Talk:Mirror mount

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This article could really use illustrations of kinematic and gimbal mounts. Ideally, illustrations that make the mechanism clear would be good.--Srleffler 16:34, 30 December 2005 (UTC)

I have not seen the joints of a gimbal mount jet. But I had to use a mount for critical phase matching that used a shaft and that thing rattled. A photo does not show a lot as the joints are hidden in a sort of a case. But I could draw an exploded view from my imagination.--Arnero 15:01, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

Now we have 3 images. That will be enough, I think. so I removed that tag --Arnero 11:21, 8 January 2006 (UTC)

I can take pictures of more open kinematic mounts with more of the mechanism visible, and I'm sure I can find gimbal mounts in our lab if still needed. — Laura Scudder ☎ 21:44, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

Take a look at the pictures on the page, and see if you think you can do one that is better. I think we have enough pictures, but of course it's always possible to have a better picture. I like the diagram of the mechanism of a gimbal mount that we have, but a photo of an actual gimbal mount would be nice.--Srleffler 23:24, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

OK, here it goes: On our optical are two types of optical mounts.

Kinematic mounts

Gimbal mounts, clap-mirror mount, fixed clap mounts, nonlinear crystal mounts. Alignment of diodes and pinholes on laser beams. Mounts with holes in two their balls so that laser beams can pass through the axis: Polarizer, retarder.

(bent) Linear stages with either friction, ball, or roller bearing and by design less precision

delay lines, large aperture Polarizer, retarder

And what about this: Gimbal mounts with three axes for Pockels cells and polarizers. Where do I put this stuff?--Arnero 09:53, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

I can't follow most of what you wrote. I don't know what you mean by "clap". A mount with a clear aperture? Certainly some variants of kinematic mounts could get a short (one-sentence) mention in the article. I wouldn't dwell on them, though. I think information on linear stages belongs in another article. The thing that distinguishes a mirror mount from other optical mounts is that it typically is designed for two-axis rotation only. Linear stages probably belong in an article of their own, but search carefully before creating one. There is probably an article already, under some other name. Other fields use substantially the same devices, but call them something different, e.g. "micropositioners". Rotation stages probably should have their own article too. I'm not certain where to put information on mounts with other combinations of motion, such as three-axis rotation mounts. They don't really fit here, but probably don't merit their own article either. Perhaps a big combination article on stages, including linear stages, rotation stages, goniometers, and combinations of them.--Srleffler 03:00, 20 January 2006 (UTC)