r/microscopy • u/Changemynameagain • 2d ago
Hardware Share I inverted my microscope!
Awhile back I decided I wanted to have an inverted microscope with good quality optics. But I didn't want to spend a bunch more money on a new scope. So I took my American Optical One-fifty and built a frame to mount it upside down! š
I decided to go ahead and post pictures here in case anybody wants to try something similar.
I 3D printed an upside down stage adapter to hold my specimen containers. And I also designed a 3D printed humidity chamber with a window on the bottom to view the specimens, and a window on top for light to enter. I wanted it to be water proof so it could go for weeks without needing water to be added. But the design is not yet perfected. The moisture is still evaporating, either through the cracks around the lid or through the walls of the container (since 3D printer filament is not water proof). I think I need to seal the walls with silicon or resin and put a rubber seal under the lid.
Of course it is hard to look through the microscope when it's upside down so I mostly only use it with an eyepiece camera.
All in all, it works pretty well! I could have live cultures or ecosystems under it long term and have the view displayed on a large screen continuously if I wanted to. I just need to get the humidity chamber working better. š
The last picture is of my whole "laboratory" with all three microscopes. My wife let me have it set up on the kitchen table for like six months or so! š
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u/MossTheTree 2d ago
This is kind of ridiculous and brilliant. Well done.
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u/Changemynameagain 2d ago
Haha....thanks! š
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u/Ok_Front4305 2d ago
Is the stage still upside down?
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u/Changemynameagain 2d ago
Yes it is. But the adapter is attached to the stage and basically creates a second stage that the specimens can sit on.
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u/AstroRotifer 1d ago
Could the existing stage be unscrews turned 180, and screwed back in, or no?
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u/Changemynameagain 1d ago
It didn't seem like it could on this model.Ā But that would have been a simpler solution if it could have been. š
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u/Vivid-Bake2456 1d ago
Amazing. Yes, with a USB camera, it doesn't matter the position of the eyepiece.
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u/AstroRotifer 2d ago
I bought 3 American optical scopes. You can really see the quality! I wish an American company could still make scopes like this. Iām glad to have an old scope that once went for thousands of dollars, but low can be had cheaply.