tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-534708807576459669.post8679442158415233884..comments2024-03-10T17:45:30.851-07:00Comments on IC reverse engineering and other adventures: PLACE SANDWICH HERE: the cameraJohn McMasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11714069658809228929noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-534708807576459669.post-30402863946433474512010-05-13T19:15:56.926-07:002010-05-13T19:15:56.926-07:00Yes, I'm always looking for more people to col...Yes, I'm always looking for more people to collaborate with!<br />There are two microscopes, each with its own CNC work in progress. The biological one, which I have a picture of, is mostly done. This uses bipolar stepper motors. That setup is only so-so though since I had to spring load one stage to the gear as it moves around. A more proper X-Y setup would be nice. Still, the stages work fine and I have a stack of cheap broken bipolar stepper drivers I got for free. I'm trying to test/swap parts to get them working. I have one working and with a little time I could probably get a second one. The computer in the background of some of my pictures has EMC2 (http://www.linuxcnc.org) installed on it from previous projects and is ready to go for CNC control. <br />The inverted metallurgical microscope has a slightly different setup planned. It has two knobs on it that I can git a timing belt on really easily. I ordered some timing pulleys and just yesterday managed to find a pair of timing pulleys to stick on some motors. I have some large unipolar Precision Motion Controls (microstepping?) drivers. I used them before on several CNC projects. While they are way overkill, they should work fine and I have them lying around.<br />With 4 um technology, you really don't need anything too precise. I can see 4 um tech pretty well even at 100X and it would take quite a few steps to move an entire camera field of view.<br />For CNC picture taking, I'm trying to use libgphoto2. I've had some issues getting libgphoto2 to play nicely with my camera (Canon SD100). However, I can't turn off the flash when under computer control. My first solution was to simply cover the flash with electrical tape. However, an expected flash severely lowers the exposure time and results in dark pictures. I might contact the gphoto team or see if I can debug it myself.<br />Unfortunately, I can't contact you through your profile, so send me an e-mail at JohnDMcMaster@gmail.com if you can so we can talk more.John McMasterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11714069658809228929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-534708807576459669.post-45715902492289869792010-04-15T18:28:41.552-07:002010-04-15T18:28:41.552-07:00I bought a precision stepper-motor X-Y stage two y...I bought a precision stepper-motor X-Y stage two years ago, with the idea in mind of doing the same thing, but I haven't yet purchased a microscope. What are you using? I want to extract metal-mask ROM code from chips made in the mid-1970s, and possibly try to reverse-engineer a netlist of a custom microprocessor from the same era. I expect that my chips use geometry no finer than 4 um. I'll be interested to see more of your results, and if you're interested, possibly collaborating with you.Eric Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05254588302675874445noreply@blogger.com