Optical Enclosures

Table 1.1  XE25 25 mm Construction Rail Accessories
Rails	Cubes and Brackets	Breadboard Mounting	Rail Joiners	Channel Insert
Construction Tools	T-Nuts and Screws	Enclosures		Enclosure Accessories

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Figure 1.3  Custom enclosures can be built using our 25 mm rails and accessories above. The enclosure shown was constructed entirely from stock items.

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Figure 1.2  Flip the Assembled Enclosure Upside Down to Install the Appropriate Breadboard

Features

• Enclosures Protect Setups from External Factors
• Choose from Three Versions
  
  • Black Hardboard for Blocking Stray Light
  • Plexiglass for Applications that Are Not Light Sensitive
  • Aluminum for Blocking Stray Light and Added Durability
• Multiple Sizes Available
• 15" x 9" x 12" (375 mm x 225 mm x 300 mm)
• 21" x 9" x 12" (525 mm x 225 mm x 300 mm)
• 21" x 15" x 12" (525 mm x 375 mm x 300 mm)
• Designed to Mount on a Solid Aluminum Breadboard or Optical Table
• Optional Integrated Door Assemblies Allow Access to Interior
• Fully Customizable with Our Construction Tools and Enclosure Components and Accessories
• Custom Enclosures Available Upon Request

Thorlabs' optical enclosures provide a protected space for instruments that are sensitive to light and acoustic vibrations. Our enclosures are made from our 25 mm rails and feature panels made of black hardboard, anodized aluminum, or plexiglass, which are held in place by the rail channels. Laser safety panels made from acrylic are also available to enable visibility into enclosures without compromising safety. Each enclosure is designed with an internal height of 12" (300 mm) and is available in lengths and widths ranging from 9" to 21" (225 mm to 525 mm). They ship partially assembled and can be fully assembled using a 1/8" (4 mm) balldriver or hex key (not included). Like any assembly based on 25 mm rails, our enclosures are completely customizable using the parts shown in Table 1.1. For more information on how to build your own enclosure, please see the Custom Enclosures tab.

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Figure 1.4  RM1S Slotted Corner Cubes Limit Light Leakage at Corners

Breadboard Mountable
To install the breadboard of the correct size, flip the assembled enclosure upside-down and screw in four 1/4"-20 (M6) cap screws using the counterbored holes at each corner of the breadboard (see Figure 1.2). The corners of our stock enclosures are designed such that the 1/4"-20 (M6) tapped holes in the rail ends align with the counterbored holes in select sizes of our Aluminum Breadboards; please consult the Suggested Breadboards tables to ensure the proper match. The enclosures can also be attached directly to an optical table using our breadboard mounting accessories. If you need an enclosure for a particular size of breadboard, we suggest contacting Tech Sales to discuss our custom enclosure options.

Integrated Door Options
Select enclosures are also available with a door assembly to provide easy access to the interior. We offer a black hardboard enclosure and plexiglass enclosure with a set of overlapping sliding doors that sit in a bottom-located slide track, which attaches directly to the breadboard. The tops of the sliding panels fit into the rail channel of the upper rail. Aluminum enclosures with hinged doors allowing access through two panels or top-only are also available. Plastic handles are included with both the sliding doors and the hinged door. Tracks for sliding doors are not available separately; please contact Tech Sales to include sliding doors in your custom enclosure.

Thorlabs' accessories for assemblies made of 25 mm rails include corner cubes and brackets, T-Nuts, low-profile channel screws, breadboard mounting accessories, rail joiners, and a channel insert. In addition, we offer enclosure accessories, laser safety fabric panels, and "do-it-yourself" tools like taps, tap guides, and drill guides for home-built XE25-based constructions.

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Figure 2.1  Home-Built 90° Corner

XE25 Construction Techniques

Thorlabs' XE25 rails and components are the building blocks for many types of modular systems, including custom enclosures. For the most demanding applications, Thorlabs recommends the "direct connection" technique for forming right angles with rails, detailed here.

Step 1: Drill Side Holes

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Figure 2.2  Drilling a Balldriver Access Hole

Step 2: Tap the Center Hole, If Necessary

All stock and custom-length anodized XE25 rails have a 1/4"-20 (M6) tapped hole in the end of the rail. If you have cut a standard XE25 rail, or are using the XE25RL2 Raw Extrusion, you will need to tap a hole into the end of the rail.

For this step, you will need the 71598 1/4"-20 Tap (or the 71498 M6 Tap), the XE25TG Tap Guide, and the TW25 Hand Tap Wrench.

Fix the tap inside the tap wrench. Place the tap guide block over the end of the rail. The hole in the top of the guide will keep the tap square with the hole and minimize the chance of misthreading. Turn the tap to thread the hole, as shown in Figure 2.4.

