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BFTB shop microscope

sigmatero

Aluminum
Joined
Sep 23, 2011
Location
Idaho
What are you suggestions for the most bang-for-the-buck handheld microscope for inspecting tiny features, endmill chipping and wear, thread condition, etc.?

Something around 45x with a light I would imagine.

Amazon has the little monocular type ones for $8 but is there a better option with clearer optics for not a lot more money- IOW where is the sweet spot in price vs optical clarity?

Or is it worth it to jump up to an affordable stereo microscope that sits on the bench?

(note- don't need a comparator that measures- just want an affordable and reliable way to see tiny things accurately)
 
I'd make the jump to a stereo microscope.

Unlike the single lens or electronic types, it preserves a sense of 3D (separate optical systems for each eye); which is very useful for manipulating everything from getting a tiny sliver out of your finger to precision soldering. Also used (with welding lenses) for micro welding, small parts assembly, DIY brain surgery (you'll want to add a camera :-) ), etc. Good ones will have a wide field of view, long working distances, and very little distortion or chromatic aberration.

Put an x-y table under it and put a reticle in one eyepiece and it becomes a usable optical comparator. Decades ago (college co-op job) I used one to measure flank wear on carbide inserts for machinability studies. An x-y table you already have - even a Bridgeport table with the scope floating above - can work. I use a small x-y stage with Mitutoyo digital scales.

Now, have old eyes and want to see if that's really a 72 tpi thread on your thread gage rather than .4mm (or some other fiddly measurement)? Stereo microscope to the rescue.

You can probably pick up a good used one for around $200. You do want to be able to inspect it and make sure the optics are clear, aligned (an "X" on the stage should be in the same position viewing through each eye) and parfocal (stays in focus as you change magnifications.

Decent and still widely available ones include the stereo zooms from American Optical (#569,570 etc.), Bausch & Lomb (SZ 3,4,5 . . .), Meiji, Nikon, and Olympus. Multiple focus ones like the American Optical "Cycloptic," and Zeiss OPMI medical scopes (usually $$$) Wild Heerbrugge/Leitz (usually $$$) are also very good. Something like 7x to 30x power is good for shop use. That's the tip of the iceberg in terms of decent and often affordable stereo scopes. A cheap gooseneck LED lamp can replace an old illuminator.

If you get one with a boom mount, it can sit over a bench and swing out of the way when not in use. Otherwise, a desktop one typically takes up less than a square foot of space.
 
Hi sigmatero:
I bought a cheapo stereo zoom microscope from an ebay seller on the advice of a dental lab technician who recommended against a good scope for anything other than inspection in a clean sequestered room.
It was good advice, the shop mike gets filthy when I grind tiny drills under it, when I debur tiny parts, when I cut off tiny pins with an abrasive wheel, when I contour a little part with a rubber wheel.

I paid about a thousand bucks for mine...I don't recall who the seller was anymore but it was one of the big vendors on Ebay..

Mine goes up to 90X and has a long focal length, something like 75 mm.
It's just about perfect for the shop and I won't have to kill myself if I wreck it with all the filth floating around in my place.

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining
 
Just to add on AmScope, Omax and other cheap (Chinese) stereo microscopes. The fixed magnification ones (say a 10x and 30x switchable objective) are under $150 and usable. Not the widest field of view, working distance, or optical or mechanical quality. But worth the money. The cheap zooms (say, $300 to $400) tend to fail and have no better optical quality than the cheap 10x and 30x scopes. Just the equivalent of a poorly made continuously variable optical transmission rather than a more robust manual two or three speed.

I recently replaced a plastic zoom gear in one that was nearly new - with only a used and too-expensive part available from the dealer (the same parent company owns both AmScope, Omax, and a similar European brand -- all built in China with fairly low cost mechanical build and decent but not outstanding optical quality).

The better zooms, above $700, such as Marcus likely has, are OK. But for $200 or so you might find a good used zoom scope originally built to a higher standard. The zoom mechanism in something like an old Olympus Stereo Zoom is a work of mechanical art - a beautiful large brass intricately-machined casting guiding the zoom function rather than today's injected molded bits of plastic. The trick in buying an older stereo microscope is being able to see and use it in person (or easily return it). Many have been dropped and are out of alignment, are missing the matched objectives and eyepieces, have solder fumes coating the objectives, etc. -- while others may perform like new.

Even a good single power (7x to 10x) stereo microscope is worth having for shop use.
 
Great responses. Thanks for all the advice based on experience- this really saves me time and money finding the right one.
 
Check estate sales and Craig's list.

We have 4 now...

60 bucks for the most expensive one.

Also have a camera on gooseneck that does miracles, 5 bucks at thrift store, bought another on eBay for 20 with free shipping.

First photo is of Atmos clock pallet through a hole in the plate.

Hole is maybe 1/16 diameter and the pallet maybe that long.

This was taken from the monitor on the desk, camera is VGA interface.

Second photo is of camera base.
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 
There is nothing better for getting slivers of metal or splinters out of your hand than doing it under a low-power stereo microscope. Order a pack of disposable #11 scalpel blades from Amazon while you're at it.
 
There is nothing better for getting slivers of metal or splinters out of your hand than doing it under a low-power stereo microscope. Order a pack of disposable #11 scalpel blades from Amazon while you're at it.

Want to know what is nice about grinding carbide over making steel parts? No metal slivers in your fingertips.
There is the dealing with lots of razor edges and what that does to you.
What the heck? Blood on the part, the fixture and the wrench.....oh crap, not again..... duct tape.

We make holders too. The stereoscope gets plenty of use on slivers. Tweezers, scalpel and alcohol sit next to it.
It is supposed to be an inspection tool but.. lessons of a small shop.
Done this in big shop also. Small cut or sliver and off to medical with a paper trail and meetings that is hard to imagine if you have not been there.
Did you bleed at all even one drop. Blood bore pathogens perhaps loose in the workplace?
Bob
 
Done this in big shop also. Small cut or sliver and off to medical with a paper trail and meetings that is hard to imagine if you have not been there.
Did you bleed at all even one drop. Blood bore pathogens perhaps loose in the workplace?
Bob



Don't forget... in a medical shop, you now have an NCR and all parts at the machine must be inspected for contamination.

And if you get cut INSIDE a machine?

Oh, boy.
 
Sterile, disposable and $11 and change for 100 of them:

https://www.amazon.com/IMS-CBLD11-Scalpel-Sterile-Individually-Wrapped/dp/B073HTGTPJ/

Regarding microscopes, the fixed stereo Amscopes are OK for $100. They will do the job. A Wild, Leica, Nikon, etc. on a long overhang base is better. I use one for hours at a time doing electronics, and the clarity and better field of view are nice. I don't find that I miss zoom, but a lot of people like it. If you are spending real money, you might as well get one with a camera port also. It is possible to take pictures through the eyepiece of a regular microscope if you hold your phone or digital camera exactly on the center of the lens.
 
I have an older American Optical boom scope. It’s very nice and clear. Very high quality it seems. These can be had for similar prices.

I set a stage of an old optical comparator under it. Bought a reticle eyepiece on ebay and it works pretty nicely for measuring.
 








 
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