I wrote a C++ program that disassembles the .brd file for a project.? It creates an OpenSCAD document that places models of the parts onto the board, giving you a board visualization.? It can handle internal and external fillets on the board edges. Depending on which parts you use, you may or may not need to model some specific parts (in OpenSCAD) to build up your own library.
As part of the process, the program has to read and calculate the part placement? from the .brd file.? I know it does EAGLE 7.7, not sure about what else.
It was originally based on NopHead's libraries, but I got errors I couldn't track down (not documented), and just bagged it and wrote my own.
How are you with C++ (Embarcadero C++ community version)?
Harvey
ps: I can attach a picture.
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On 3/17/2025 11:29 PM, David McQuate via groups.io wrote:
I’d like to know more about the program that allows you to model the PC board in SCAD, and find the XY of any part.
Thanks!
David
On 2025-03-17 20:01, Harvey White wrote:
I use an American Optical (because it was cheap) and found a nice heavy stand to hold it up.? I have a fiber optic ring light on the microscope.
I?find?that?an?auxiliary?light?can?help?to?illuminate?from?the?side?as?well.
I would build a board holder that allows you to position any part of a board under the microscope without moving the microscope. How complicated you make that little board holder is up to you. Maybe move manually and lock into place.
if you were building boards by hand, and using EAGLE, then I can show you a program that models the PC board in OpenSCAD. That same parsing routine can find the XY of any part.
that?might?help?a?bit.
Ideally, you want to move the board in X and Y, then rotate for the best soldering angle.
Harvey
On?3/17/2025?2:59?PM,?Radu?Bogdan?Dicher?via?groups.io?wrote:
Thank?you?all,?great?input.
From these choices, it sounds like a stereo microscope on a boom would be ideal. I do tend to work on all sorts of positions and oftentimes spill outside of the desk/bench. Also, some of the boards I need to examine are too large to fit under a microscope with a stand.? I'm not sure exactly how well this relative freedom to move the microscope around works. But the idea to have that available is very exciting - I'm really tired of using my multiple hand magnifiers with their own lights and often another flashlight on the other hand. My eyes get terribly strained with that setup.
Probably a stupid question, but I know nothing on the "stereo microscope" topic - are these working well for people wearing glasses?
Thank?you.
Radu.
On Mon, Mar 17, 2025, 10:29 AM John Griessen via groups.io <> <john@...> wrote:
????On?3/17/25?07:59,?Dave?McGuire?via?groups.io?<>?wrote:
????>?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
????Hi?Radu,
????I've?got?Greenough?scopes?(binocular)?by?Olympus?and?Vision
????Engineering?(precursor?to?Mantis),?and?fiber?light?rings?and?sources
????to?sell.
????The?Vision?Engineering?ones?are?kind?of?large,?but?trying?an
????Olympus??Greenough?would?be?painless?--?you?could?return?it?if?not
????liking?it.
????When?I?assemble?SMT?boards?I?use?a?Greenough?on?a?boom?that?lets
????me?move?with?fine?dials?in?X?and?Y?(and?of?course?Z?for?focus).
????I've?also?tried?the?Vision?Engineering?and?it?would?probably?be?a
????speedup?tool,?but?Ive?not?afforded?enough?bench?top?space?to?use
????one?effectively?yet.
????Also?have?Nikon?SMZ-7?and?a??Vision?Engineering?Greenough?for?sale.
????Booms?to?hold?them?are?super?heavy,?so?looking?locally?makes?the
????most?sense.
????I?agree?with?Dave,?that?if?you?want?to?do?prototypes?your?speed
????and?quality?will
????improve?drastically?with?stereo?vision?--?it?puts?your?"there"?in
????the?micro?world...??Also?you?will?notice?more?since?flat?view
????onscreen?doesn't?translate?to?3D?in?your?mind?well.
????The?large?screens?might?be?OK?for?some?things,?but?not?for?active
????seeing?when?looking?for?tiny?cracks,?missing?solder,?adequate
????solder?paste,?etc.
????Now?to?get?busy?cleaning?and?photographing?the?ones?I?mentioned...
????-- ????John Griessen
????Albuquerque?NM
