Features

• A Quarter- to Half-turn Connects and Disconnect Adapters
• Lockable via a Nylon-Tipped Setscrew
• Easily Swap SM-Threaded Components

These adapters provide a means to quickly connect and disconnect two similarly SM-threaded components such as lens tubes, mounted optics, and detectors. By threading a male adapter onto an externally SM-threaded component and threading the female adapter on to an internally SM-threaded component, the components can be quickly connected. A witness line on each adapter allows them to be aligned easily. Once they are aligned, a quarter- to half-turn of either component connects the adapters to each other. After the male and female parts of the adapters are mated, a nylon-tipped setscrew can be tightened to lock the two adapters together. Similarly, a quarter- to half-turn of either adapter disconnects the adapters. Quick-release adapters are available in SM05, SM1, SM2, and SM3 threading options.

The camera and lens tube are connected via an SM1Q adapter.

With a half turn of the camera, the SM1Q adapter separates.

With the two parts separated, you can see the witness line on each adapter that is used to align the components.

Quick-Release Camera

The setup shown to the right uses the SM1Q quick-release adapter set to provide a way to easily connect and disconnect a DCU223M camera from an assembly. As the SM1Q has a large pitched thread, the camera can be connected and disconnected from the assembly with only a half-turn, which allows the USB cable that connects to the camera to remain attached. Without the SM1Q adapter, the camera would need to be rotated roughly three times so the USB cable should be removed. It is often necessary to make alignment adjustments in an optical assembly, thus it is time consuming to repeatedly connect and disconnect cables every time these adjustments need to be made. This same cable management issue is encountered with parts such as our power meter heads and photodetectors.

The parts shown in the image to the right include the DCU223M camera, SM1Q quick-release adapter, SM1L30 lens tube, and SM1T2 coupler. The coupler was used to thread into the internal SM1 threading on the SM1L30 lens tube and connect the male portion of the SM1Q adapter to the lens tube. This coupler is only necessary when mating two internally threaded SM1 components. We also offer the SM1T1 internally threaded SM1 coupler, which allows for two externally SM1-threaded components to be mated with an SM1Q quick-release adapter. If you are joining one internally SM1-threaded component to an externally SM1-threaded component, you will not need either the SM1T2 or SM1T1.