Advice with motorized rail

[rjlittlefield]

... that would have the kind of displacement you are probably looking for.

I'm not sure there's anything that I'm specifically looking for, other than to see that people who ask for recommendations get good ones.

In that regard, I think it's more than a little premature to be recommending the voice coil approach, given that the obvious competition -- a microscope focus block -- is a known good solution that the community has several thousand times more experience with.

That said, I'm impressed by your intense enthusiasm for voice coils, so I thought I'd pick your brain about opportunities and limitations.

From my standpoint, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the voice coil approach is that it has the potential to be quite small and light, which microscope focus blocks definitely are not.

--Rik

[ray_parkhurst]

... that would have the kind of displacement you are probably looking for.

I'm not sure there's anything that I'm specifically looking for, other than to see that people who ask for recommendations get good ones.

In that regard, I think it's more than a little premature to be recommending the voice coil approach, given that the obvious competition -- a microscope focus block -- is a known good solution that the community has several thousand times more experience with.

That said, I'm impressed by your intense enthusiasm for voice coils, so I thought I'd pick your brain about opportunities and limitations.

From my standpoint, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the voice coil approach is that it has the potential to be quite small and light, which microscope focus blocks definitely are not.

--Rik

I was just going along with the theme of your personal considerations, plus your concern about the 1mm of travel. A larger speaker would eliminate the displacement concern.

I'm certainly not recommending the voice coil approach...how could I, given that it still in its infancy? What I said was " I urge you to follow the voice coil stepper thread before investing in any other approach for high magnification. " Until there exists a proven, automated system of electronics and software, I would not recommend it over other approaches. But you are right about it being a smaller and lighter solution. What you don't state is that it has an almost infinitely small potential step size; elimination of small-step errors; elimination of lateral stepping movements; excellent vibration dampening and fast stepping recovery; very low cost and complexity; plus probably many other attributes I have not yet discovered.

Rik, I urge you to try this approach for yourself to see why I am so enthusiastic about it. I saw some of the potential from the moment I read Peter's original post, but it was only after using the system that I can appreciate its appeal.

[rjlittlefield]

What I said was " I urge you to follow the voice coil stepper thread before investing in any other approach for high magnification. "

I wonder, did you notice that two sentences before that, you wrote: "Judging from my results so far with the voice coil rail, I would judge this path will turn out to be the superior solution at 20x and above."

Perhaps you did not intend those two sentences to sound like a recommendation, but I cannot read it any other way. Particularly since your words appeared in a thread where the OP specifically asked for advice on how to proceed, and you posted apparently as a response to Chris S., who pointed out that focus block is a good solution.

I agree with your assessment that the voice coil approach is still in its infancy, and I'm happy to hear that in fact you are not recommending it at this time.

--Rik

[ray_parkhurst]

What I said was " I urge you to follow the voice coil stepper thread before investing in any other approach for high magnification. "

I wonder, did you notice that two sentences before that, you wrote: "Judging from my results so far with the voice coil rail, I would judge this path will turn out to be the superior solution at 20x and above."

Perhaps you did not intend those two sentences to sound like a recommendation, but I cannot read it any other way. Particularly since your words appeared in a thread where the OP specifically asked for advice on how to proceed, and you posted apparently as a response to Chris S., who pointed out that focus block is a good solution.

I agree with your assessment that the voice coil approach is still in its infancy, and I'm happy to hear that in fact you are not recommending it at this time.

--Rik

I didn't consider that a recommendation, just a prediction.

[Irisoratoria]

I finally decided by wemacro rail. Time to shoot some pictures and have a lot of fun!. Thank you everybody.

[Irisoratoria]

Finally, I bought the wemacro rail. He looks good and soon I'll start working on it.
Is fair to say that William has been very professional and responsible. The first time I received the rail, I found that It had a non concentric movement that did not allow stacks to be made. When I told him, he advised me to do a small operation, but I did not solve it. When I said, and without I insist, he sent me another replacement rail with no cost to me. I'm happy with the product and with the client support.

