I guess as long as they meet the openflexure requirements in the documentation it should work (mainly the 160mm tube length, and the RMS thread). Also, I may be taking you up on that offer for a condenser lens in the future!
David,
Thanks for the useful comments. Iāll be happy to let you have some condensers when they arrive.
Regards,
Steve
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Iāll post here what i was buy later.
Many thank for sharing your link.
Regards
David,
I have spare condensers. How many do you need?
Steve
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Hello:
Here some of my aliexpress links for some of my parts:
Iāll update my post where some nex partsz come in France form Chinaā¦
All links are some working parts form me!
Fixing hardware parts
*3x M3x25mm [hexagon head screws] stainless steel
For:
-1x [M3 steel nut]
-8x [M3 stainless steel washer],
-3-14x [M3x8mm cap head screw]
-2-4x M2x6mm cap head screws
I have used this Box, not all fixing but the most.
I have buy some separatly like these:
M3X10mm
Electronic parts:
Opticals parts:
I hope itāll a good help for makers 
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Regarding the objective that you chose:
I donāt understand the difference between the type A and B is it simply the exterior look ?
The specifications look to be the same, they are all plan 160/0.17. Also if you flick between the photos of the A or B 10x, the length and the shape of teh actual lens seem to be the same, it is just a different stly case.
Hi All, I recently got an email from Kozo optics who said theyāre willing to ship small orders of objective lenses and quoted some pretty reasonable prices. Iāve not yet tried any of their products, but I thought it was worth sharing a link in case itās preferable to aliexpress for anyone.
If anyone does try out their objectives, do post here so we know theyāre good!
Iām in the US, making a microscope for the first time. Iām finding it difficult to buy metric fasteners in small quantities, and Iām wondering if there are comparable imperial fasteners that I can use instead. My local hardware store doesnāt carry many metric fasteners.
Thanks
The microscope V7 has a relatively small number of different types of fastener which means there are not so many to have to get. There are brass and stainless steel nuts, you must use brass on the actuators, but you could use brass everywhere. There are just 6 M3 washers, you could probably get away with the nearest bigger UNF size, #5? The M4 screws for the motors could certainly be #8 if that size goes through the holes in the motors. McMaster Carr are the name I have heard for this type of thing in the US. They do seem to have large packet size (although still not much money as they are small screws). Westfield Fasteners in the UK do small and large quantities, and will ship internationally. I have no idea of the shipping cost and any import taxes etc.
My memory is that the UNC/UNF nuts are bigger than metric DIN, which would be a problem with all of the nut slots in the microscope. You could try #4 or #5 nuts and see. You would need to open up the screw holes a bit to use #5. #4 nuts might be too small and drop out of the nut traps.
(Edit: I looked up UNF/UNC #4 nuts are 1/4", which is bigger than M3 nuts at 5.5mm so will not fit.)
For the 25mm screws in the actuators you will want quite a fine pitch, M3 is nearly 50tpi.
In principle it should be simple to switch the source code to fit other screws, simply by changing the defined size of an M3 screw and nut etc. However I expect that there are still some places where the size is still hard-coded rather than using the function definitions.
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Does anyone know where we can source pre-crimped cables for the illuminator? Farnell and RS Components have a bunch of options, but none of them are for DuPont Mini-PV nor the M20 clone (read more about ādupont connectorsā here)
@MagneLauritzen I usually use the pre terminated 40way ribbon cables. Sometimes they are called jumper jerky. They are generally 200mm, which is a bit short and needs joining. The CPC branch of Farnell stocks them, or most maker or Pi retailers. I now see CPC have 300mm jumpers in 10 packs https://cpc.farnell.com/bud-industries/bc-32672/jumper-wire-26awg-11-81inch-10pcs/dp/PC02182 . Not particularly cheap, but a better length.
Having spent about 4 hours on trying to source pre-crimped dupont-style cables, I can now safely say that the easiest is to do as you say, and just get a bag of female-to-female jumper wires such as these: https://www.amazon.com/EDGELEC-Breadboard-1pin-1pin-Connector-Multicolored/dp/B07GD1W1VL/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=jumper%2Bwire%2Bdupont%2Bfemale%2Bto%2Bfemale&qid=1679835504&sr=8-3&th=1
It might be an idea to update the BOM so that it says ātwo 300mm dupont style jumper wiresā instead of ātwo dupont-style housings and two pre-crimped cablesā. One is very easy to find, the other is nearly impossible from my experience.
I have found them really frustrating to get on RS/Farnell - they have like a million connectors that are almost what Iām looking for, but Iāve never found ājust regular jumper connectorsā there without a lot of faff. I must be using the wrong search terms because I canāt believe they donāt sell them - but I would be delighted if anyone could find the right words to look for!
OpenFlexure Industries used to buy them from Proto-Pic, the 300mm ones are perfect. They sell matching housings, too. I see Pimoroni stock some as well, and you can often find them on eBay.
All the best,
Richard
The instructions say 5mm focal length and this link is for 50mm. Can someone assist on a source for the condenser lens? Iāve had a couple non-deliveries from the sources I have tried through Amazon. Thanks.
Condenser lens
- Focal length: 5mm
- Outer diameter: 12.7mm
- Material: PMMA
Best sourced in bulk from China.
e.g. Search AliExpress for pmma lens 5mm and look for a diameter of 13mm.
The link from @Lost is for the 50mm focal length tube lens needed in the various optics modules using microscope objectives.
The condenser lens can be a little more difficult to find in small numbers.
Doing that search brings up these, which look like the right thing:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1052713746.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.13.699e63feEL42HQ&algo_pvid=1206ff7c-9e24-450b-a141-e335f000cb9e&algo_exp_id=1206ff7c-9e24-450b-a141-e335f000cb9e-6&pdp_npi=3%40dis!GBP!3.9!3.9!!!!!%402145288516818066877563556d0710!10602209215!sea!UK!0&curPageLogUid=BOJVP11yPA3a
Itās a pain that we havenāt been able to find a regular supplier with stable links - the AliExpress ones always die after a while. LabMaker in Germany will also sell you a kit of the non printed parts - but they have a lot of overheads, so it ends up more expensive. Depending on your constraints, it may be worth the cost to have a reliable supplier!
Thanks. I looked at LabMaker and they didnāt seem to have a kit on their website. I wouldnāt mind pricing that out if available since it may be worth the time savings.
Thatās odd - it still appears for meā¦