Using a cheap USB microscope for paste stencil alignment...

[Spehro Pefhany]

A minor thing, but a big time/back ache saver when you can\'t get right
over the stencil to crank the alignment micrometer adjustments just
so:

https://i.imgur.com/JJGdc5L.jpg

This is a 1.6x3.2mm 4-resistor network.
--
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Don Y]

On 1/5/2022 8:42 AM, Spehro Pefhany wrote:

A minor thing, but a big time/back ache saver when you can\'t get right
over the stencil to crank the alignment micrometer adjustments just
so:

https://i.imgur.com/JJGdc5L.jpg

This is a 1.6x3.2mm 4-resistor network.

I use this:
<http://ablezone.com/az.asp?q_gotoID=vm-evs-flipper>
the \"with virtual glasses\" model.

It\'s kinda weird having your head pointed in a completely
different direction from what you are \"looking at\" *and*
having the image stay in your field of vision regardless
of how you move your head!

Helpful when soldering, also, as you can turn your head
to get away from the fumes and still have your eyes focused
on your work. Beats being glued to a stereoscope or mantis.

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

On Sun, 9 Jan 2022 23:07:48 -0700, Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid>
wrote:

On 1/5/2022 8:42 AM, Spehro Pefhany wrote:

A minor thing, but a big time/back ache saver when you can\'t get right
over the stencil to crank the alignment micrometer adjustments just
so:

https://i.imgur.com/JJGdc5L.jpg

This is a 1.6x3.2mm 4-resistor network.

I use this:
http://ablezone.com/az.asp?q_gotoID=vm-evs-flipper
the \"with virtual glasses\" model.

It\'s kinda weird having your head pointed in a completely
different direction from what you are \"looking at\" *and*
having the image stay in your field of vision regardless
of how you move your head!

Helpful when soldering, also, as you can turn your head
to get away from the fumes and still have your eyes focused
on your work. Beats being glued to a stereoscope or mantis.

That\'s a different price range for sure (maybe 100x more), but
comparable to a good stereo microscope.

I take it there is no perceptible lag in the glasses? I experimented
with using cameras on stands about 10-15 years ago using cameras with
video output, but the lag made it useless for doing anything but
inspection.

There\'s a spare HDMI input on the 50\"-ish screen I\'m typing this on
now, I wonder what it would cost for a 4K video camera on a stand with
an illuminator.

The other issue with inspection is depth of field, it\'s hard to tilt
the item to get a look at the sides of things where subtle issues
sometimes hide.

I 3D printed a fume extractor using a PC fan salvaged from a dead
power supply and some Aliexpress carbon filter material. No more fumes
curling up towards your face. It doesn\'t take much air flow. Pretty
quiet when you run a 12V fan from 9VDC too.
--
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Rich S]

[snip]

There\'s a spare HDMI input on the 50\"-ish screen I\'m typing this on
now, I wonder what it would cost for a 4K video camera on a stand with
an illuminator.

[snip]

Hi Sphero, i\'m curious too, so I looked
a quick search on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/HAYEAR-Industrial-Microscope-Machine-Soldering%EF%BC%9BPC/dp/B08JCHVGDR
$190.90

I\'ve not purchased one yet, but once I get back in the lab
maybe... it is very enticing.
Even if there are QC problems, at least returning it
via Amazon is an option.

Please let us know if you jump on this

= RS

 

[Rich S]

On Monday, January 10, 2022 at 3:35:42 PM UTC, Rich S wrote:

[snip]

There\'s a spare HDMI input on the 50\"-ish screen I\'m typing this on
now, I wonder what it would cost for a 4K video camera on a stand with
an illuminator.
[snip]

Hi Sphero,

* Spehro (sorry)
you are a hero to some, I\'m sure!

 

[Don Y]

On 1/10/2022 5:08 AM, Spehro Pefhany wrote:

On Sun, 9 Jan 2022 23:07:48 -0700, Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid
wrote:

On 1/5/2022 8:42 AM, Spehro Pefhany wrote:

A minor thing, but a big time/back ache saver when you can\'t get right
over the stencil to crank the alignment micrometer adjustments just
so:

https://i.imgur.com/JJGdc5L.jpg

This is a 1.6x3.2mm 4-resistor network.

I use this:
http://ablezone.com/az.asp?q_gotoID=vm-evs-flipper
the \"with virtual glasses\" model.

It\'s kinda weird having your head pointed in a completely
different direction from what you are \"looking at\" *and*
having the image stay in your field of vision regardless
of how you move your head!

