Anatomy, A DIY Precision S & S System (Thor Labs Setup)

[mawyatt]

As I mentioned I would report on the Thor Labs based Precision S&S setup. The base is aluminum with a Thor Precision 95mm One Sided extruded rail bolted to the base. Sliding clamps slide along this and as shown the THK KR15 X & Y subject positioners are mounted to the sliding clamps, which allows coarse Y axis movement. The vertical bar is a Thor Precision 95mm Four Sided extrusion rail and it's securely bolted to a sliding clamp which can also slide along the One Sided rail for positioning. The camera/lens are mounted to a THK or HIWIN (shown) KR-26 type focus rail which is directly bolted to another sliding clamp which allows coarse Z axis movement.

A small light tent can cover the X and Y KR15 subject positioning rails for light diffusion. I haven't cut a slit in the tent top yet for the lens to poke thru. Another larger light tent can cover the smaller tent for more diffusion if required.

Control is from the Raspberry Pi 3B with 3 Tic-500 motor controllers, powered from a single 12 volt source. Camera and strobe triggers are optically isolated and fully programmable, and can support EFCS and ESCS (no mechanical shutter/curtain) with a programmable delayed strobe output. A Adorama R2 wireless remote is connected to the strobe trigger output to trigger the strobes.

I'll be updating this thread as I go along.

Anyway, hope these "Anatomies" help people that are DIYers and considering projects such as this.

Best,

[Saul]

... hope these "Anatomies" help people that are DIYers and considering projects such as this...

This is why l like PMN a lot !!!
Mike, I suspect , you had (have) lot of fun
Do not try to convince me, that toolboxes are more stable and flat than your floor

[mawyatt]

Saul,

It's been fun and trying as well, since I had almost no programming experience, and my computer experience wasn't much better either

I've been absolutely amazed at the available electronics we have at our fingertips, and it's so inexpensive too!! I meant a full computer with WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, HDMI, I/O that can run and control all this stuff, and allow you to do the entire software development on...for as low as $10!!

If the "toolboxes" is in reference to the boxes the Thor base sits on, these are Rubbermaid type plastic storage containers. I've used these for a long time, they are very good at isolating/attenuating higher frequency vibrations. The base has Sorbathane feet which sometimes I sit on the edges of the boxes to add additional vibration isolation/attenuation. The setup is somewhat stiff so lower frequency vibrations aren't as much of a problem. The storage containers are sitting on a rug with thick foam padding, so some additional help.

It's worked well for what I do, but not as elegant as some other setups!!

Best,

[Macro_Cosmos]

This actually looks similar to my vertical setup I've envisioned. I need an extra one of these:
https://www.thorlabs.com/thorproduct.cf ... T95P2#6772

Sadly discontinued... Going to think of another method.

[mawyatt]

The bad news is they are discontinued, the good news they are replaced by a better version with more holes!! All 3 of my XT95RC are the old type and are 4" long, and I have a couple old XT95P12 also.

A few show up on eBay sometimes, I almost got a couple off eBay but someone got them while I was asking a question

They are very easy to drill and tap to your liking as shown.

BTW these are the most secure & stable clamps I have come across, significantly better than ARCA or other photographic types.

Best,