Do-it-yourself microscope from a smartphone. How to make a digital microscope from a webcam Do-it-yourself microscope from lenses scheme

The high level of miniaturization of electronics has led to the need for special magnifying tools and devices used when working with very small elements.

These include such a common product as a USB microscope for soldering electronic parts and a number of other similar devices.

Some experts believe that for the manufacture of a household microscope with their own hands, it is the USB device that is optimally suited, with which it is possible to provide the required focal length.

However, for the implementation of this project, it will be necessary to carry out certain preparatory work, which greatly simplifies the assembly of the device.

As a basis for a home-made microscope for soldering miniature parts and microcircuits, you can take the most primitive and cheap network camera of the A4Tech type, the only requirement for which is that it has a working pixel matrix.

If you want to get a high image quality, it is recommended to use higher quality products.

In order to assemble a microscope from a webcam for soldering small electronic products, you should also take care to purchase a number of other elements that provide the required efficiency with the device.

This primarily concerns the illumination elements of the viewing field, as well as a number of other components taken from old disassembled mechanisms.

A self-made microscope is assembled on the basis of a pixel matrix, which is part of the optics of an old USB camera. Instead of the built-in holder in it, you should use a bronze bushing machined on a lathe, fitted to the dimensions of the third-party optics used.

As a new optical element of a microscope for soldering, a corresponding part from any toy sight can be used.

To get a good view of the desoldering and soldering area, you will need a set of lighting elements, which can be used LEDs. It is most convenient to unsolder them from any unnecessary LED-backlight strip (from the remnants of a broken matrix of an old laptop, for example).

Refinement of details

An electron microscope can be assembled only after a thorough check and refinement of all previously selected parts. The following important points must be taken into account:

• to mount the optics at the base of the bronze bushing, it is necessary to drill two holes with a diameter of approximately 1.5 mm, and then cut them into threads for the M2 screw;
• then bolts corresponding to the mounting diameter are screwed into the finished holes, after which small beads are glued to their ends (with their help it will be much easier to control the position of the optical lens of the microscope);
• then it will be necessary to organize the illumination of the soldering viewing field, for which the previously prepared LEDs from the old matrix are taken.

Adjusting the position of the lens will allow you to arbitrarily change (reduce or increase) the focal length of the system when working with a microscope, improving the soldering conditions.

To power the lighting system from the USB cable that connects the webcam to the computer, two wires are provided. One is red, going to the “+5 Volt” contact, and the other is black (it is connected to the “-5 Volt” terminal).

Before assembling the microscope for soldering, you will need to make a base of a suitable size. It is useful for soldering LEDs. For this, a piece of foil fiberglass, cut in the shape of a ring with soldering pads for LEDs, is suitable.

Device assembly

At breaks in the switching circuits of each of the lighting diodes, quenching resistors with a nominal value of about 150 Ohms are placed.

To connect the supply wire, a counterpart is mounted on the ring, made in the form of a mini-connector.

The function of the movable mechanism, which provides the ability to adjust the sharpness of the image, can be performed by an old and unnecessary floppy reader.

One shaft should be taken from the motor in the drive, and then reinstalled on the moving part.

In order to rotate such a shaft it was more convenient - a wheel from the old "mouse" is put on its end, located closer to the inside of the engine.

After the final assembly of the structure, a mechanism should be obtained that provides the required smoothness and accuracy of movement of the optical part of the microscope. Its full stroke is approximately 17 millimeters, which is quite enough to bring the system into sharp focus in various soldering conditions.

At the next stage of assembling a microscope from plastic or wood, a base (desktop) of suitable dimensions is cut out, on which a metal rod is mounted, selected in length and diameter. And only after that, the bracket with the previously assembled optical mechanism is fixed on the rack.

Alternative

If you don’t want to mess with assembling a microscope with your own hands, then you can buy a completely ready-made soldering device.

Pay attention to the distance between the objective and the stage. Optimally, it should be almost 2 cm, and a tripod with a reliable holder will help to change this distance. Reducing lenses may be required to view the entire board.

Advanced models of microscopes for soldering are equipped with an interface, which greatly relieves eye strain. Thanks to a digital camera, the microscope can be connected to a computer, fix the picture of the microcircuit before and after soldering, and study defects in detail.

