Want to Pick ‘n’ Place Boards? Then you need a Juki Nozzle to pick up your smd components. 3D Print a coupler to attach it to your Hollow Shaft Nema 8 Stepper!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AISizFcLNwQ
fantastic! when i first started watching i was thinking, “someone needs to show this to @Frank_Herrmann !!” 
Very excited to follow your posts. I started my pick and place a couple months ago and I am happily placing my own boards now. https://hackaday.io/project/9319-diy-pick-and-place
@Anthony_Webb Yupp, I’ve been following your build in OpenPNP google group (same Ray here as there). It looks great. My build hasn’t progressed much since my last post there in December when I built the frame. Just ordered the Juki nozzle so I think “in a few weeks” is our current goal for the next significant progress to occur.
You will want to print one of these to unlock your shaft. Don’t attach the tubing to the stepper because your nema won’t have the power needed to turn it. Even on robot digg you can see they are going with nema 11 steppers now. But with the 8 you are fine so long as you use a part like https://hackaday.io/project/9319-diy-pick-and-place/log/30784-unlocking-your-nozzle-stepper
Indeed I will. I saw that a while ago and fully intend to do that, although I have no idea how this part actually works. The square base isn’t screwed down and the shaft by definition isn’t a tight fit inside the piece, so how is vacuum maintained?
Yes I need some longer m2 to replace the motor screws with. For now we just used contact adhesive and glued it to the top of the motor. It’s been holding without any issues (and air tight) but yea the idea is screws and a rubber gasket ring.
That solves the mystery, because in the picture it was obviously “floating” above the motor top surface.
@Anthony_Webb This part are a very nice idea, a friend from me will print this adapter. Foto coming soon