If we have learned one thing during the years of running the Hackaday SMD soldering challenge, it is this: Most people need to zoom in to make good soldering in a small area. The problem is, like most tools, you can buy something as cheap as a $5 binocular headset, or you can spend $1,000 or more on a serious microscope. What is between the two? [Noel] Watch some
In the most recent video, you can see below.
[Noel] Start with a cheap "helper" with a simple small magnifying glass. The main criterion is to find something with no delay so that he can weld under magnification. Although you can work with an oscilloscope with a slightly lagging display, it is frustrating and there are better options.
The first attempt was a set of 10 Euro magnifiers, which have lenses of different strengths and can interchange different magnifications. Of course, every lens has a different focal length, and you don’t want to be an inch away from the hot soldering iron.
The next competitor is a 26 Euro LCD microscope. We know from experience that we have all these cheap endoscopes. Fortunately, [Noel] has a very stable shelf. He mentioned that the scope is not USB.
We like inverted binoculars, which have some stackable lenses, although those in the video may be feasible. We also like our cheap microscopes, although you should be aware that they may become flaky if you use any other functions. Similarly, pressing a button may cause you to miss the target at high magnification. But what do you want at this price?
Some people like to use
Used for depth perception. If you want to solve some of the limitations of cheap microscopes, [Elliot Williams]
.
I have basically the same microscope. I like. Although the default setting is dual mirroring or a bit crazy, it works well enough that it can be easily soldered even underneath. Flip it to its normal position and the video will shift on the screen for some reason. Otherwise, it's pretty good. It even has wifi function, I keep forgetting to use it. =) When I bought it, it was about $60. My only real complaint is that the base is shiny aluminum. Anything that does not block or absorb enough light from the LED will turn into a backlight and be washed away. It looks like some kind of matte black finish needs to be added.
I also have a set of similar glasses, which I gave to the local makerspace. They are also very good. As cheap as possible, so the small LED on my body quickly broke, but I never really needed it because there were lights on my bench. I can definitely recommend having one of these at the same time.
I picked up a binocular magnifying glass from the slit lamp (they used to check the eyes for metal shavings), and then mounted it on a hinged arm in a cr-foot magnifying glass and surrounded the lamp.
It just supports the weight of the microscope, but it does a good job.
I personally tend to use cheap USB webcams and almost adjusted the lens. You can get enough magnification to study gentle slopes and nematodes, fill a quarter of a single water drop into a computer monitor and still be in sharp focus. it works. Speaking of smd, I just need to call back. These days, I tend to shake too much, so placing smd components is still tricky. When things got too small, I ended up using a pantograph fixture with a fixed screw adjustment function.
Sometimes, if you put a little solder on a pad and fix the soldering iron in it while placing the part, it helps with placement. The solder wets the part and helps to hold it in place to prevent hand shaking.
Tip: I got it from a shipyard: Even if you wear glasses like me, you can still wear magnified reading glasses, as long as you wear double glasses. A small pair from the local supermarket is great for me. When narrow, you will see a magnified area at the bottom of the field of view, but you will see a normal area when you look up to find the next component.
There are two different prescriptions for my eyes, which prevents me from using the "liar" of the supermarket.
I did consider buying two sets of lenses with different diopters (?) and replacing the lenses, but there does not seem to be a prescription for one of my eyes in the "liar".
How to stop you from putting an extra cheap magnifier in front of ordinary glasses? The prescription set is stacked with another pair of cheap noses and should work. (I don’t need any help, nor have I personally experienced it, but I’ve seen it)
I have been struggling with jewellery magnifiers and cheap USB microscopes for a year, until I saved enough money for second-hand mantises with X4 and X10 optics: this is a life-changing person, and I will never get bored anymore: they Is the best 600€ ever, ever, ever, ever, period!
Therefore, I think cheap glasses and optical glasses cannot be used at the same time.
I beg to differ.
I am a standard presbyopia doctor, so I need more light and always wear glasses (otherwise, I would be surprised after shopping in the grocery store...).
