Thanks for this answer … btw, do you know a good way to cut boards? (I have some ‘proto’ FR4 boards I can use for testing but it would be nice to know beforehand what works and what not.
You can search it. The method I’d decided on was using a three corner file to notch both sides and then put in a vice/two blocks of wood/etc and snap it. It works on the internet but fortunately I didn’t have to find out. 
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I’ve had good luck using this saw with a diamond blade: https://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/power-saws/miter-table-tile-saws/4-in-mighty-mite-table-saw-with-blade-61608.html
(Always use a mask to prevent breathing the FR4 dust.)
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I have just got my latest boards back from JLCPCB - a WeMos shield. I submitted these as a panel with mouse bites. The panelisation and mouse bites were done using GerberPanelizer from ‘This Is Not Rocket Science’ (http://blog.thisisnotrocketscience.nl/projects/pcb-panelizer/). These boards are easy to separate - much easier than v-grooves but need a bit of sanding to finish off nicely. Doing boards like this has another advantage - I can stencil the whole panel in one go.
I have attached a couple of pictures as they illustrate the little trick I use to achieve this. I have two types of boards on this panel - obviously the six copies of the main pcb but also one copy of a ‘Frame/Rail’ at the top of the picture - with two special holes in it 8cm apart. These holes have the paste layer active - so they appear as holes in the stencil. You can put the holes anywhere convenient on the actual board if you have a larger board - just as long as they are on a 10mm grid. For small boards like these, I find putting the holes on an edge rail to be easier. The boards themselves are then simply placed in the panelizer program so that they are a suitable distance apart. You need at least two pin holes - in practice adding more pins doesn’t seem to make much difference to security of alignment.
For stencilling the boards I use a home-made jig made of 10mm Derlin CNC drilled with 2.5mm diameter holes 10mm apart but if you always use a frame with fixed hole separation distance, you only need a single piece of something rigid drilled in two or three appropriate places.You then use 2.5mm metal dowel pins to locate the pcb on the jig. The stencil has holes which correspond to the pins as setting the paste layer active for the holes leaves a perfect alignment hole. Just make a sandwich of jig ->pcb -> stencil - all aligned with the dowel pins and apply your paste. Job done. The 10cm square boards fit in my (homemade) reflow oven perfectly. The boards separate easily after they have been reflowed - when laying out your pcb you should take care not to place critical components near edges/stress points.
This time, JLCPCB supplied me with a massive 40x30cm stencil so it covers the whole jig so it is difficult to see the stencil in relation to the jig but usually I get a 20x20cm one. Hopefully the pictures make the process clearer.
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Thanks for all this info … I do not understand everything, so I need to learn/read more about what a panel and stencil is, and all consequences of drilling etc.
I use PCBWay. They have a minimum length for the V-cuts (around 3.5 to 4-in IIRC). Don’t recall if they charge extra.
However, if you have two different boards, you can put them in the same order as separate boards and they will ship them together.This is the easiest way. If one of the boards has a problem, they will finish and package the other boards, but delay shipping until the issue is resolved. Their customer service is pretty quick - just keep in mind the time difference.
If you do the panelization yourself, they will catch it and charge you extra.
Over all, I am pretty impressed with PCBWay. 100x100mm boards are $5 for 5 or 10 boards.
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I picked up a pair of +2.5 reading glasses; and I am just starting to not have the capabilities of only 20 year old eyeballs.
Keeping cost in mind, I’ve been pretty happy with the concept of using them instead of stereo microscope.
They will not replace the performance of a quality stereo microscope; but it might just be minimal enough to get the task at hand done.
ON EDIT: I double checked, they are +2.5 in specification, and I believe to be just enough for me to hand solder SOIC and 1206 parts with confidence.
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I hand solder 0603 by eye, but have a nice Olympus stereo microscope for tiny TSSOP packages
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Yeah, probably could have done that only a few years back.
What model and where did you pick it up at?
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I’m 61 and very short sighted, so I can close focus better than most people if my age.
The microscope is about 10 years old, came with a 2Mp Motic camera built in and cost a fortune.
If you come across one of these, beware that the camera driver is a real pain to get working on modern PCs.
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These work well and have a good working distance. They are also a lot cheaper than a stereo microscope.
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Thanks for this info … I think spending a few euro more is not a problem indeed, if I can put them together in one shipping order (since shipping is most costly).
I hear good stories about both PCBWay or JLCPCB so both are cheap/good options for me (as a hobbyist).
I just ordered not reading glasses but like a magnifier glasses, so I guess that will do to (including +2.5). Thanks for the idea.
Btw, I bought a mono cheap USB microscope … although it works well, I cannot use it for soldering, mono is just nog easy enough … however, it’s good for product identification since it magnifies a lot.
I will get a non self made ‘test/learninig’ PCB board soon so I will check if I can do it too by eye (probably not since I’m far from 20 anymore).
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Thanks for this idea … Sadly amazon is not so easy to use in the Netherlands, but I found the exact same thing on Aliexpress 
; it seems very useful.
I bought a cheap USB mono microscope but that’s not good for use while soldering.
Another approach for better seeing and stability is a method used by watchmakers for probably quite some time.
Take some kind of box, for example a cube of 20x20x20cm, and put it on your desk.
Then put your project on top of the box.
Rest your elbows also on the desk and your wrists against the side of the box.
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Seems like a good way to prevent neck pain, not having to bend forward too much/long.
Something like this “Document Camera”? I bought the previous model about 8 years ago and found it very useful for reading model numbers, inspecting soldering, looking for defective or damaged traces, etc.
I can manage to assemble and rework SOIC’s and 0805 passives, and occasionaly 0603, using a moderate-cost swing-arm desk magnifier (“MAG Lamp XL”, model UN1030, about US$125) and a small soldering iron tip (Hakko FX-888 with T18-C05). A microscope certainly helps, and extends my capabilities to 0402. At work I have a wide-field binocular toolmaker’s microscope that cost my employer a bit less than US$200 at AMScope . They offer several combinations of magnification (e.g., 5X/10X; 10X/20X; 10X/15X; etc) at the same price, or a single magnification version for a bit less. It’s definitely a no-frills instrument, but it is solidly made, operates smoothly and performs well. It costs more than a casual hobbyist would spend but is within budget for a freelance designer, maker-space coop, or very serious hobbyist.
Dale
(With 68-yr old, trifocaled eyes)
That document camera looks kind professional . But I bought a 10 euro cheap USB microscope, and another 10 euro for a decent stand. Together it looks like below.
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