An alternative to a digital microscope is also special glasses or a magnifying glass, although it is not very convenient to work with a magnifying glass.

For soldering and repairing circuits, you can use conventional optical microscopes or stereo. But such devices are quite expensive, and do not always provide the desired viewing angle. In any case, digital microscopes will become more widespread, and their price will decrease over time.

We propose to create at home an electronic USB microscope of medium resolution for connecting to a computer via a USB cable. You may already have the necessary parts to complete this project, otherwise you will have to buy them.

Necessary parts for assembling a homemade microscope with your own hands:

• One white LED.
• Wire with a cross section of 0.05 mm2.
• Heat shrink tubing or electrical tape.
• Glue gun (or any other suitable glue).

Step 1: Modify the device

The pocket microscope has a built-in incandescent lamp for illumination, which is powered by two AAA 1.5 V batteries. Remove the lamp and batteries from the case and install one white LED, extending the wires from it inside the case to the top of the microscope.

Use heat shrink tubing or electrical tape to insulate the contacts.

Check the operation of the LED with a battery and mark which wire is the anode and which is the cathode.

There is a small but damn bright orange LED on the camera board. Carefully remove it and solder the wires from the white LED in its place. The LED is under software control, USB will provide power to the camera and the LED. Make sure the wires are not under tension.

Feel free to use hot glue to stick the white LED inside the case. Position the LED so that it illuminates where the lens is pointing.

Step 2: Remove the plastic housing from the camera

You can not remove the case, but it is better to remove it anyway.

Under the shiny logo on the case there is a single fixing screw.

Step 3: Build

Assemble the body.

Remove the small rubber ring from the eyepiece and insert the camera into the eyepiece.

Apply some glue around the junction of the camera lens and microscope eyepiece.

Step 4: Making the base

The finished USB microscope is quite light, so it needs to be fixed in a vertical position. Glue a couple of neodymium magnets to the bottom of the microscope. Then make a wooden base with a small metal plate glued to it.

The idea is that a microscope, magnetized to a metal plate, can slide freely on it when moved by his hand and remains motionless if not touched.

Step 5: Photomicrographs

Above are some photographs taken with this microscope. You can see how the microscope magnifies various objects.

See how a part of the memory core from an old CDC-6600 computer looks when enlarged.

The left photo shows the board itself, while the right photo shows a close-up of the toroids and wire mesh that make up the memory cells.

Since the camera has a resolution of 2 megapixels, it has a pretty good image quality. The ZEISS camera lens has an electromechanical body and, through software, adapts to the focal length that you and I have created for it.

It's no secret that the world around us has subtle structures, the organization and structure of which cannot be distinguished by the human eye. The whole universe remained inaccessible and unknown until the microscope was invented.
We all know this device from school. In it, we considered bacteria, living and dead cells, objects and objects that we all see every day. Through a narrow viewing lens, they miraculously turned into models of lattices and membranes, nerve plexuses and blood vessels. At such moments you realize how big and multifaceted this world is.
Recently, microscopes have begun to be made digital. They are much more convenient and efficient, because now you do not have to peer into the lens. It is enough to look at the monitor screen, and before us appears an enlarged digital image of the object in question. Imagine that you can make such a miracle of technology with your own hands from an ordinary webcam. Don't believe? We invite you to check it out with us.

Necessary resources for making a microscope

Materials:

• Perforated plate, corner and brackets for fastening wooden parts;
• Section of a profile pipe 15x15 and 20x20 mm;
• Small piece of glass;
• Webcam;
• LED flashlight;
• Bolt M8 with four nuts;
• Screws, nuts.

Instruments:

• Electric drill or screwdriver with a 3-4 mm drill;
• Pliers;
• Phillips screwdriver;
• Hot glue gun.

Assembling a microscope - step by step instructions

For the tripod base of the microscope, we use perforated plates and metal corners. They are used to connect wooden products. They are easily fastened with bolts, and many holes allow this to be done at the required level.

Step one - mount the base

We cover a flat perforated plate from the back with soft furniture thrust bearings. We simply glue them on the corners of the rectangle.

