On 3/17/25 00:02, Radu Bogdan Dicher via groups.io wrote:
Having done enough (red) eye cracking smd soldering jobs or inspections in case of suspected failure (cold joints, etc.), I've decided to invest a bit on a better optical setup.
There's plenty of cameras on the marketplaces and retailers out there, but what are some better choices? Good experiences with some specific models?
Also, what to watch for? Specs, minimal magnification that crosses over a good threshold?
I have a couple of large screens at my bench - I'm thinking this will be best done by shooting this over to one of those. USB, HDMI?...
Lighting/LEDs making a significant difference?
Thank you for your input.
The Mantis by Vision Engineering.
On the prototyping bench I moved from a Nikon SMZ-1 with an after-market LED ring light to a 1st-generation Mantis about ten years ago, and upgraded to a Mantis Elite last year.
The Nikon is a binocular inspection microscope with great optics (typical of Nikon) and excellent overall performance. I had an opportunity to try out a Mantis when visiting a customer's lab. I was astonished by its capabilities and purchased one immediately.
My upgrade to the Mantis Elite last year was a similarly impressive thing.
Two important considerations are binocular optical paths and lighting.
Binocular optics are, IMO, absolutely required for SMT work.
Lighting is next. People often skimp on this and use a random desk lamp or whatever happens to be lying around, but a proper lighting system makes all the difference. There are cheap aftermarket LED right lights that are surprisingly effective; this suggests that the lighting really isn't that difficult a problem to solve. The key is 360-degree, oblique, even lighting to eliminate shadows. (lighting is built-in on the Mantis microscopes)
-Dave
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Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
Dave McGuire