel).
I also keep a box full of starting / tailing tape and old pocket tapes of all size so that I can improvise feeders, very useful when testing vision and placement.

Thank you !

[vincentp]

another tip, just in case someone needs that. As I'm finishing my old pieces of tape (I've been reloading the machine quite a bit today) I needed a quick way to splice the clear cover tape. 3M clear tape works to some point but the tack isn't so great on PE tape (varies from a tape to another).

Quick fix : use some activated cyanoacrylate glue. It's some super glue with a spray to harden it quicker.
Just a dot of glue to avoid a long rigid surface that won't be nice for the feeder pulley and spool. Strengthen with a piece of tape (optional), done.

But I can't wait for my next mouser order with capacitors by 5,000

[wmdevices]

I've had good luck using my cut tape on my 8mm feeders just by tying a knot of old cover tape around the tiny bit on the end, one knot and you only need about 2-3 pockets worth of cover tape lifted from the feeder. So typically you burn one part, and you can always back the feeder up and toss it in. Use some tweezers. Just be careful not to make the knot too tight or it will break the tape, and watch it as the knot crosses the parts around the pulley as it can get stuck.

[vincentp]

You sound like a Tie Fighter !
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*thumbs up* for that tip !