The next element will be a bracket or corner with versatile shelves. We fasten the short shelf of the bracket and the base plate with a bolt and nut. We tighten them with pliers for reliability.

We mount two small brackets on the edge of the plate on both sides of it. We attach two more longer corners to them so that we have a small frame. This will be the base for the microscope sight glass. It can be made from a small piece of thin glass.

Step two - make a tripod

We make a tripod from a piece of a square profile pipe 15x15 mm. Its height should be about 200-250 mm. It makes no sense to do more, since exceeding the distance from the viewing glass reduces the quality of the image, and less risks being overexposed and incorrect.
We attach the tripod to the perforated bracket, and on top of it we put a small piece of pipe 20x20 so that it moves freely along this rack.

From two brackets overlapped together, we make an open frame. We choose the bolts more authentic so that they are enough to press this frame around the movable pipe section. We put a plate with two holes on the sides on them, and fix it with nuts.

To adjust the indent of the frame from the sight glass, use the M8x100 mm bolt. We will need two nuts for the size of the bolt, and two larger ones. We take epoxy glue, and in three places we glue the bolt nuts to the tripod. The nut screwed onto the end of the bolt can also be fixed with epoxy.

Step Three - Making the Lens

In place of the tube with the eyepiece in our microscope, there will be a regular webcam. The higher the resolution, the better, the connection to the computer can be either wired (USB 2.0, 3.0), or via Wi Fi or Bluetooth.
We release the camera from the case by unscrewing the motherboard with the matrix with a screwdriver.

We remove the protective cap, and unscrew the lens with lenses and a light filter. All you need to do is place it in the same place, flipping it 180 degrees.

We wrap the joint of the camera lens with a cylindrical body with electrical tape. If desired, it can be additionally glued with a hot glue gun. At this stage, the modified lens can already be tested in action.

Step Four - Final Assembly of the Microscope

We assemble the camera in the reverse order, putting its body on hot glue to the tripod frame. The lens should be directed down to the viewing glass of the microscope. The cable from the wiring can be pressed with nylon ties to the tripod stand.
We adapt a low LED flashlight to a sight glass illuminator. It should fit freely under the viewing panel of the microscope. We connect the camera to the computer, and after a while the image will appear on the monitor screen.

I always loved biology, but I never had a microscope, and so I decided to get one in order to admire the microcosm along with the younger generation, and it’s possible to shoot the main chip of the 3DO set-top box in between times.

I didn’t have to choose the optical device for a long time, the choice fell on the Altami 104 microscope, this is a domestic microscope, my model with 2000x magnification (optics doesn’t give more, no matter what they write there - this is digital bullshit). Its price is very low, it cost me 12,800 rubles (May 2015). I don’t know how imported analogues are compared to it, but I’m happy as an elephant =) I doubt that you can make the device any better for this money. I ordered from the manufacturer, because it's faster and cheaper and probably more reliable: http://www.altami.ru.

Microscope Altami 104

For those who also did not find how to adjust the light field of the microscope, I suggest: remove the eyepiece (if you hurried to put it on), the aperture to the minimum and set the capacitor with the adjusting bolts so that the spot is in the center, then do not touch these screws anymore.

Spot on which to adjust

Of course, looking through a microscope (especially a monocular one) is difficult and I want to display everything directly on the monitor. However, a microscope camera is comparable to the price of the microscope itself. And I decided not to take it yet, but to try to do it myself. What I will now tell you in detail =)

In addition to a microscope, you will need a webcam, preferably with a good matrix, I used the Logitech C270 (at one time I took several pieces for 700 rubles, a special camera for a microscope with a similar resolution costs 9000 rubles). It is very convenient because the focus of this camera is adjusted mechanically, although it is probably also possible in others - I just didn’t make it out, I don’t know.

Webcam Logitech C270

You will also need a screwdriver, a cork from a plastic bottle, a couple of small screws (five millimeters long), and it is also desirable to have a glue gun (Glue Gun), a couple of ties and a drill similar to those of dentists =) So let's get started!

First of all, you need to reduce the weight of the camera, so you need to remove the mounting part of the camera. We pull out the end caps from the rotary mechanism and unscrew the screw, then we squeeze out the shaft and the camera becomes like a feather.