[mawyatt]

Finally, I bought the wemacro rail. He looks good and soon I'll start working on it.
Is fair to say that William has been very professional and responsible. The first time I received the rail, I found that It had a non concentric movement that did not allow stacks to be made. When I told him, he advised me to do a small operation, but I did not solve it. When I said, and without I insist, he sent me another replacement rail with no cost to me. I'm happy with the product and with the client support.

Albert,

William at Wemacro is very good about making sure his customers are happy!!

Can you describe the problem with the 1st rail? And what William had suggested for the cure?

BTW I've had good success as have others with the Wemacro rail system at higher magnifications using an "Off Axis Loading" scheme to help reduce what I call rail wobble, this is where the rail has a very slight side to side movement as it moves during the stack. Normally this is only an issue at higher magnifications, and is apparent in Stackshot and MJKZZ rails as well.

Good luck with your new stacking rail and keep us up to date on your progress.

Best,

Mike

[Deanimator]

Finally, I bought the wemacro rail. He looks good and soon I'll start working on it.
Is fair to say that William has been very professional and responsible. The first time I received the rail, I found that It had a non concentric movement that did not allow stacks to be made. When I told him, he advised me to do a small operation, but I did not solve it. When I said, and without I insist, he sent me another replacement rail with no cost to me. I'm happy with the product and with the client support.

I recently purchased a Wemacro rail and have been extremely satisfied with it.

Of course it allowed me to discover the deficits in my other gear, but that's hardly William's fault...

[lonepal]

Hi;

I also have the WeMacro rail more than 1 year now.

I am very pleased with the rail and more than that I am very pleased to work with a person like William.

He is very polite and he does everything to make the customer happy.
He sends free replacements, gives you ideas about your problems.

I mastered the Wemacro rail and also modified it with the support of William.

I recommend Wemacro to everyone, there is a very big support behind it like William.

Thanks.

[Irisoratoria]

Hi;

I also have the WeMacro rail more than 1 year now.

I am very pleased with the rail and more than that I am very pleased to work with a person like William.

He is very polite and he does everything to make the customer happy.
He sends free replacements, gives you ideas about your problems.

I mastered the Wemacro rail and also modified it with the support of William.

I recommend Wemacro to everyone, there is a very big support behind it like William.

Thanks.

I agree.

[Lou Jost]

I also agree with the comments about William's professionalism and generosity. He's the best!

[Irisoratoria]

Finally, I bought the wemacro rail. He looks good and soon I'll start working on it.
Is fair to say that William has been very professional and responsible. The first time I received the rail, I found that It had a non concentric movement that did not allow stacks to be made. When I told him, he advised me to do a small operation, but I did not solve it. When I said, and without I insist, he sent me another replacement rail with no cost to me. I'm happy with the product and with the client support.

Albert,

William at Wemacro is very good about making sure his customers are happy!!

Can you describe the problem with the 1st rail? And what William had suggested for the cure?

BTW I've had good success as have others with the Wemacro rail system at higher magnifications using an "Off Axis Loading" scheme to help reduce what I call rail wobble, this is where the rail has a very slight side to side movement as it moves during the stack. Normally this is only an issue at higher magnifications, and is apparent in Stackshot and MJKZZ rails as well.

Good luck with your new stacking rail and keep us up to date on your progress.

Best,

Mike

I think it is fair to say when somebody does things right, and William do.
The problem I had with 1st rail: first starts to creak and jumping steps, then was squealing at every revolution, and finally stopped. William told me that there is a small fastening screw under the warranty label (yes, i'm a kind of clumsy about mechanical world) and I must move the lead screw to the motor side, and then fasten the screw under the label. I did, but the problem with a kind of helicoidal movement (non concentric and a little irregular) that gave problems even at 5x, persist. Then William, sent to me the second rail.

[cube-tube]

You might want to consider building your own automated rail with an Arduino and a micrometer. It's a fun project, surprisingly not very difficult, and it would be a lot cheaper than either of the options you're looking at.