manual micrometer linear stage (rail) for stacking options?

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DesolateMirror
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:13 pm

manual micrometer linear stage (rail) for stacking options?

Post by DesolateMirror »

Does anyone have suggestions in what to search for in order to find relatively cheap linear stage (rail) for stacking that uses micrometer adjustments?

I've made it to a magnification (lack of dof) point where no matter how many hand held or cheap Chinese rail shots I take I'm still missing slices for stacking.

So far I've been checking out used CNC parts and optical alignment supplies but the prices are almost up there with the base I'd need to make an arduino controlled automatic stacking rail (future project).

Large used microscopes are on my list too, but they don't come up very often in my area.

Are there other options I'm not looking into?

Something like this would probably do the job but who knows what the quality is like. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/X-Axis-LX80 ... ng-80-80mm

Thanks!

mawyatt
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Joined: Thu Aug 22, 2013 6:54 pm
Location: Clearwater, Florida

Post by mawyatt »

The THK KR series (KR15, KR20, KR26) surplus rails are a very good choice. If you watch eBay you can sometimes find one reasonable.

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

lothman
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Joined: Sat Feb 14, 2009 7:00 am
Location: Stuttgart/Germany

Post by lothman »

mawyatt wrote:The THK KR series (KR15, KR20, KR26) surplus rails are a very good choice. If you watch eBay you can sometimes find one reasonable.

Best,
@mawyatt: the THK rails are not self locking like a threaded spindle, therefore you have to use them with a stepper motor and cannot control them manually.

For a cheap manual stage with large stroke you can use a Proxxon KT70 stage. But at 10x and above you might have something with smaller pitch for better control.
Last edited by lothman on Fri Apr 26, 2019 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ray_parkhurst
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Location: Santa Clara, CA, USA
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

The cheap chinese-made XYZ stages work pretty well. They are micrometer-driven and have ~10mm of XY and Z travel. The micrometers have 10um increments. I've seen just the XY part for sale as well, though the XYZ are typically the best deal.

Edited to add: your eBay Australia link is not coming up for me. I guess you're in Australia?

mawyatt
Posts: 2497
Joined: Thu Aug 22, 2013 6:54 pm
Location: Clearwater, Florida

Post by mawyatt »

lothman wrote:
mawyatt wrote:The THK KR series (KR15, KR20, KR26) surplus rails are a very good choice. If you watch eBay you can sometimes find one reasonable.

Best,
@mawyatt: the THK rails are not self locking like a threaded spindle, therefore you have to use them with a stepper motor and cannot control them manually.

For a cheap manual stage with large stroke you can use a Proxxon KT70 stage. But at 10x and above you might have something with smallerbpitch for better control.
I was thinking of stepper driven and not manual operation.

Best,
Research is like a treasure hunt, you don't know where to look or what you'll find!
~Mike

DesolateMirror
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:13 pm

Post by DesolateMirror »

mawyatt wrote:The THK KR series (KR15, KR20, KR26) surplus rails are a very good choice. If you watch eBay you can sometimes find one reasonable.

Best,
Thanks, I found a couple in China, the rest are in the US and UK with shipping almost as much as the item. I might just go straight to automated and skip the manual rail setup (though I could keep the manual parts around for setting up an adjustable stage). Found some Proxxon KT70 stages in Japan, added to my list.

ray_parkhurst wrote:The cheap chinese-made XYZ stages work pretty well. They are micrometer-driven and have ~10mm of XY and Z travel. The micrometers have 10um increments. I've seen just the XY part for sale as well, though the XYZ are typically the best deal.

Edited to add: your eBay Australia link is not coming up for me. I guess you're in Australia?
Yeah, Australia. It's difficult to find used parts but at least shipping from China is usually cheap/free.

Thanks for all the input.

cube-tube
Posts: 107
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:50 am
Location: Durham, NC

Post by cube-tube »

My favorite rails are simple linear micrometer rails such as:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sigma-Koki-Lin ... SwYNxajGv4

Very solid and precise, and it's easy enough to hook them up to a stepper motor.

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