Analysis of the fastening mechanism

Next, you need to remove the front panel of the camera to get to the focus adjustment. To do this, you need to pull off the decorative panel, and then unscrew a couple of screws and remove the main plastic panel, behind which there is a simple filling.

Opening the camera

Now we need a nozzle on the eyepiece, and an ordinary cork from a plastic bottle will play its role! It fits perfectly in diameter and inside it has a stop so as not to press close to the optics - you can’t imagine better, you just need to cut off the thread and drill a hole with a radius of 3 plus or minus a millimeter. For this I used a drill with a flexible eyeliner, I used a small drill as a nozzle. If you don’t have this on your farm, take an ordinary knife and carefully cut off the thread, and make a hole with an ordinary drill, or else dig it. Shreds of plastic can be singed with fire so that they do not hang out, then it is necessary to level the top of the cork, for example with a stone.

Cork preparation

Put the finished cork on the eyepiece and lean the camera with the main panel on, adjust the focus if necessary (slowly, slowly, as accurately as possible). And also, seal the LED in the camera, for example, with electrical tape, so that it does not shine where it is not needed.

Next, you need to screw the main panel of the camera to the cork, for this I used screws, you can probably put it on glue, but you need to accurately set the camera, so it is preferable to use screws, first set one, maybe not the first time. Try it on, it is possible to adjust it relative to the first screw and only then fix it with the second one. If the slope is not optimal, insert spacers from pieces of plastic, or something that is at hand. Then do a general fitting.

Fixing the panel to the cork

Now it remains to fix the result, for this you can use a glue gun. Here I recommend gluing a coupler or another flexible piece of plastic as clamps, this is necessary in order to fix the eyepiece so that your image does not rotate, following the webcam wire, you can even have several such couplers, well, or whatever you think of. Pour glue around and let dry.

Finished digital tip

Now let's install all this on the eyepiece of the microscope, tighten the clamp to the tube of the eyepiece and enjoy the microcosm! The whole process takes no more than an hour, the article took longer to write.

Microscope assembly

In general, I must say that a special nozzle is preferable, since it does not try to adapt to lighting, which, with some parameters of the microscope, leads to auto-tuning chatter in the image, perhaps this is adjustable in webcams, I have not yet figured it out. Yes, and everything is calibrated exactly on the factory nozzles, without any screws. But nevertheless, for amateurs, the result is even nothing, though the drug was hastily made on the old glass with dirty hands - that's why there is so much garbage in the picture =)

Some kind of bacteria on onion cells

As a user of windows 7, after XP, an unpleasant surprise awaited me - in 7-ke they removed webcams from "my computer", i.e. There are no regular means to look at the result, so it was not without programming =) Unpack to any place and run the executable.

Due to the crazy pace of development of radio engineering and electronics towards miniaturization, more and more often, when repairing equipment, one has to deal with SMD radio components, which, without magnification, at times, cannot even be seen, not to mention accurate installation and dismantling.

So, life forced me to search the Internet for a device, such as a microscope, which could be made by hand. The choice fell on USB microscopes, of which there are a lot of homemade products, but all of them cannot be used for soldering, because. have a very short focal length.

I decided to experiment with optics and make a USB microscope that would suit my needs.

Here is his photo:

The design turned out to be rather complicated, so it makes no sense to describe in detail each manufacturing step, because. this will greatly clutter up the article. I will describe the main components and their step-by-step production.

So, "without spreading the thought along the tree", let's start:
1. I took the cheapest A4Tech webcam, to be honest, they just gave it to me because of the fig quality of the image, which I didn’t care about, as long as it was in good working order. Of course, if I had taken a better and, of course, expensive webcam, the microscope would have turned out with better image quality, but I, like Samodelkin, act according to the rule - “For lack of a maid, they“ love ”a janitor”, and, moreover However, the image quality of my USB soldering microscope was fine with me.

I took a new optic from some kind of children's optical sight.

To mount the optics in the bronze bushing, I drilled two ø 1.5 mm holes in it (sleeve) and cut the M2 thread.

I screwed M2 bolts into the obtained threaded holes, on the ends of which I glued beads for easy unscrewing and tightening, in order to change the position of the optics relative to the pixel matrix in order to increase or decrease the focal length of my USB microscope.

