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Re: Belleville washers and Oldham coupler
HI Wolfgang, (Thanks to John Hobbs for his prompt...!) Sounds like you want to get the CG11 to imaging level.? ?I have one and it's my workhorse, now having a 12 inch SCT for imaging. ? ? I upgraded it with the parts below... ...those parts below, plus an "original" (long version) Losmandy OPW on the RA axis, not listed below. Today, Losmandy sells a shorter OPW version today slightly different (shorter) in design, and less expensive than the original longer version.? David Partridge in the UK got exceptionally low PE without an OPW... so though it may help, it's not an absolute necessity. ? If you can get parts in Europe, that's great. ? If not... I can get you parts from the US.? Here are some options to upgrade: I have a small stock of the Belleville washers, and it's easy to just mail them in a standard letter, inexpensively.? Send me your mailing address and I can get you out a pair of them if that's all you want. ? Any other stuff would need a package, costing a lot more to mail. ? Packages (larger than letters...limited in thickness) from the US can go to Austria, but require a customs form. It can be done.? Least expensive packages are now about $35 I think, using the US Post Office international rates. ? So what else should go in a package? The Oldham coupler you asked for... those should not wear out, but if yours is list or questionable, and you want some ordered, I can do that if you'll pay for shipping to me and then to you. I'm in California, so shipping from the LA McMaster-Carr website is not too bad.? Let me know how many, and what model you want.? Losmandy also sells them. ?(Note: the stock coupler is "short" but for the older longer OPW needed a "long" one. The new OPW used the original short Oldham coupler.? Best to measure the one you are replacing if you have it.) More importantly, for the CG11 PE improvement, you should change the original steel worm (at minimum the one on the RA) to a new Losmandy precision brass worm.? They are $100 from Losmandy... I'd get 2 of them and test each in the RA drive.? Then use the one with lowest PE on the RA drive...the other on DEC.? I can get them from Losmandy if you tell me what you need.? Your system might already have brass worms... so look at them to see the material. ? You may want to replace the RA worm bearings model R4 with higher quality ones. There is a rating system...ABEC from 1 to 9.? There are ABEC-7 rated R4ZZ bearings for about $11 available here in the US, but you might find these in Europe also.? ABEC-5 have also been used with excellent results.? If you are going to put in Belleville washers, it's possible you may damage a bearing getting it out of its tight cylinder.? Best to have spares available just in case or to upgrade. ?(McMaster Carr has some abec7 rated R4 for ~$6, but another bearing vendor claims those are not stainless steel.).? For imaging, clutch slippage is eventually an issue, but it can be eliminated.? First clean all clutch mating surfaces. That will work for a period of time.? Eventually oils from the lubricants can migrate and coat the plastic clutch disk.? So I suggest you replace the plastic clutch disks: They can be from 3.5 inch OD to 4.25 inch OD in that system. Losmandy only sells 4.25 inch plastic disks, though they can be cut by a scissors to smaller OD. The OD is not a critical factor, and as long as it is approximate it will work just fine. ? I make these clutch disks of higher friction material that will help seal out oils and hold the driven plate with lower clutch know force. Let me know if you want those and what OD sizes you need. Many people like the newer type of clutch knob that has 3 beautiful handles around the circumference.? Losmandy makes these, in order to increase force on the (somewhat slippery) plastic clutch disk material. ? If you are going to order other stuff from Losmandy, consider those beautiful knobs too. ?(The system works better, and the parts last (forever?) longer with lower clutch knob force, so using the higher friction clutch material is a benefit. )? Finally, you should give the existing parts and the internal needle bearings that hold the 1.25 inch shafts, a thorough cleaning in something like a strong degreaser.? There is a product called Berryman B-12 here in auto parts stores that works great...requires a metal pan and solvent protection gloves and mask.? The old greases tend to gum up the tiny needle bearing rollers that hold the shafts, and it will all work better if you remove the old gummed up lubricants and re lubricate with a Teflon based ( or other modern) grease.? You'd have to buy chemicals locally, of course.? The solvents are toxic, so should be used outdoors in fresh air. ? Have fun with your CG11! Best, Michael On Sat, Sep 21, 2019 at 8:09 AM vergolder <vergoldermeister@...> wrote: Hi all, |
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