Alternative Size Options
16 mm Cage XY Translators
30 mm Cage XY Translators
60 mm Cage XY Translators

Features

Compatible with 60 mm Cage System
SM2 (2.035"-40) Threading

Thorlabs offers two options for XY adjustment (orthogonal to the mechanical axis of the cage system) of Ø2" optical components within a 60 mm cage system. All XY positioners are compatible with SM2 (2.035"-40) threading, making it easy to mount lens tube-compatible optomechanical components.

The CXY2 XY Translator provides ±2 mm of travel perpendicular to the optical axis of a 60 mm cage system. The movable carriage is internally SM2 (2.035"-40) threaded and directly accepts Ø2" (Ø50.8 mm) optics up to 0.59" (15.0 mm) thick. The non-rotating center carriage has been designed to offer pure X and Y translation.

The SPT2 Slip Plate Positioner offers ±2 mm of coarse XY travel with manual alignment. It does not use adjusters to position the mounted optic; the plate that supports the optic slips across the fixed plate and can be locked into position.

Cage System Compatibility: Thorlabs offers 16 mm, 30 mm, and 60 mm cage systems designed for Ø1/2", Ø1", and Ø2" optical components, respectively. Additionally we offer two Z-axis translators that are compatible with our 30 mm cage standard. The parts on this page are compatible with our 60 mm cage system and utilize Ø6 mm ER cage rods.

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: beeler

Posted Date: 2013-03-20 17:23:58.307

Hello, When mounting the CXY2 onto a cage system mounted to the table with cage plates and LCPB1 bases, it seems that the pins in the CXY2 hit the table and do not allow very much vertical translation. I milled off the bottom of the CXY2 and got sufficient translation for my needs, but maybe this is a design flaw? Is there a way to get 2 mm of vertical translation with a 60 mm cage system that is mounted in this way, close to the optical table?

Poster: jlow

Posted Date: 2013-03-28 10:41:00.0

Response from Jeremy at Thorlabs: Thank you for contacting Thorlabs. Unfortunately the CXY2 is not compatible with the LCPB1 just as it is. The reason is because the bottom of the CXY2 is about 0.1” too large. However, that wall thickness is essential in ensuring the CXY2 has the ±2mm travel range. If adjuster screw is fully threaded in, the bottom pins should not come out of the bottom wall. The pins are guide pins within the side wall of the main body of the CXY2. To overcome this issue, you could put some spacers (such as RS3M) to shim things up. Once the wall is milled out from bottom part of CXY2 to make things fit without shims, the pin will lose its guide wall and the shorter pins won’t remain in contact within the guide hole of the main body. This will result in the whole assembly of the guide plate with pin to come loose when adjuster is retracted. We will get in contact with you directly with more information on this.

Poster: tcohen

Posted Date: 2012-04-19 10:03:00.0

Response from Tim at Thorlabs: Thank you for your feedback! We do offer a cage adaptable Z-translator for our 30mm cage systems, SM1Z. Offering a 60mm version of this would certainly be useful. I will discuss your suggestion with our production team.

Poster: akde

Posted Date: 2012-04-17 23:47:28.0

In addition to XY-translator, It is good to have a cage-adaptable Z-translator as well for specific purposes, eg, using a pinhole/aperture for confocal-detection, mode clean-up etc. An XYZ-translator will be even better! Dr Arijit K De (LBNL/UCB, Berkeley)

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XY Translators for 60 mm Cage Systems

Features

Cage System Overview

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

Standard Threads