Alternative Size Options
16 mm Cage Cubes
2" Wide 30 mm Cage Cubes
1.5" Wide 30 mm Cage Cubes
60 mm Cage Cubes

Features

60 mm Cage System and SM2 Lens Tube Compatible Cubes
Build 2D and 3D Cage and Lens Tube Systems
SM2-Threaded (2.035"-40) Ports on Cage Cube
Mount Optics Within Cube

The LC6W cage cube offers four SM2-threaded ports and 60 mm cage compatibility. Two faces are machined with Ø6 mm through-holes for cage rods, while the other two faces feature 4-40 tapped holes to thread cage rods to the cube. The through-holes allows the cube to be translated along the cage rods, then locked in place with the included setscrews.

Accessories for this cube include blank and SM2-threaded cover plates (for top and bottom of cube), rigid and kinematic platforms, and a Ø2" optic mount. These accessories are particularly useful when working with beamsplitters in a 60 mm cage.

An example of the standard cage
plate measurements determining
cage system compatibility.

Cage System Overview

The Cage Assembly System provides a convenient way to construct large optomechanical systems with an established line of precision-machined building blocks designed for high flexibility and accurate alignment.

16 mm, 30 mm, and 60 mm Cage System Standards

Thorlabs offers three standards defined by the center-to-center spacing of the cage assembly rods (see image to right). The 16 mm cage, 30 mm cage, and 60 mm cage standards are designed to accomodate Ø1/2", Ø1", and Ø2" optics, respectively. Specialized cage plates that allow smaller optics to be directly inserted into our larger cage systems are also available.

Standard Threads

The flexibility of our Cage Assembly System stems from well-defined mounting and thread standards designed to directly interface with a wide range of specialized products. The three most prevalent thread standards are our SM05 Series (0.535"-40 thread), SM1 Series (1.035"-40 thread), and SM2 Series (2.035"-40 thread), all of which were defined to house the industry's most common optic sizes. Essential building blocks, such as our popular lens tubes, directly interface to these standards.

Standard Cage System Measurements
Cage System	16 mm	30 mm	60 mm
Thread Series	SM05	SM1	SM2
Rod to Rod Spacing	16 mm (0.63")	30 mm (1.18")	60 mm (2.36")
Total Length	25 mm (0.98")	41 mm (1.60")	71.1 mm (2.8")

Cage Components
Cage Rods	16 mm	These rods are used to connect cage plates, optic mounts, and other components in the cage system. The SR Series Cage Rods are compatible with our 16 mm cage systems, while the 30 mm and 60 mm cage systems use ER Series Cage Rods.
	30 mm
	60 mm
Cage Plates	16 mm	These serve as the basic building blocks for a cage system. They may have SM-threaded central bores, smooth bores sized for industry standard optics or to accommodate the outer profile of our SM Series Lens Tubes, or specialized bores for other components such as our FiberPorts.
	30 mm
	60 mm
Optic Mounts	16 mm	Thorlabs offers fixed, kinematic, rotation, and translation mounts specifically designed for our Cage Systems.
	30 mm
	60 mm
Cage Cubes	16 mm	These cubes are useful for housing larger optical components, such as prisms or mirrors, or optics that need to sit at an angle to the beam path, such as beamsplitters. Our cage cubes are available empty or with pre-mounted optics.
	30 mm
	60 mm
Post and Breadboard Mounts and Adapters		Mounting options for cage systems can be found on our Cage System Construction pages. Cage Systems can be mounted either parallel or perpendicular to the table surface.
Size Adapters		Cage System Size Adapters can be used to integrate components from different cage system and threading standards.
Specialized Components		Thorlabs also produces specialized cage components, such as Filter Wheels, a HeNe Laser Mount, and a FiberPort Cage Plate Adapter, allowing a wide range of our products to be integrated into cage-mounted optical systems. Explore our Cage Systems Visual Navigation Guide to see the full range of Thorlabs' cage components.

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Posted Comments:

Poster: tcohen

Posted Date: 2012-10-15 11:52:00.0

Response from Tim at Thorlabs: Pellicles are extremely fragile and handling it from the front face with contact from screws can cause the film to be damaged. In order to mount the BP245B1 we have the BP207 and KM200BP. These are fixed and kinematic options respectively which handle our 2” pellicles via the clearance slots and the #2-56 tap on the pellicle housings. I will contact you directly to discuss possible options in your setup.

Poster: czl0579

Posted Date: 2012-10-14 23:19:40.017

Hi, we want to mount a 2in pellicle beamsplitters onto LC6W. But it seems BP245B1 cannot fit into LB5C. Do you have any suggestions? We need a 2in pellicle beamsplitter.

Poster: jlow

Posted Date: 2012-08-02 11:43:00.0

Response from Jeremy at Thorlabs: There are three seats in the LB4C and they are as follows: 1) One seat made from two hardened steel dowel pins. 2) One seat made from a flat disc, hardened steel as well. 3) Last seat is a cone milled into the moving plate, and the plate is made from 6061 aluminum (black anodized).

Poster: jcesnik

Posted Date: 2012-07-31 20:51:33.0

Question - does the LB4C have hardened steel or sapphire seats? These would be great for ultra-low-profile mirror mounting to the face (via adhesive) in an OEM application. I know this is not the intended use, but these would be perfect for what I have in mind if the quality is there. Thanks in advance.

Poster: tcohen

Posted Date: 2012-06-14 10:56:00.0

Response from Tim at Thorlabs: Thank you for sharing your idea! We are currently working on a similar design that includes fine rotation adjustment to the cage cube platforms in the same footprint as the B3C. If this would be suitable for your application we would love for your feedback on this new product and I will contact you to keep you updated.

Poster: amordova

Posted Date: 2012-06-12 21:41:13.0

Would be great to have a part similar to LB4C but with fine rotation adjustment. Wil make my life much easier!

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