Magnifying Lens Holder and Articulated Extension Arm

thingiverse

This is a 100mm Dia. lens holder and extension arm for use with amongst other devices, e.g. a popular desktop soldering station sold on eBay. (Copyright on the original workholder base in the photo belongs to its originator(s), not me, as I am merely adapting an existing device by producing a thing which enhances its functionality.) I found it necessary to upgrade the existing work stand as the reach of the original arm was too short, thus making it difficult to get correct focus while also trying to use a hot air blower on the SMDs and board. There are pairs of 1mm holes prepared for inserting the wires of 3mm or 5mm LEDs (x12 off, wired in 4 sets of 3 on a 12VDC supply), which can then be used for illumination. The lens holder CAD design itself is of 3 sections in Fusion360 format and the arm is customisable where several L&R section pairs can be added. The arm ends have supports (1mm pillars) already added and only need rotating /laying flat in Slic3r to then prepare the gcode file(s) at the desired resolution/ parameters for printing. Once printed, these supports can easily be removed with a thumbnail and smoothed over with a flat/half-round file. These extensions can also be used in many other applications. The larger 100mm Dia was chosen for greater subject visibility and uses the lens from a simple glass-lensed magnifier, also found on eBay. (The related photo however, shows a lens holder with the original lens of 78mm Dia. for the first iteration.) The method of construction is very similar for other sizes. I would suggest however that acrylic lenses be avoided as their quality and scratchability is too often an issue. Glass gives a generally far higher quality image albeit a heavier device. I feel this design makes for a much more slender and elegant result than the original somewhat 'chunky' and not-quite-colour-coordinated one. The extension arm and lens holder used on their own, can also be adapted as an alternative sort of handheld magnifier without the smaller sections, with a neckstrap through the hole in the base, but it might be better to reshape the edges of the longer arm (in CAD) for use as a proper handle! The Fusion360 files are therefore provided to enable customising to suit. The gcode files are provided if customising is not needed (or if you haven't access to Fusion360) and you just want to print it all out. The Extension Arm build plate gcode is set to 0.10mm detail, fill density of 25% and estimated time to complete (in Slic3r) is 3h 30min or less. The Lens Holder build plate is set to 0.10mm detail, fill density of 40% and its estimated build time (in Slic3r) to complete, is 4h 34min or less. I would suggest editing the lensholder buildplate element selection in your respective slicing program(s) prior to printing, by creating relevant gcodes of just 2 of the elements as opposed to all 3 at once, because their brims print only just within the boundary of my own original Prusa i3 MK3. For those with smaller heat beds, this will be unavoidable. As this my first foray on Thingiverse, I considered it appropriate (for a few reasons) to make this design freely available, hence the Creative Commons - Public Domain Dedication, along with the saying, "The first one is always free" :-) However, as my dear late father (ex BSAP) always taught me with the phrase "Make yourself useful", here it is, dedicated also to his memory and whose life and intent I've found so inspirational. Have fun! UPDATE: Filletted (rounded) edge extension arms added 18/03/2019 - Both .STL and 0.07mm Detail gcode buildplates added. I think this gives the arm a little more elegance and is more in keeping with the rounded nature of the related lens holder itself. UPDATE: Extension arm build plate added (mid length) 21/03/2019 (.STL file) UPDATE: 78mm Diameter Lens Holder build plate added 08/04/2019 (.STL and .Gcode files). This diameter holder fits the original acrylic lens which comes with the desktop workstation which is shown in the image in the 'How I designed this' section below. This latest iteration of the holder is however, a redesign with more room for the LED wiring which fits inside the top rounded ring around the lens.