The tool I chose is a binocular headband that can greatly reduce weight and adapt to all-day carrying. The wide hair band suits me very well, I like it. My main magnification is 10 times. Stereoscopic view is a must, no single view solution works for me. The lighting is done by many LED strips... it costs less than 40 Euros or so.
The effect is very good, 2×1 smd is ok. No trembling, waiting for them to arrive... :-)
To check more closely, I have the microscope shown. Okay, not great, what you get is what you paid for. I don't know how much I paid.
It looks like we are all different.
The Mantis microscope I am familiar with is a professional 3D optical microscope, which is completely different from the cheap microscope in this article, and the price is several orders of magnitude higher. I use MagnaVisor, StereoZoom binocular microscope and cheap USB microscope, but if I have enough space and money, I want to change to a praying mantis.
I used to spend a lot of money on various USB microscopes, head magnifiers (60 euros + 100 euros + 30 euros, etc.), it started to add up, let us face it, compared with the mantis, they are simply nonsense
Yes, praying mantises are expensive and take up a lot of bench space. This is true.
But old models can be second-hand, almost within the reach of serious amateurs.
Once you replace a halogen bulb with an LED, you will basically have a microscope forever: no electronics, no batteries, amazing magnification and clear pictures: I was blind before I had one!
I really like the Stereo Zoom microscope we used to work in a company for welding. But its cost is about 3000 Euros. Now we have a praying mantis, but I don't understand why it should be better than binoculars that give me more stable eyesight. You know where to put the praying mantis, I always look for the "best place".
For home use, I found a stereo binocular microscope in the trash can. I just need to remove some dust. I should replace the bulb with an LED, but it is not urgent. It is not suitable for welding, the field of view is very small, and the magnifications of 10x and 20x are a bit too high-but the cost is zero! :-)
My setup here is exactly the same, and I completely agree with his conclusion: both are essential tools for people 40 years and older. When I was young, I always wanted to know why people would want to use a magnifying glass. If there is no magnifying glass, it is so easy. I can even easily read the smallest font on resistors or SOT-23 without problems.
But when I suddenly turned 40, I had to switch between glasses to see anything. It's frustrating. But these magnifying glasses work very well, and because of their wider field of view, they are my favorite tool. Microscopes are great for inspection, but actual welding is much more difficult here. The field of view is very narrow. But it works, and I can handle difficult cases in this way.
By the way: where did he find that 26 euro microscope? I found that the cheapest price for the same microscope is 18 euros, plus 16 euros for the shelf (including shipping).
It's just that the standard +3.5 or +4 diopter reading glasses work well, and they cost £1.50 here. As mentioned earlier, zoom in two at a time.
Although the price of an electron microscope is good, we are working on one. It costs several million dollars for a professional one. It looks almost as good.
PS: Does anyone else think the name "Gorelax" sounds like a particularly violent enema? Am I alone? ? ? Maybe this is what they originally designed for management purposes.
Side effects include but are not limited to underwear contamination and forced social distancing.
This reminds me of a certain politician’s mouth and stomach.
CamelCase saves the brand
At this point, my lens reached the approximate standard of polycarbonate very early, so I have been using magnification aids for many years. Everything from giant lenses on articulated arms to stereo microscopes. Several variants of dimestore cheaters and headband magnifiers. I only use large lenses once in a while, but better built-in ring lights make them useful.
In general, the lesson I learned is: the best is personal and situational things.
To me, general low flux is an optimizer for many things, and for other things, it is a headband unit similar to goreax. They wear differently, interfere with their positions, and are installed differently from other safety gears. I usually use anti-counterfeit plates in welding helmets. Used to obtain soft plastic wet-bonded semi-lenses to make their own bifocal glasses, but they have not been found in recent years.
When magnification is required and bison is not required, the clip-on flip magnifying glass clamped on the temple of the glasses (actually the best B&L is the best). It's not as troublesome as a hood I don't know how many different things I have. When I was in the laboratory, I bought the first back book to help read the ID on the gas mask.
