Bread boards and Alignment

[mliptack]

I'm a bit surprised that the breadboards there are that cheap... I guess I am familiar with the newport breadboards that are like 5grand+

http://www.newport.com/Breadboards-a...3/catalog.aspx

you know its expensive and you dont really want to know the price when you have to ask for it...

[Laser Ben]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ALUMINUM-PLATE-7...QQcmdZViewItem

Is a good cheap piece. There are also several websites that sell metal by the pound.

I have a 24"x36"x4.5" breadboard that I use for general setups although it isn't exactly portable!

[buffo]

E-bay has some really good deals. Have a look at this auction for an example. Yeah, it's closed, but the guy has lots more of these plates. Send him a message and he'll put some more up on E-bay.

I bought two of the large size (11 x 23 inch) and two of the smaller (11 x 12 inch) size plates from him back in the spring, and that's what I used to build my latest RGB rig. It worked really well.

Then too, you might want to get in touch with yaddatrance here in the forums. In this thread he was talking about making a bunch of optical tables to sell to PL members. The price he quoted was very reasonable. Check it out.

Adam

[laserLips]

Buffo / Adam, I really like the look of them (especially the rounded corners and the numbers) and he's selling more of them, but I'm in the UK. Will I be able to find screwe for those size holes?
Also, (I cringe at my limited knowldge) does untapped mean that there is no thread in the holes?

Thanks,Graham.

[QUAZAR]

Yes, they are non-threaded holes. Either use nuts and bolts, or buy a small hand tap (£5) and just tap the ones you need.

[buffo]

I didn't bother with a tap. I bought some # 10 threaded rod and a box of nuts. I cut the rod in short sections (about 2 inches long) and secured each section to the bottom plate with a nut on top and one on bottom of the plate. Then I did the same thing to secure the floating table to the rod. Worked quite well.

I did end up using the garlock locknuts (the one's with the nylon at the top that grips the threaded rod and prevents the nut from backing off) to assemble everything, and that ended up being a lot more difficult that I expected. I think if I were to do it all over again I would just use regular nuts and lockwashers instead. Still, my table is rock solid. I haven't had to adjust my alignment at all since I assembled it. (I've transported my projector twice - over long distances - and still not needed to adjust anything.)

Adam

[OSLS]

Just a small input on aluminum and breadboards.

Please first look to see if the aluminum that you are purchasing has actually been milled flat. This guarantees that the surface of the aluminum will remain constant throughout. Trust me its worth spending the few extra dollars to ensure this.

Also keep in mind there is a lot of jig plate or aluminum used for molding out there and this type of aluminum tends to be of lower quality (much softer) and does not take to anodizing well or even at all.

If you want to make your own breadboards then make sure to first buy quality material or you will most likely regret it one way or another in the long run.

Also on an average here in Florida most machinist charge $.75 per hole to drill and tap 1/4" x 20 holes in 1/4" aluminum every square inch so if you have the patients and a strong forearm you could possibly save yourself some bucks but the precision and accuracy may tend to suffer.