Mitutoyo QV Quick Vision Machine Teardown

[RobertOToole]

After setting a new personal record for procrastination at 2.5 years , I finally got around to tearing down my QV machine that I picked up in summer of 2018 Yes, I'm a professional procrastinator!

The full teardown is here: https://www.closeuphotography.com/blog/ ... e-teardown

Selected highlights from the site are below.


That is a QV?
The Mitutoyo QV or Quick Vision is a measuring machine used in metrology and is different than a measuring scope or finescope or even a toolmakers or measurescope since there is no direct optical path to view the image, it goes to a CCD camera for monitor display.


Why would you want one?
Some QVs have a 2.5x QV-Objective HR 0.21 for example which is similar (not the same) to a pushed down 5x 0.21 HR Mitutoyo M Plan. The unit I bought came with a plain 1x QV-objective.

This is the unit before being dragged it into my garage, it was too heavy to lift, my wife and I could barely slide it on a plastic sheet it weighed so much. It's double, triple what it looks like it weighs.

QV Closeup. Moritex light guides looped over the top, You can see the Sony CCD camera at the top of the power tube lens housing, on the right in a Moritex light guide for the beamsplitter. Also you can see the motor for the turret control. Cables are for the counter weight in the tower. The motor is used to switch tube lenses, 1x, 2x, 6x.

1x QV-objective and the Moritex ring light, the reflector is powered and comes in two parts, upper and lower. One is parabolic and one toroidal. The reflectors move to give you 3 different light angles.



Was hoping to find an QV HR objective of course

3 towers came with the unit, PRL controller (power ring light) case is filled with light supplies, QVC-1 controller with more light supplies and the old dell PC tower. The seller lost the keys for the software so the unit was turned into a brick (useless electronic unit).

Finally dragged the QV into my office, thanks to the help from my wife


Just one bare XY plate, without guides, motor, bolts, just bare aluminum, weighs 28 pounds! Thats only one plate and there are two! The base, without a tower is at least 100 pounds.

M26 mount at the bottom, power turret in the center and beam splitter on the right for the flat or coaxial light.

1x, 2x, and 6x. The 6x has a tiny rear element.

1,2, and 6 tube lenses.

Spanner wrench marks on the retainer and I think I see a scratch on the front element looks like someone has opened the 6x tube lens. You would assume Mitutoyo would just replace it, maybe it was some engineer at the facility?

I would not be happy to see that if it was an item I bought.

Removing these took some time.

Moritex (famous Japanese manuf.) light guides and ring light. The QV has 6 guides/lights.

Almost there. Due to the weight and size, I decided to just recycle the base and tower, rather than re-use. I am going to use the lighting and some other small bits.

This was a disappointment. The QV uses a 1/2 inch sensor CCD camera, so the sensor diagonal and the IC is only 8mm! I was hoping the tube lenses or beamsplitter might be useful, that is until I saw the sensor.




There are more images on the webpage, see the link at the top.




Its nice to have regained some floorspace in my office at least!




The QV is marked "made in Japan" but after spending a lot of time pulling the unit apart, the QV is might be technically "made in Japan" but the quality of the parts suggests most of the parts were made and machined in China. There is a lot of loose and sloppy machining throughout. I've also disassembled a Mitutoyo finescope and that was completely different. Also I've pulled apart 2 Scitex scanners, one Fuji scanner (made in the UK), and one Linotype scanner and this was made at a much lower standard than those, no comparison.



Questions comments welcome, just leave them below. Thanks for looking.

[Adalbert]

Hello Robert,

Very interesting report!

I have already asked for the comparison between the QV 2.5 and the Mitu 5x:
https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/ ... 25&t=42880
but what would you recommend?

BTW, most of the items are produced in CN

Best ADi

[Scarodactyl]

Very interesting! I've often wondered what might be inside one of these. With such a small sensor I kind of wonder if any of the rumored corrections are real, or if it really does just crop any of the slightly aberrated zone of the image. We know they don't mind going into deep diffraction given their 40:1 zooming microscope. Any idea what the focal length of the tube lenses is?
Of course there seem to be many entries in the QV series, so maybe one has a larger sensor or something. I'm not very optimistic about that though.

[RobertOToole]

Hello Robert,

Very interesting report!

I have already asked for the comparison between the QV 2.5 and the Mitu 5x:
https://www.photomacrography.net/forum/ ... 25&t=42880
but what would you recommend?

BTW, most of the items are produced in CN

Best ADi

Hi ADi,

That tiny image circle and the resolution of the CCD, 500 lines resolution, makes the M Plans more attractive. Its hard to beat the M Plan APO 5x. Hopefully someday I will stumble on a good deal on the QV-HR and I do plan to get a hold of the 5X M Plan Apo HR .21 at some point anyway.

BTW, most of the items are produced in CN

Picked up a FS-60 Finescope a few years ago, another project on the list, and that scope is very well made, like night and day compared to the QV. Almost as if one is made for a lab, the FS60 and the QV for the machine shop.


Best,

Thanks.

