My projects

PiZoom - SolderingCam

I've build a lowcost soldering cam with zoom, using my favorite mini-pc the Raspberry Pi. Naturally it can't compare with a mantis microscope or similar high-end microscopes, but it's great for SMD soldering and other fine work, and it's quite a bit better than the cheap 10$ usb-microscopes you can get on e- bay.

partslist:

• Raspberry pi 3/4
• 7" Touchscreen Display
• power for rpi and fan
• camera
• zoom-lens
• zoom-lens mount
• 12cm fan
• carbon filter
• misc. screws and hardware

The total cost depend a lot on where you can find the parts, mine cost me about 1000,-Dkk (£120).

You can use a Raspberry pi 3 or 4, the 7" Touchscreen Display and camera should work with both.

If you have the space for it, using an old desktop-display would lover the cost substantially.

You can find a RPI 5MP camera on e-bay for a fraction of the cost of the official RPI camera, the quality is not quite the same, but ok for most applications.

I'll try to find sources for the rest of the components, and also upload the script I use for activating the camera.

A cool thing to add in the future, would be a sensor that activated the fan when soldering is detected, either by sensing the particles in the air or simply by sensing the heat from the iron.