Hello,
I was given the task of finding a camera system to take pictures in the lab. Most of the pictures we take are machining defects on metal parts. Some of these defects are at the bottom of a bore, and some are rather small. For example, one of the pictures we needed to take the edge of a needle on a pressure gauge, (.01” wide). This is a stamped part that needs to conduct electricity when it contacts a pin at the preset PSI. We had a good part and a bad part that we needed to document.
I found this eBay item 7631976600
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1
Has anyone ordered from precision*world? Is this system OK or do I really need to avoid them?
Thanks,
James Happe
precision*world Microscopes on eBay, Any good?
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rjlittlefield
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James,
I cannot evaluate the microscope system you point to.
Regarding Precision*World in general, I have one relevant experience. I bought a dual-pipe halogen fiber illuminator from them. Delivery was prompt. The unit seemed to be packaged OK and appeared to be undamaged, but the fan didn't run. There was no manual and no brand name, only a sticky label containing a model number. I sent email asking whether the fan was supposed to run all the time, or if there was some startup delay. Precision*World replied promptly, but said only that "The fun should run. otherwise, do not use it and find out what was wrong." (This is a copy-and-paste of their entire reply, complete with typos.) Searching the web for the illuminator's model number turned up nothing helpful, only 24 hits in four languages, mostly Chinese. I partially disassembled the unit, found nothing obviously awry, wiggled what connections were accessible, and on reassembly found that the fan worked fine. It has worked fine ever since.
Aside from the fan glitch, I am completely satisfied with the illuminator. It's actually better than I expected to get for the price, since (according to my meters) it uses a regulated high frequency switching power supply that completely eliminates flicker. However, I now think that my expectations were too low, since I subsequently found what appears to be the same unit, with brand name and warranty, advertised for routine sale at another company, at a slightly lower price than what Precision*World claimed was several times less than retail. (That company is http://www.howardelectronics.com/. I bought a spare bulb from them, since Precision*World wasn't offering any such thing.)
On eBay, Precision*World has a 99.9% positive rating. I am one of those, and I'll certainly consider buying from them again. But I'll also do quite a bit of checking other sources first.
--Rik
I cannot evaluate the microscope system you point to.
Regarding Precision*World in general, I have one relevant experience. I bought a dual-pipe halogen fiber illuminator from them. Delivery was prompt. The unit seemed to be packaged OK and appeared to be undamaged, but the fan didn't run. There was no manual and no brand name, only a sticky label containing a model number. I sent email asking whether the fan was supposed to run all the time, or if there was some startup delay. Precision*World replied promptly, but said only that "The fun should run. otherwise, do not use it and find out what was wrong." (This is a copy-and-paste of their entire reply, complete with typos.) Searching the web for the illuminator's model number turned up nothing helpful, only 24 hits in four languages, mostly Chinese. I partially disassembled the unit, found nothing obviously awry, wiggled what connections were accessible, and on reassembly found that the fan worked fine. It has worked fine ever since.
Aside from the fan glitch, I am completely satisfied with the illuminator. It's actually better than I expected to get for the price, since (according to my meters) it uses a regulated high frequency switching power supply that completely eliminates flicker. However, I now think that my expectations were too low, since I subsequently found what appears to be the same unit, with brand name and warranty, advertised for routine sale at another company, at a slightly lower price than what Precision*World claimed was several times less than retail. (That company is http://www.howardelectronics.com/. I bought a spare bulb from them, since Precision*World wasn't offering any such thing.)
On eBay, Precision*World has a 99.9% positive rating. I am one of those, and I'll certainly consider buying from them again. But I'll also do quite a bit of checking other sources first.
--Rik
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Charles Krebs
- Posts: 5865
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James... I have not had any experience with this company, and there is no "brand" listed for the camera or microscope (possibly made in China) so I can't offer advice on those points.
There are two things that did come to mind when I read your post that you might need to consider...
Depending on the depth and diameter of the bore, and the working distance of the microscope, light from the ring-light might not reach the bottom of the "hole". If it is a fairly deep, narrow bore, you might need to consider a microscope that has a "vertical illuminator" (along with sufficient working distance). With these, the illumination light actually passes through the same optics that you see through, so if you can see it, you will illuminate it as well.
Also, the scope you referenced specs the magnification range as being from "3.5x-90x".
The objective is stated as being "Objective: 0.35-4.5X". It comes with 10X eyepieces, so the base magnification range is 3.5X to 45X. This can be increased to 90X by adding a 2X auxiliary lens, but the one in the listing is: "Auxiliary Objective Lens: 0.5X".
This auxiliary lens would have the effect of cutting the magnification in half (giving a range of 1.75X to 22.5X) at a larger working distance. Perhaps this was an error in their listing, as apparently they do have 2.0X auxiliary lenses available. If some of the parts you need to examine closely are .01" in size then the higher magnification range would be preferable.
There are two things that did come to mind when I read your post that you might need to consider...
Some of these defects are at the bottom of a bore
Depending on the depth and diameter of the bore, and the working distance of the microscope, light from the ring-light might not reach the bottom of the "hole". If it is a fairly deep, narrow bore, you might need to consider a microscope that has a "vertical illuminator" (along with sufficient working distance). With these, the illumination light actually passes through the same optics that you see through, so if you can see it, you will illuminate it as well.
Also, the scope you referenced specs the magnification range as being from "3.5x-90x".
The objective is stated as being "Objective: 0.35-4.5X". It comes with 10X eyepieces, so the base magnification range is 3.5X to 45X. This can be increased to 90X by adding a 2X auxiliary lens, but the one in the listing is: "Auxiliary Objective Lens: 0.5X".
This auxiliary lens would have the effect of cutting the magnification in half (giving a range of 1.75X to 22.5X) at a larger working distance. Perhaps this was an error in their listing, as apparently they do have 2.0X auxiliary lenses available. If some of the parts you need to examine closely are .01" in size then the higher magnification range would be preferable.