Tom HodsonTook the plunge and started printing parts for an Open Flexure Microscope! https://openflexure.org/projects/microscope/ Ordered the parts from here https://labcrafter.co.uk/products/openflexure-microscope
Does anyone have ideas for where I can go to learn some basic microscopy techniques like sample preparation? Also any fun mods I can do to this microscope once its built. Maybe an array of LEDs with well calibrated spectra to do some kind of basic multispectral imaging?
So far I've found:
https://gitlab.com/openflexure/openflexure-microscope-extra - not too much in here but maybe in future?
There's also this cool paper about optical sectioning which from a quick skim reading seems to be using a fourth axis to modulate the illumination with a grid in order to be able to image focal planes inside a sample, a bit like confocal microscopy.
https://opg.optica.org/oe/fulltext.cfm?uri=oe-30-13-23208&id=476857
The print worked! On to the next plate! Hopefully I have some kind of contrasting colour about here somewhere…
Second plate done! I’m not sure they’re my favourite colours but I’ve put myself on filament buying embargo until the backlog is cleared.
Disaster! I had 4 o-rings in the kit and three axes to get them on. But I broke two 😭 so no microscope for me until I can get more.
Ok today I regrouped, I used an elastic band as a temporary measure. Now I just need to find my rpi4…
My partner and I have COVID this week, so all social engagements are cancelled and that means a project weekend!
I took the oppotunity to make some more progress on this microscope. I had stalled after realising that I had a huge hair directly on the image sensor! And double stalled because I've now lost the ball end allen key you need to unscrew the optics module because it's a bit of an angle. Anyway though the magic of using a flat head screwdriver that kind fits I managed to get the optics module off, blow the hair out, put it back togther and have another go.
As is traditional, the first thing I looked at was that little layer of single cells you can peel out from between two layers of an onion.
David Honess@Tomhodson sugar and or salt are pretty good too!
LabCrafter@Tomhodson Oh no! We'll send you some replacements tomorrow. When you're attaching the bands to the actuators, you need to make sure that the nut tool (the green piece at the top in the picture) is blocking the actuator column before you push the band tool in. If the nut tool isn't in place, the actuator can move up when you push the band tool in.
@labcrafter I definitely had the bit tool in. I’m wondering if my printer left a sharp edge somewhere in the depths of the part.
Gerrit Niezen@Tomhodson there's a great soil microscopy guide I linked to in this blog post: https://gerritniezen.com/looking-at-soil-with-a-microscope
wayofwood@Tomhodson You might want to have a loom at "Exploring with the Microscope": https://openlibrary.org/books/OL1099091M/Exploring_with_the_microscope
M4x@Tomhodson If I would look for further information, I'd start with the guy who designed the #puma microscope in #FreeCAD https://blog.freecad.org/2023/02/13/a-research-grade-open-source-microscope-made-with-freecad/
concretedog@Tomhodson did you spot @labcrafter are here?
Dr David Mills@Tomhodson nice!
I've got 1.5 of those in the lab, one working and one in bits. I must finish it.
I've got 1.5 of those in the lab, one working and one in bits. I must finish it.
@dtl @Tomhodson I've written up an upcoming article for @rpimag on the OpenFlexure project and after liverpool makefest in just over a week it's my plan to get one built..
@concretedog @Tomhodson @rpimag drop me a note if you want to try some other lenses. I have a collection of semi-decent microscope lenses just waiting to be used. Happy to donate a couple.