Customizable Optical Rail Mount for OpenBeam

thingiverse

This is a modification of http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:30491 I added a bolt to hold the rod in place, fixed the nut orientation, and made it customizable. The included STL is for 15mm openbeam, 8mm smooth rod, and M3 nuts and bolts. This is part of a system of prints that turns an Open Beam into an optical rail. An optical rail is a long, straight, sturdy rail onto which optical components such as light sources and lenses can be bolted down and easily shifted along the length of the rail. Commercial optical rail sells for $250+/m. Open beam only costs $12/m for the fancy black anodized stuff. You get the idea. This component is inspired by the Open-source optics project, whose goal is to radically reduce the cost of scientific optical hardware, by the Michigan Tech's Open Sustainability Technology Research Group. UPDATE: now slightly smaller, using measured sizes (and some leeway) for the nuts to reduce slot size. And tighter on the post/rod. Custom Section Instructions OpenSCAD code included for modifications. Just print on your favorite 3D printer and clean up. For stability/strength, this part may need 25% or more infill. I have not needed supports when printing with PLA or ABS. You'll need 2- M3 Nuts and 2- M3x20/25mm bolts. The mount slides onto the OpenBeam as seen in the pictures. You secure it in place with a combination of M3 bolts and nuts. Then mount optical components on the 8mm diameter rod. You can get OpenBeam at http://www.openbeamusa.com/