Toschke Yannic, Klenen Jan, Imlau Mirco
Department of Physics, Osnabrueck University, 49076 Osnabrueck, Germany.
HardwareX. 2024 Aug 28;20:e00577. doi: 10.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00577. eCollection 2024 Dec.
In the context of experimental optics- and photonics-research, motorized, high-precision rotation stages are an integral part of almost every laboratory setup. Nevertheless, their availability in the laboratory is limited due to the relatively high acquisition costs in the range of several 1000€ and is often supplemented by manual rotation stages. If only a single sample is to be analyzed repeatedly at two different angles or the polarization of a laser source is to be rotated, this approach is understandable. Yet, in the context of automation and the associated gain in measurement time, cost-effective and precise rotation stages designed for the use of optics are lacking. We present a low-cost alternative of a motorized high precision rotation stage system. The design is based on a combination of 3D-printed components, which form the monolithic mechanical framework, and a stepper motor controlled by an ESP32 based microcontroller. By coupling the motor and rotation unit via a toothed belt, backlash is minimized and at the same time high positioning accuracy can be achieved. Finally, the implementation of remote procedure calls for serial communication and the utilization of a physical home switch and incremental encoder complete the desired feature set of an integrated system for laboratory setups. The total costs can thus be reduced to less than 100€ without significantly restricting the performance criteria.
在实验光学和光子学研究的背景下，电动高精度旋转台几乎是每个实验室装置不可或缺的一部分。然而，由于其购置成本相对较高，在几千欧元的范围内，实验室中此类旋转台的数量有限，通常还会配备手动旋转台。如果只需在两个不同角度重复分析单个样品，或者旋转激光源的偏振，这种方法是可以理解的。然而，在自动化以及由此带来的测量时间增加的背景下，缺乏适用于光学应用的经济高效且精确的旋转台。我们提出了一种低成本的电动高精度旋转台系统替代方案。该设计基于3D打印部件的组合，这些部件构成了整体式机械框架，以及由基于ESP32的微控制器控制的步进电机。通过齿形带将电机和旋转单元耦合，可将间隙降至最低，同时实现高定位精度。最后，通过实现用于串行通信的远程过程调用以及使用物理原点开关和增量编码器，完善了实验室装置集成系统所需的功能集。这样，总成本可降至100欧元以下，而不会显著限制性能标准。
