ABScope: an ABS microscope

Description

This Is My First Attempt At Producing A Useable And Affordable 3D Printed Microscope For Educational Use. It Is Designed To Use A Low Power Objective (Rms 20.32 Diameter; E.G. 10X - Can Be Bought For ~£15) And A Standard Low Power Eye-Piece (23.2 Mm Diameter 10X - ~£10). The Images Included Here Were Taken With Slighly Lower Power (8X Eye-Piece And 7X Objective Taken From A Microscope That Was No Longer Needed) Using My Mobile Phone. The Focus Is Adjusted Using The Main Screw Thread. The Light Source Is A Led Keychain Light (Costing Just 40P) Which Is Easily Modified To Provide Illumination Of Different Colours By Replacement Of The Led (It Is Sufficiently Bright To Excite Gfp Fluorescence). The Stage Is Moveable And Can Then Be 'Locked' Into Place By Just Pressing Downwards Allowing The Whole Microscope To Be Lifted Up And Passed Around. The Objective Thread Prints Well Enough On My Ormerod (0.24Mm Layer Height At 30Mm/S) But The First Time You Screw In The Objective Take Particular Care Not To Cross Thread The Parts. The Stage Needs A Little Bit Of A Gentle Clean With A Blade To Allow It To Slide Easily. Obviously It Is Still Work In Progress, But The Images Are Perfectly Acceptable (See The Image Captured By Holding-Up My Mobile Phone) - Despite My Deliberate Shorter Tube Length.... I Am Not Entirely Happy With The Moveable Stage And May Try A Pantogram-Type Movement System. I Could Use Metal Screws, For The Adjustments, But I Would Like To See If I Can Restrict The Non-Printable Items To Just The Optical Comonents. I Plan A Cheap Web-Cam Attachment And A Series Of Different Stages For Trans-Illumination And Dark Field Etc.....Although The Stage Isn'T Required If You Just Want To Look At Surfaces Of Objects. The Design For The Abscope Was Intended To Be As Simple As Possible And Not Just A Copy Of A Traditional Metal Microscope. I Hope It Does Look 'Unusual'! Please Feel Free To Comment Or Make Suggestions.

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