[Nick Poole] has an interesting idea for a new tool, one that has the simple goal of making accurate part counts of SMT reels as easy as pulling tape through a device. That device is the BeanCounter, an upcoming small handheld unit of his own design that counts parts as quickly as one can pull tape through a slot. The device is powered by a CR2032 cell and and works with 8 mm wide tapes up to 2 mm in height, which [Nick] says covers most 0805 or smaller sized parts, as well as things like SOT-23 transistors.

Why would one want to make such a task easier? Two compelling reasons for such a tool include: taking inventory of parts on partial reels or cut tape, and creating segments that contain a known number of parts.

The first is handy for obvious reasons, and the second is useful for things like creating kits. In fact, the usefulness of this tool for creating tape segments of fixed length is perhaps not obvious to anyone who hasn’t done it by hand. Sure, one can measure SMT tape with a ruler or a reference mark to yield a segment containing a fixed number of parts, but that involves a lot of handling and doesn’t scale up very well. In fact, the hassle of cutting tape segments accurately and repeatedly is a common pain point, so making the job easier has value.

If you looked at the photos and suspected that the big, 7-segment numeric display is done with clever PCB fabrication options (making segments by shining LEDs through PCB layers, a trick we always like to see) you’re not alone. After all, [Nick] has a lot of experience in getting clever with board fabrication, and eagle-eyed readers may even suspect that the reset and setup buttons on the edge of the tool are created by using flex PCB segments as switches. Want the nitty-gritty details? Visit the GitHub repository for the project and see it all for yourself at the CAD level.

A ordinary ruler can do the same job.

Sure, but this seems to be much more convenient and quicker. It would be nice if this would count the parts directly instead of the feed holes.

Add a cutter for tape and some sort of starting peeler for the covering foil and you have an awesome product. Nice.

I can see some merit for this, but in its current form it’s not good enough. The most obvious flaw is the display. There is so much light bleeding through to the “off” segments, that I can not even read the numbers in the display in the demonstration video.

Next improvement is to add some integrated mounting mechanism, so it can easily be fixed to some scissors or other cutting apparatus.

This also needs some adjustment mechanism to be able to adjust to different tape widths and thicknesses. Thickness could be adjustable by sliding two tapers against each other. For the width, I think tape width always is a multiple of 4mm and something with a stop every 4 mm

I also think (but am not entirely sure) the design can be improved by adding a transparent top to make it easier to see where the parts start in the tape and correlate that with the exact position a bean is counted.

Yet another idea: Add an integrated clamping mechanism. Preferably one that can lock onto the holes. This makes it easier to accurately fix the tape while operating scissors with your other hand.

I also do not understand why it would be able to count faster in “inventory mode” compared to “dispense mode”. Many microcontrollers have quadrature hardware, that can count into the MHz rates. Also, tape has a hole every 4mm, thus 250 holes per meter. Even counting at 10m per second is a very slow 2.5kHz. The only reason for the ability for not reaching 50kHz or more is sloppy design (either hardware or software).

Just an idea: Can it count in both directions, depending on the direction the tape was put into it? This is also useful for either left / right -handed operation.

If you want to go further, (such as for people creating kits) then re-purposing a standard SMT feeder for fully automatic dispensing and cutting tape to size is probably a better option. Especially when combined with the automatic text printer posted a month or so ago.

Also: The exposed back with the battery has room for improvement. In it’s current form it’s too easily damaged by keys in your pocket or screwdrivers and what not when put in some drawer.

The “reset” button is also in an awkward position, and forces you to use two hands to operate it. You should be able to reach it with the thumb of the hand you are holding it with. (but also not directy beneath your thumb when holding it)

Putting the tape direction in the length of the device also makes it more ergonomic to use it.

If only you put as much effort into your own solution as you did to tearing down this one down.

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