[RobertOToole]

Very interesting! I've often wondered what might be inside one of these. With such a small sensor I kind of wonder if any of the rumored corrections are real, or if it really does just crop any of the slightly aberrated zone of the image. We know they don't mind going into deep diffraction given their 40:1 zooming microscope. Any idea what the focal length of the tube lenses is?
Of course there seem to be many entries in the QV series, so maybe one has a larger sensor or something. I'm not very optimistic about that though.

Yes, there are a lot of other interesting QVs, some with quite different objectives. Some actually come with the HR 0,21 as standard.

The TLs should be 100, 200 and 600mm, since the QV-objectives are rated for 100mm standard. I can send them if you want to experiment with them! I've already made the money back that I paid for the QV.

The coatings on the TLs don't look very deep, and that rear element on the 600

Best,

Robert

[Horst_S]

Hi Robert,
did you try to bring it up to life before disassembling it?
I don't think there is sloppy machining. These might not be showpieces inside but these machines are made with extreme accuracy. There are optical encoders in three axes with typically 0,1µm resolution and accuracies better then 1µm over the whole way.
The linear bearings are also of the highest quality.
Maybe it could take some kind of topographic pictures.

[Scarodactyl]

The TLs should be 100, 200 and 600mm, since the QV-objectives are rated for 100mm standard.

Ah, of course. It's right on the objectives so I guess I'd have no reason to doubt them. That would suggest pretty insanely heavy cropping of the image circle even at nominal 1x. I appreciate the offer of the tube lenses but I don't think I'd be able to make much use of it. I already have a mag changer on my nikon anyway

Yes, there are a lot of other interesting QVs, some with quite different objectives. Some actually come with the HR 0,21 as standard.

Yeah, those HR objectives are interesting. Though they do cheat a bit--Mitutoyo doesn't offer a 20x HR objective in the M Plan Apo line, so if you look at the specs their "qv 10x hr" is actually specced like a normal 20x m plan apo, and the normal QV 10x is specced like a 20x m plan apo SL.

[RobertOToole]

Hi Horst,

Hi Robert,
did you try to bring it up to life before disassembling it?

The seller said without the dongle/key the software won't run, so I never tried it.

I don't think there is sloppy machining. These might not be showpieces inside but these machines are made with extreme accuracy. There are optical encoders in three axes with typically 0,1µm resolution and accuracies better then 1µm over the whole way.
The linear bearings are also of the highest quality.
Maybe it could take some kind of topographic pictures.

Yes, true about the accuracy, they did use 3 glass encoders so Mitutoyo was concerned about accuracy, glass is used for less expansion and more accuracy if I remember correctly.

Some casting machining is well, they look out of place on a high dollar unit....I'll show you so you can get an idea. Maybe I am being a little harsh.

Just weighed the base, tower, and extender spacer, 66, 28, 29 pounds, so almost 126 pounds, 57 kg, for only 3 parts.

The counterweight is small but is unusually heavy, I have no idea what it is made of. They made it in 3 parts and you have to disassemble to get it out, the passage is only large enough for one of the units..strange way of doing it. A larger access port would make it less rigid?


This spacer is mounted between the tower and the Z-axis stage, this is where the bearing sliders are bolted on.

Machined face where the bearings bolt to, looks good enough.

This is the top face where the Z-axis motor bolts, not as nice, but okay, no one will see this anyway.

This is the rear of the spacer where it bolts to the Z-tower.

Spacer rear again.

Some of the casting machining looks out of place on something made in Japan, maybe its me?



Best,

Robert

[RobertOToole]

Sacrificial anode ?

On the QV they used a spacer under the tower column (which seems weird, they didn't they just design a taller column) bolted to the spacer was a dark steel plate, the only thing on the scope that was rusted, is that similar to sacrificial anode on a boat? I'm guessing since it was the only thing corroded on the machine....never heard of that, and there were at least a dozen grounds bolted to the tower column.

Anyone have any idea?


Robert

[Horst_S]

That might be contact corrosion - pairing Aluminium and steel is critical. The machine maybe has been stored in an environment with too high humidity. But thats cosmetically only, if the linear bearings are shiny they should be ok.

The counterweight could be made of lead - now you have something for proper disposal

The castings may not be looking nice, but I'm sure they do what they are aimed for. It looks as if they have been designed by infinite elements calculation to minimize deformation under mechanical stress.

I'm wondering why they used aluminium and not steel (Aluminium has a much higher thermal expansion coefficient - but for precision measurement you may need thermostatted environment anyway)

If you know a hobby machinist with a milling machine you could use at least the z-axis for building a very accurate stacking equipment. The stepper motors could be driven by an Arduino for example. There are yellow "do not touch"warning stickers on the machine, I think these belongs to the masuring system, these parts are sensitive.

Before throwing away any of the heavy parts and the bearings (and also the measuring system) you could also try the sell them (and you have no disposal problems with the lead...) - I'm sure there are tinkerer out having sleepless nights seeing these parts. Take a look at youtube under "CNC machining" or "do it yourself CNC".

Be aware that they are maybe shocked that somebody disassembled such machinery to get out such useless things as lenses

[RobertOToole]

Quick update. Decided that the base and tower are way too heavy and big.


So off to the metal recycler this morning rather than a dumpster.


177 pounds of bare AI at 0.58 USD per pound.