Seems a very long time ago since I started this thread. I don't drop by LH often these days but I thought I'd update where I am at with cartridge inspection and my current setup. I tried a few USB setups without much success but a few years ago I decided to by an optical microscope.
I settled on a Swift model 350B which was quite reasonably priced and modified the deck plate to take a cartridge by removing some of the unnecessary parts that would be used for viewing slides underneath.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SW350B-Magnification-Siedentopf-Research-Grade-Microscope/dp/B07N7QVF3JPreviously I just had a little bit of plastic sat in the recess that I would move about with my finger but recently a friend 3D printed me a little holder which allows the X and Y fine controls to be used to find the diamond tip.
I use these LED lights from eBay and just clip them to the rear handle on the microscope. They are really handy because you can move them about to find really good reflections of the wear patches and they are particularly useful when viewing the tip from different angles.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354652145973?var=624016632255
The main objective I use is 10x and I use both 10x and 25x eyepieces for 100x and 250x overall magnification. I use the 100x for dialling in and 250x for closer inspection.
Its a simple and very easy to use setup and it gets very good results. For pics and video's I just hold up my iPhone to the eyepiece which seems to be good enough for keeping track of wear. Here's a few pictures.
If you have a lot of cartridges, like I do, then it's essential to be able to do this. Anything that's needed a retip goes to our very own Joseph (Needlestein/Groovetickler) who does an awesome job every time.
