Amscope & Eakins Microscope VESA Mount for Articulated LCD Mounting Arm

thingiverse

This is a printable VESA mount for Amscope and Eakins microscopes to allow the microscope head unit to be mounted to a VESA 75 compatible articulated arm typically used for PC monitors. Microscope specialised articulated arms cost hundreds of dollars and they are no different to a standard vesa mount articulated arm. I was tired of using the included stand which I had to weigh down with some random dumbbell weights I had lying around to stop it falling over, and honestly I wanted to free up desk space for storing important things, like solder and flux! I've seen a lot of professional repair technicians using articulated arm setups which I coveted, because they look great and convenient. I looked around and an official AmScope articulated arm is £225 or around $364.99 when not on sale! An equivalent Chinese made one is £80 or $118.79 but unfortunately shipping cost £120 to the UK or $120.63 to the U.S, making it prohibitively expensive as well. I did some head scratching and decided to reverse engineer the actual focusing rack to see how it worked mechanically and then got to building similar using FreeCAD. Yes, I am that cheap! The end result is in the video below, and honestly reducing the price by almost ten times has made this an absolutely worthwhile project. It works great and I'm really happy with the end result. If you want to see it in action, please check https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_srVuje3iU&lc Compatible Articulated Arms --------------------- If you want to use the same or similar articulating arm as featured in the linked YouTube video then please consider the affiliate links provided in the description section of the YouTube video. Using affiliate links helps to support me and my work and I'd appreciate it! Articulated arms meant for PC monitors can be had for as little as $30 - $40 from common online retailers. This adapter aims to allow an affordable and much lower barrier of entry for hobbyist and professional repair technicians to get a high quality articulated arm setup for their microscope. Any articulated arm that has a vesa 75 mounting bracket will work. It's recommended to get one that is gas sprung. The v1 revision has filleted edges to reduce the sharp edges and slightly enlarged (10mm diameter) focusing arm holes to allow room for a silicone insert to reduce wear on the holes from friction. Additionally a pocket has been added to allow a limiting screw to prevent the scope mount from hitting the end run screws. Printing Recommendations --------------------- I suggest printing with a 65% in-fill with honeycomb pattern in-fill to give the print extra strength. Additional Materials for Assembly --------------------- It's a good idea to get some silicone grease to lubricate the rounded rods and the focusing wheel holes to reduce friction and wear on the unit. Additionally you'll need 4 x M5 25mm long bolts for mounting the adapter to a VESA mount and four nuts to mount them to the vesa mount. Indicative Cost --------------------- Articulated Arm: $30-40 M5 Bolts & Nuts: $2-4 PLA: 400g, $8-10 Total: $40-$54