Next, I thought about lighting.
Of course, it was possible to make an LED backlight, for example, from a gas lighter with a flashlight that costs a penny, or from something else with self-powered, but I decided not to clutter up the design and use the power of the webcam, which is supplied via a USB cable from the computer .

To power the future backlight, from the USB cable that connects the webcam to the computer, I brought out two wires with a mini-connector (male) - “+ 5v, from the red wire of the USB cable” and “-5v, from the black wire”.

To minimize the design of the backlight, I decided to use LEDs, which I soldered from the LED backlight tape from the broken laptop matrix, fortunately, I had such a tape in my “stash” for a long time.

Using scissors, a suitable drill and a file, I made a ring of the right size from double-sided foil fiberglass and, cutting out tracks for soldering LEDs and quenching SMD resistors with a nominal value of 150 ohms on one side of the ring, (I put a 150 ohm resistor in the gap of the positive power wire of each LED ) soldered our backlight. To connect the power from the inside of the ring, I soldered a mini-connector (mother).

To connect the backlight to the lens, I used a round threaded nut (not used for attaching lens glasses), which I soldered to the inside of the backlight ring (that's why I took double-sided fiberglass).

So, the electron-optical part of the USB microscope is ready.

Now you need to think about the movable mechanism for fine adjustment of sharpness, movable tripod, base and work table.
In general, it remains to come up with and create the mechanical part of our homemade product.

Go…

2. As a movable mechanism for fine-tuning the sharpness, I decided to take an outdated mechanism for reading floppy disks (popularly called the "flop drive").
For those who did not find this "miracle of technology", it looks like this:

In short, after a complete disassembly of this mechanism, I took the part that was responsible for the movement of the reading head, and after mechanical refinement (trimming, sawing and filing), this is what happened:

To move the head in the floppy drive, a micromotor was used, which I disassembled and took only the shaft from it, fixing it back to the movable mechanism. For the convenience of rotating the shaft, on its end, which was inside the engine housing, I put on a roller from the scroller of an old computer mouse.

Everything turned out as I wanted, the movement of the mechanism was smooth and accurate (no backlash). The movement of the mechanism was 17 mm, which is ideal for fine-tuning the sharpness of the microscope at any focal length of the optics.

With the help of two M2 bolts, I fixed the electron-optical part of the USB microscope to a movable mechanism for fine-tuning the sharpness.

Creating a movable tripod did not cause any particular difficulties for me.

3. Since the times of the USSR, the UPA-63M enlarger was lying in my barn, the details of which I decided to use. For the tripod stand, I took such a ready-made rod with a mount, which was included in the enlarger kit. This rod is made of aluminum tube with outer ø 12 mm and inner ø 9.8 mm. To attach it to the base, I took an M10 bolt, screwed it to a depth of 20 mm (with force) into the bar, and left the rest of the thread by cutting off the bolt head.

The mount had to be slightly modified in order to connect it with the parts of the microscope prepared in step 2. To do this, I bent the end of the mount (pictured) at a right angle and drilled a hole ø 5.0 mm in the bent part.

Then everything is simple - with an M5 bolt 45 mm long, through the nuts, we connect the pre-assembled part with the mount and put it on the rack, securing it with a locking screw.

Now the base and table.

4. For a long time I had a piece of translucent light brown plastic. At first I thought it was plexiglass, but upon processing I realized that it was not. Well, oh well - I decided to use it for the base and stage of my USB microscope.

Based on the dimensions of the previously obtained design, and the desire to make a large table for reliable fastening of boards during soldering, I cut out a rectangle measuring 250x160 mm from the existing plastic, drilled a hole ø 8.5 mm in it and cut an M10 thread for attaching the rod, as well as holes for fixing the base of the table.

I glued the legs to the bottom of the base, which I cut out from the soles of old shoes with a homemade drill.

5. The table was turned on a lathe (at my former enterprise, of course, I don’t have a lathe, although there is a 5th category of a turner) with a size of 160 mm.

As a base for the table, I took a stand for leveling furniture relative to the floor, it fit perfectly in size and looks presentable, besides, it was presented to me by a friend who has this fittings, “like a fool of shag.”