Broken plastic fine focus gear

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ray_parkhurst
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Broken plastic fine focus gear

Post by ray_parkhurst »

I ended up with a no-name focus block as part of a large optical stand I purchased. It's my first such focus block. It was very sluggish on the coarse focus knob, and the fine focus knob did not work at all, so I took it apart to see what was wrong. It seems it has a broken plastic gear that by all appearances press-fits onto the fine focus knob rod. I'm wondering if this is a common arrangement? If I can figure out who made this focus block, is such a gear replaceable? What info is needed to determine this? Here's a pic of the focus block:

Image

Saul
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Post by Saul »

Looks like Nikon Labophot-1 focus block.
http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/s ... de=results
Fixed mine week ago. Luckily, it was enough to reverse it backwards and put some glue (half of the gear was striped. Also cracked )
Saul
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Chris S.
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Post by Chris S. »

Ray, this looks to have been cut out of a Nikon Labophot or Optiphot (not the later Labophot 2 type, which is quite a different focus block). Note the very similar-looking block in my original Bratcam post.

I've sent you a PM with a download link for a repair manual. No personal experience in repairing one, however.

--Chris

ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

Thanks guys. Hopefully I can get the replacement gear. It is broken wide open...

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

ray_parkhurst wrote:Hopefully I can get the replacement gear..
Probably somebody will drop by with personal knowledge.

But until then, check out http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... 621#140621.

Or if you want to spend more money & less DIY to get a made-to-fit solution, there is http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-Labophot- ... 1805156553.

--Rik

Saul
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Post by Saul »

Ray,

Tried different gears close to the 18T module 0.3, nothing worked. Lost patience, fixed damaged one. Now is working, but no idea for how long.
If you are located in UK , you can try:
http://www.reliance.co.uk/shop/products ... 32_258_259

If you want to try you luck on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=18 ... +&_sacat=0

Bought one just in case (if fixed one will brake), still on the way. Of course, you'll have to drill 3mm hole fore the shaft (original is 2mm)
Saul
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rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Saul wrote:If you want to try you luck on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=18 ... +&_sacat=0
I am puzzled. As far as I know, "64 pitch" is a close match to module 0.4 (1/64 inch = 0.3969 mm), but the required gear for that Labophot is module 0.3. Is this not correct?

--Rik

lothman
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Post by lothman »

Saul wrote: If you are located in UK , you can try:
http://www.reliance.co.uk/shop/products ... 32_258_259
Hi Saul,
any Information about the costs of the reliance pinion gear? I think if you drill it to 3mm there is no longer sufficient wall thickness for the set screw.

@Rik I think pitch 64 and module 0,4 should be compatible. But module 0,4 was used in your Labophot II and module 0,3 was used in my Labophot I
Last edited by lothman on Mon Feb 22, 2016 9:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

Thanks again guys. I went ahead and ordered a few of the pinion gears from eBay. $140 for replacement shaft is more than I paid for the whole stand and block together so hopefully the DIY way works out. Will know soon enough...Ray

Saul
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Post by Saul »

rjlittlefield wrote:As far as I know, "64 pitch" is a close match to module 0.4 (1/64 inch = 0.3969 mm), but the required gear for that Labophot is module 0.3
Yes, it is correct. So why I said "try you luck on ebay" :)... After reading our forum threads , "tried different gears close to the 18T module 0.3, nothing worked" , followed your example - fixed old one. Just in case bought that 64 pitch ( took a risk, but it was 5$ with shipping only), looked very close, still on the way.

Pinion from Reliance Precision should be right one, maybe somebody from UK can contact them ? I checked with their US reps, The Precision Alliance, still waiting for reply.
Saul
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Saul
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Post by Saul »

Got reply from US reps:

Price is $15.59 each. Lead-time is running about 2-3 weeks after we receive your order. We have a minimum order value requirement of at least $200.00 before we will process any order.
FYI - If you wish to order in lot quantities of 100 pieces I can work with you on pricing.
Saul
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lothman
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Post by lothman »

I ordered gears (16T module 0,4 for Labophot 2 and 18T module 0,3 for Labophot 1), will drill them and offer them.

Gluing with Loctite is very easy and strong.

ray_parkhurst
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Post by ray_parkhurst »

lothman wrote:I ordered gears (16T module 0,4 for Labophot 2 and 18T module 0,3 for Labophot 1), will drill them and offer them.

Gluing with Loctite is very easy and strong.
I don't have high expectations for the ones I bought with questionable pitch so count me in for a drilled 18T gear...I think. Base on my pic, do I have a Labophot1 or Labophot2?

Chris S.
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Post by Chris S. »

ray_parkhurst wrote:Base on my pic, do I have a Labophot1 or Labophot2?
Ray, you definitely have what you call a "Labophot1." The Labophot 2 differs in significant and obvious respects. But note that "Labophot 1" is not the name Nikon used for this series. Nikon dubbed it "Labophot" (no "1" included). While this may seem like a pedantic point, the limited support literature that exists for your block will be found under "Labophot," not "Labophot1." Musing, the term "Labophot 1" seems applicable only in retrospect, after the Labophot 2 was released. And support documents are rarely drawn up in the retrospective phase of product life cycle.
. . .so count me in for a drilled 18T gear...I think.
Me too. I'd pitch in for at least two such gears, maybe three.

It's asking a lot, but if somebody could keep such gears in inventory, to be purchased as needed, a fair number of otherwise useless focus blocks would suddenly become tenable.

--Chris

Choronzon
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Post by Choronzon »

Chris S. wrote:Ray, this looks to have been cut out of a Nikon Labophot or Optiphot (not the later Labophot 2 type, which is quite a different focus block). Note the very similar-looking block in my original Bratcam post.

I've sent you a PM with a download link for a repair manual. No personal experience in repairing one, however.

--Chris
These are in reality neither. They're not cut out of a Nikon stand, but are what is known as a modular focusing mount. They were used with a bolt on post holder in the rear and were also bolted on the measuring microscopes from the rear. If they were cutouts, the only way to mount them with any kind of stability would be from the bottom where the electrical base normally attaches. There are no threaded mounting holes, or anywhere to create them from the back, where the thin cover plate attaches.
It is, however a 2 micron per division travel, 200 microns per revolution fine adjustment, just like the Labophot.
I am not young enough to know everything.

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