Step 3: Attach Low-Profile Channel Screw

For this step, you will need a SH25LP38 1/4"-20-threaded (SH6M10LP M6-threaded) Low-Profile Channel Screw and a 1/8" (4 mm) balldriver.

Insert the screw into the threaded hole in the end of the rail, and tighten down partway with the balldriver, as shown in Figure 2.5. If you are making a three-way connection, you will need to thread another channel screw into the end of a second rail.

Step 4: Join the Rails

Slide the head of the channel screw into the channel of the rail with the drilled holes, so that the hex head lines up with the hole. Insert the balldriver into the hole and tighten the channel screw, as shown in Figure 2.6. If making a three-way connection, repeat this process with the third rail, as shown in Figure 2.7.

For increased stability, the corners may be reinforced with the XE25A90 Right-Angle Bracket.

Design a Custom Enclosure Using Thorlabs Components
With our vast selection of enclosure components, building your own DIY optical enclosure is simple. All our optical enclosure components, from panels to optical rails and corner cubes, can be purchased separately and customized to a size suitable for your application. For example, simple enclosures can be constructed to be as small as 1' x 1' x 1' (300 mm x 300 mm x 300 mm), whereas much larger enclosures are possible and might include hinged doors for easy access to an experiment. Enclosure components are designed to work together seamlessly, reducing the amount of time required during assembly.

Any side or dimension of the enclosure can be modified to suit the requirements of your application. The black hardboard enclosure panels can be cut to the appropriate size or drilled to accommodate integrating optomechanical components, like lens tubes. Alternatively, black-anodized aluminum panels are available with pre-drilled slots, for fiber and electrical panels, and an SM1-threaded (1.035"-40) through hole.

Should you choose not to build your own DIY enclosure, we welcome the opportunity to work with you to provide a custom enclosure that meets your specific requirements. Customizable options include enclosure dimensions, like panel sizes and optical rails; panel material, like black hardboard or black-anodized aluminum; and number and configuration of doors. We will ensure the proper fit and function of the customized components. Once the custom enclosure meets specification, we will ship the components for customer assembly. Please note that aluminum breadboards are not included with our custom enclosures and that enclosures will need to be assembled by the customer.

If you would like consultation regarding whether to place a custom order or which components you need to purchase in order to assemble your own DIY optical enclosure, please contact Tech Sales.

Custom Enclosure Example
This section details how to construct a two-door enclosure with black hardboard panels, which is shown completely assembled in Figure 3.3. Watch Video 3.1 for step-by-step instructions on how to assemble this particular enclosure. The size of this enclosure is 1200 mm x 600 mm x 525 mm (L x W x H). Refer to Tables 3.4 and 3.5 for complete imperial and metric parts lists, respectively. The enclosure was constructed from metric components, but it can also be constructed using the imperial equivalent components.

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Figure 3.3  Custom enclosures can be built using our 25 mm rails and accessories. This two-door enclosure was constructed entirely from stock items. Video 3.1 provides step-by-step instructions on how to assemble this enclosure.

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Figure 3.2  Two TB4 hardboards (cut to the desired length and height) can be taped together using T743-2.0 Black Masking Tape to form the back panel of the enclosure.

This enclosure was assembled on a 600 mm x 1200 mm aluminum breadboard (24" x 48" for imperial components), though other breadboard sizes are possible. The left and right doors are 500 mm and 600 mm (20" and 24") wide, respectively. Each door can be opened separately, allowing access to the breadboard inside the enclosure. We recommend building the doors and frame of the enclosure separately and then assembling them to complete the enclosure. The rails used in the doors and frame are connected via construction cubes with slotted corners, which help to prevent light leakage at the corners of the enclosure, and are secured using low-profile channel screws. Alternatively, for a faster solution, our quick corner cubes can be used. Our TB4 hardboard, which constitute the panels of the enclosure, can be cut to size using a utility knife; these pieces fit directly into the slots of the 25 mm rails and the counterbores of the cubes. The back panel is formed using two pieces of hardboard cut to the desired length and height and taped together using T743-2.0 Black Masking Tape (see Figure 3.2). Note that, for the imperial enclosure, black masking tape will also be needed to connect the 24" x 24" panels together along the sides and back of the enclosure.

A 25 mm rail is installed along the top of the enclosure to mount the doors and door hinges. This rail is attached by drilling through the top two frame rails; see Video 3.1 for details. For details on drilling and tapping a hole into the top frame rails for precise placement of the support rail, see the Construction Methods tab.

The height of the enclosure can easily be customized to fit any application. For best results when adding doors to your enclosure, the total door height with connection cubes should match the enclosure height minus the bottom rails; otherwise, the door will overlap with the bottom rail. We recommend using 500 mm (20") and 525 mm (21") long rails for the door and enclosure, respectively.

For applications requiring a light-tight enclosure, our BFP1 black flocked self-adhesive paper can be used to seal gaps in the hinges of the enclosure.