Charlie's Bath Interferometer by brucesdad13

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Bath interferometer designed to be constructed for under $100. I will soon add in the printable XYZ stage. Target audience is amateur telescope makers who want to quantitatively analyze their homemade mirrors using OpenFringe or other free software.
Current suggested partslist (may change over time):
Thorlabs ME05S-G01 - 1/2" Square Protected Aluminum Mirror, 3.2 mm Thick ($11.30 plus shipping)
Surplus Shed L2046D - 15mm Coated 50/50 Cube Beamsplitter ($19.00 plus shipping)
Surplus Shed PL1009 - 12.5mm dia. X 14.2mm FL precision coated BCX lens ($6 plus shipping)
Red (650nm) Laser Diode ($1-3 depending)
Possible cheap XYZ stages:
Manual 3d printed based on http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:144838
DVD player DC 5v linear slider Mini Stepping Motor 2-phase 4-wire Stepper with linear rails e.g. http://r.ebay.com/RTt4zA
Changelog:
2017-02-06 1111 Eastern - I'll soon be redesigning this in Fusion 360 aiming for easier printing, construction, and use. :) Stay tuned...
2016-10-26 1000 Eastern - Enlarged the tip/tilt mirror/prism adjustment post and the laser diode/pointer set screw holes. Added a 1/4" / M6 hole for mounting to XYZ stage. Various other tweaks and adjustments to hopefully aid in printing.
2016-10-21 0514 Eastern - First printing assembled. some kinks to iron out but seems like my design is on the right track. Typical case of it looks brilliant in CAD and tolerances were unrealistic especially for tiny screws and amount of stress thin ABS plastic can endure. Need to beef it up.
2016-10-19 1810 Eastern - Trimmed the edge of the lens holder completely off to allow for maximum unobstructed return laser beam.. improved design of mirror/prism tip tilt post with impressions for drilling to whatever size hardware you have available. Also added a small hole to allow for setting the laser pointer via set screw. Drill and tap to suit.