I would recommend a stereo zoom microscope on a boom stand. You can get a
nice new one, name brand, for about $2500. You can get new no-name ones for
under $1000. You can often find used ones, name brand, at local used
equipment dealers or on eBay for well under $1000. There are various good
name brand stereo zoom microscopes - American Optical, Bosch & Lomb, Nikon
(usually more expensive), Meiji, Olympus, Leica, etc. Remember that the
total magnification is the magnication of the eyepiece times the
magnification of the lens. A typical zoom lens is 0.7x to 3.0x. With 10X
eyepieces, this would give you a range of 7x to 30x total magnification. If
you need more magnification, some to to 4.0X, and 20X eyepieces are
available, but less common than 10X. I recommend a boom stand so you don't
have the base of the microscope getting in the way of the board you are
inspecting.
You will need a good light source. An incandescent light works okay, such
as a "bullet" style light that mounts on the microscope bracket. These
often have a remote base with a power supply that typically has 3 brightness
levels or an adjustable brightness dial. There are also fluorescent ring
lights that mount around the microscope lens. These are usually only a
single brightness, but work quite well for most applications. The most
expensive lights are the fiber optic ring lights. These have a remote base
with variable intensity light source, a ring that mounts on the microscope
lens, and a flexible fiber optic bundle that connects this to the light
source. The prices mentioned above usually include a light source.
If you can't find a local dealer and don't care to buy on eBay, send me an
email and I can give you names of a few dealers in the Minneapolis area. I
have no connections with these, other than buying some equipment from them
in a past life.
Dave Roach
-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tom Moore
Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2005 2:30 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [TN] 20X eyepiece
We are a small volume PCB assembly house that is still using visual
inspection even in the SMT age. Per IPC standards we should be using a 20X
magnification for "Referee" decisions. We have been using Mitutoyo
eyepieces but they only go to 15X. Need something we can hold off the board
surface and still be able to focus for inspection. Suggestions? Thanks.
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