Has anyone had problems with the Thorlabs Olympus filter cube? (Part# TLV-U-MF2)

[Benjamin Smith]

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Hey Microscopists,
    I was wondering if I could ask for your help in solving a mystery; I
was wondering if anyone else has had problems fitting the Thorlabs
replacement for the Olympus filter cube (Part #: TLV-U-MF2) on their
Olympus microscopes.

     We ordered these cubes back in November and I was unable to get them
to fit on any of our Olympus microscopes.  The following movie first shows
how the OEM cube seats into the turret, and then shows that the Thorlabs
cube cannot be fastened and is very loose:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxKWzllUbsTHWDIwbkpVMzBKdjg/view

    In fact, I found the cubes to be so loose that I could even fit a 1mm
allen key between the turret and the cube:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxKWzllUbsTHRGw1YjhVdlVXY2k
zRjRQVUVFUDJxMDkwb3R3/view

    Upon further investigation, I found that the back of the dovetail on
the cube was 1 mm wider on the Thorlabs cube compared to the OEM cube.  I
was wondering if this was a machining error or a design error, so I
downloaded the CAD files from the Thorlabs site for the OEM cubes and the
Thorlabs replacement, and the CAD files themselves showed the Thorlabs
cubes having a 1mm wider dovetail than the OEM cube, suggesting this was
actually a design error:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxKWzllUbsTHOWV0bktqM0xTQW5
GaXRYYk9fc1duSWRhd0ZV/view

   Since that time, I've been going back and forth with Thorlabs trying to
explain the design mistake, including talking directly with a product
engineer, but when I got a pair of replacement cubes a few weeks ago, they
had exactly the same problem.  When I tried again to explain the design
problem, Thorlabs responded by telling me it is a tolerance issue rather
than a design issue, even though the CAD design itself does not match the
OEM part.  Also, every cube I've received perfectly matches their CAD file,
suggesting the machining tolerances are very tight.

   Therefore, I was wondering if anyone else has had issues with these
cubes, or if it just happens to be the ones we received.  I'm specifically
referring to the following Thorlabs replacement cube for the the Olympus
OEM cube: https://www.thorlabs.com/thorproduct.cfm?partnumber=TLV-U-MF2

Thank you for your help,
    Ben Smith

--
Benjamin E. Smith, Ph. D.
Microscopy Specialist, Vision Science
University of California, Berkeley
142 Life Sciences Addition
Berkeley, CA  94720-3200
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http://vision.berkeley.edu/