Microscope for SMD work?

[swpaskett]

This may belong on some other forum somewhere, but ...
I am finally into a project that due to parts availability and size constraints forces me into a full SMD build. Having hand soldered a few SOT23s here and there, the occasional TSSOP, and 1206 Rs and Cs on mostly through-hole boards, I know my headband magnifier is seriously over-matched by what lies ahead. I hope to have reasonable success with hotplate reflow, but anticipate a fair amount of rework, too.
My budget for a microscope is pretty meager. I have been looking at AO Spencer 40 zoom scopes on ebay. These are more dissection scopes than inspection/assembly scopes, but at under $100 they suit my thinning wallet and the platter is large enough to accommodate the largest board I expect to build. I also discovered cheap digital scopes under $100, but I am not convinced the image quality would be good enough.
Having grown up with B&L and Zeiss scopes in the lab as a working stiff I am kicking myself for not buying one at auction when my former employer decided the future was in software (it wasn't, not for them, anyway), but that is another story

Sorry, I just can't resist writing a book. Does anyone have any experience with either of these options, or a suggestion of something better (maybe with some experience to back it up)?

 

[Khron]

Regardless what you go for, you'll want to make sure the working distance of the thing is great enough that your hands (or at least soldering iron) fits in between the workpiece and the microscope's objective / lens.

 

[pucho812]

have you considered a microscope camera USB?

microscope camera

 

[gyraf]

..the youtube channel "Strange Parts" had a feature on such a thing a couple of years ago - the microscope mentioned is still available from that same shop:


Never gotten around to get one myself but I'm pretty sure I will eventually

/Jakob E.

 

[Bo Deadly]

I use a magnifying lamp with a builtin circular florescent lamp around a large lens on the end of an desk clamped arm. That with +1 glasses is more than enough for conventional SMD like you're talking about. For many SMD parts like TSSOP, I just solder all of the adjacent pins at once and then go back and wick off the excess with a braid. Cleanup with 99% isopropyl. Those magnifier lamps are ~$70 but there's all levels and different sizes and styles with LEDs and so on. But I would say the most important features are a good light source that shines all around the lens, the size of the lens and the reach of the arm. I frequently use it to look into something that is not just a little board that fits under a microscope.

But I like the idea of a USB camera. If you already have a flat panel monitor on your bench, a little camera to clip on to your project could work equally well or better.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I use a headband magnifier, and wear reading glasses under that, not perfect but worked adequate for my needs.

JR

 

[dom]

USB microscopes can be OK for inspection, but the lack of a stereo image as well as a delay in the image presentation make them not-preferred for soldering work for some people.

I picked up an AmScope SE400-Z last year after shopping around for some time and am quite pleased with it. I have no problems soldering down to 0402 size quite comfortably with it. (Any smaller than 0402 and soldering is difficult for most people regardless of how good your scope is).

- About $230 on amazon, returnable for any reason
- Stereo
- Good working distance
- Decent lens quality
- Good weighted base
- Fully adjustable arm and lenses
- Multiple lens zoom options
- Adjustable light

 

[swpaskett]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. Those of you in the 65+ range understand what I am working with -- dim eyes and shaky hands. Back in my days of gainful employment, the scopes we used were of the type covered in Gyraf's video and were being auctioned off around $50 each, for $2k scopes. Magnification ranged from about 3X to 30X, and most of the techs worked at around 5X to 7.5X, which seemed a good compromise between field of vision and ability to resolve features. At this point, Dom has about convinced me that zoom is not a necessity and 10X fixed might be just right for my now older eyes. Looking at web postings of boards as seen on USB cameras leaves me a bit less than hopeful for that cheap avenue (as well as the loss of depth perception). Like JRR and Bo, I have used headbands, lighted stand magnifiers and other aids but think that will be unsatisfactory for the densely packed boards I laid out; the working distance between such magnifiers and the board isn't enough at 5X.

I am reminded of sage advice I used to give noob engineers: When considering make vs. buy, always consider the cost of acquiring the technology. LOL -- how soon I forget.

 

[JohnRoberts]

oh to be 65 again....

JR

 

[wave]

I have an Amscope with a 1x objective and 5x ocular lenses
Can do 0204 with no issues. I also use a 0.8mm tip on my iron for the SMD stuff

 

[Rochey]

..the youtube channel "Strange Parts" had a feature on such a thing a couple of years ago - the microscope mentioned is still available from that same shop:


Never gotten around to get one myself but I'm pretty sure I will eventually

/Jakob E.

I DID get one of these. It's good. I got the one with the camera too, with the intention of doing video's for Expat Audio.
I confess, development on EA products has slowed down a little as I got promoted at real-work and had family though