Helpful when soldering, also, as you can turn your head
to get away from the fumes and still have your eyes focused
on your work. Beats being glued to a stereoscope or mantis.

That\'s a different price range for sure (maybe 100x more), but
comparable to a good stereo microscope.

I wasn\'t commenting on the price. And, I suspect the price in
the ad was bogus (most assistive technology is incredibly
over-priced -- for reasons that I\'ve yet to sort out -- e.g.
my electric wheelchairs \"list\" north of $40K and, surely, no
one pays that much for such a thing!)

As I\'m heavily invested in \"assistive technology\", this is just
one of many such \"aids\" I\'ve acquired over the years. Of
course, \"magnification\" is one of the things that such devices
provide to visually impaired.

Actually *using* them (even if for uses they weren\'t originally
intended) is the only way to understand what it must be like for
folks who *rely* on them. So, I try to find uses just to learn
to deal with their quirks...

[I\'ve got a neat handheld \"magnifying glass\" that can manipulate
color for enhanced contrast -- and take snapshots at the same time.]

I take it there is no perceptible lag in the glasses? I experimented
with using cameras on stands about 10-15 years ago using cameras with
video output, but the lag made it useless for doing anything but
inspection.

No. But turning your head is a very difficult experience to
become accustomed to as the image doesn\'t move in your field of
vision. Not only is it discomforting, but it confuses as you
instinctively move your head to gain a different view of a
target and that just doesn\'t happen. You have to, instead,
remember to move your *hand* to reposition the camera.
With the mantis or stereoscope, you were more conscious of this
(because you had a big hulking device in front of you that
limited your head\'s motion)

[As I said, using them is the only way you can appreciate what
their use is like!]

There\'s a spare HDMI input on the 50\"-ish screen I\'m typing this on
now, I wonder what it would cost for a 4K video camera on a stand with
an illuminator.

For a while, I had a camera that would screw onto (one of) the eyepieces
on my stereoscope. It wasn\'t as useful as I had hoped (I was displaying
the output on a large monitor so the image \"felt\" too large).

All of the solutions I\'ve tried suffered from not lending themselves
to *capturing* the image(s). So, if I found a problem, I couldn\'t
easily document it as I\'m just viewing live video in each case (your
microscope solution shouldn\'t? suffer from this)

The other issue with inspection is depth of field, it\'s hard to tilt
the item to get a look at the sides of things where subtle issues
sometimes hide.

Yes. The \"flipper\" has a respectable inherent depth of field
(in terms of focus) -- unlike the stereoscope. So, I can tip the
object or the camera to get a view from a slight angle. \"Eyes\"
would be better as we already (instinctively) know how to move
our heads/bodies to gain the vantage point we seek. All of
these other approaches feel like \"wearing gloves\"... maybe \"mittens\"
is a more appropriate analogy!

I 3D printed a fume extractor using a PC fan salvaged from a dead
power supply and some Aliexpress carbon filter material. No more fumes
curling up towards your face. It doesn\'t take much air flow. Pretty
quiet when you run a 12V fan from 9VDC too.

Yeah, if I did this sort of thing more often, I\'d make space for
a \"proper\" (re)workstation. But, I try to clear off a corner of
a workbench and squeeze into that spot, \"temporarily\". This was
what led me to replace the stereoscope (and, then the mantis) with
the little video gizmo -- it takes up very little space when
deployed. Leister is, unfortunately, a bit of a bulky piece
esp when you make room for the holder, paste dispenser, etc.
Plus lab supply, DSO, logic analyzer, etc.

But, I don\'t want to be in that business (and only do so, begrudgingly,
because I can\'t *buy* the prototypes off-the-shelf)

[My \"solution\" has been to coerce colleagues to have most of my
prototype assembly done on their production lines -- by people
who actually know what they are doing and have the resources
to do it! So, my efforts reduce to a secondary inspection and
touch-up -- if I suspect something isn\'t working as it should
(hence the need to be able to take photos)]

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

On Mon, 10 Jan 2022 07:37:42 -0800 (PST), Rich S
<richsulinengineer@gmail.com> wrote:

On Monday, January 10, 2022 at 3:35:42 PM UTC, Rich S wrote:
[snip]

There\'s a spare HDMI input on the 50\"-ish screen I\'m typing this on
now, I wonder what it would cost for a 4K video camera on a stand with
an illuminator.
[snip]

Hi Sphero,

* Spehro (sorry)
you are a hero to some, I\'m sure!

I thought, with the covid lockups, you were mocking my waistline.

--sp
--
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany