eBay USB Microscope Stand by Daveman

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

Unfortunately, while I have moved in to the realm of SMD components, my old eyes continue to fail to keep up with my hobby. I found a cheap (<$25) microscope on eBay that had a reasonable focal length that looked like it could really help me inspect and possibly solder these tiny SMD components. Unfortunately, it came with a cheesy little stand that just wouldn't work at all for what I needed it for. With my trusty 3D printer, some 8mm drill rods and linear bearings left over from building my printer, I was able to make a pretty good stand with decent height and a movable platform to hold the PCB. Since moving the microscope around was a pain and caused me to refocus it at every move, I found that a platform that will hold the board and allow me to pan around the board is really handy. Note I have the microscope at a slight angle to reduce the glare from the built in LEDs. I have uploaded all of the parts for you to use and improve. enjoy!