The same is true for monocular and stereo microscopes. The monophonic bio high-stretch guitar, because it is very cost-effective-comes in handy, but most of them are fun toys. When I don't want to disturb the position, the Greenough stereo head (second hand, lower unit) installed on the arm of a lathe is useful for low-power setting and positioning and high-power tool inspection. There is no need for a single-object stereo zoom (Nikon) to be located on the bench, providing a variety of lighting options. It also has four ports, so I have two cameras on it and I can still record video in stereo. It's really convenient. Well worth the trouble and money. 10/10. Highly recommend.
I still long for a mantis with many goals, but I know I cannot justify the money. okay then.
One thing I don't recommend is stacking lenses unless they are high quality. Small aberrations quickly become important. When I was told that this was an arrogant child, I did not listen (when using an optical aligner, please take off your glasses and zero the eyepieces. This is time consuming. Same goes for any other instruments with eyepieces ) And finally learned the hard way.
I am lucky that my glasses have -5 diopters, so when I put them down, I am in the nearsighted range. I do 0402 by hand and there is no big problem, although I have to start a new day without drinking coffee to reduce shaking
-3.5 On the right eye, there is unfortunately some astigmatism, which is worse in the left eye. For this reason, it may be helpful not to drink coffee for the first day, but I think it is impossible :-)
> You can spend $1,000 or more on a serious microscope
Of course, but a fairly good Chinese stereo microscope is more like 300-400 Euro or $. If you are serious about electronic products, it is indeed worth the investment. But yes, it is still quite expensive for students or people without money.
I purchased a Mustool G1200 microscope, which is similar to the one shown above. It is certainly not perfect, but when you need to make sure everything is as you wish, it can really help with welding. I bought it mainly for the recording function to help show others how to solder properly. In particular, the color seems to be 16 or 15 bits at most, so the image presents a unique unit shadow appearance.
I have also used the Mantis Mirror in the past. Although I like to use it very much, I found that after a period of time, the led lighting ring is indeed a low-quality lamp-sometimes, after the boss convinced, I actually replaced all the cris with higher cris. This really helps a lot. I also installed a polarizing filter under the most commonly used lens to help reduce glare.
One day I might buy a second-hand mantis, but until then, G1200 is good enough.
Over the years, I bought three relatively cheap stereo microscopes from shopgoodwillonline. The stent may be the key and most expensive part. You need to be there when you need it, and you need to leave when you don't need it. Ensure that you get a variable zoom (not a step zoom) zoom. Glasses must be worn when wearing glasses. I have been using a microscope at work for a long time, so that I have worn out the glasses lenses, and the eye mask prevents this from happening.
I bought a HAYEAR Chinese camera from Amazon for US$289. It has a 14MP HDMI/USB camera, a 144 LED lighting ring, and a bulky adjustable bracket. I chose a 180X lens. I only use it with my 22-inch cheapo FHD HDMI display. It is very suitable for soldering. I usually zoom in on it all the time, because when I use it to zoom in, I can see the die in the LED, which is too close to soldering. I am able to debug the BGA flash IC using magnetic wire. And often use magnet wire to connect to 0.5mm pitch QFP pin. It can even bring still images to a microSD card. The only thing missing is the sense of depth you get from the stereo oscilloscope.
>I chose a 180X lens
pr0 reminder: x10 is the ideal magnification for iron core smd welding. You may wish to move x20 + 0.5 barlow to a larger distance. There is more content, and welding head accounts for half.
I use both types of magnifiers at the same time when checking the value of parts and checking the circuit board after assembly. However, when assembling or welding, it was found that the working distance was too short. I find that cheap dental binocular magnifiers work better. They are usually offered at 2.5 or 3.5 times, and the working depth is about 420-450 mm. It can be used as a fixing clip for glasses or a built-in arm.
I have bought the above microscope and magnifying glass in the past, but used for welding
They are not very good. Recently, I bought a suitable stereo microscope, including an excellent camera
I use it for almost all SMD welding and taking detailed pictures (or videos)
I hope I will not buy all cheap things before and get a real microscope from the beginning.
I paid a little over £300 from here (during the promotion period)
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