Kinematic Mount with Vertical Drives

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Thorlabs offers kinematic mounts with vertical drives for both Ø1/2" and Ø1" optics. The adjusters for these mounts are located above the optical path, allowing for safe adjustment of the system without needing to place your hands near the incoming beam. The position of the actuators also makes these mounts ideal for compact setups. Both mounts feature an angular adjustment range of ±3°, and are fabricated from black anodized aluminum.

Posted Comments:

melanie (posted 2018-11-14 11:32:54.99)

Are the adjustments lockable ? There is a screw in the middle of the end of the micrometer head, which might be for locking the adjustment. Is that what this screw is for ? It looks like the exact same micrometer used with the gimbal mounts, which IS advertised as lockable.

YLohia (posted 2018-11-14 11:10:33.0)

Hello, thank you for contacting Thorlabs. Unfortunately, these mounts are not lockable. The GMB1 gimbal mount is lockable with the side located locking thumbscrews. The actual adjuster knob is not intrinsically lockable. The GM100, which is the gimbal equivalent of the VM1, is not lockable and is not advertised as such. The hex on the top of the adjustment knob is often mistaken for a locking mechanism, but it is there for convenience so a ball driver can be used for adjustment.

ivangr (posted 2018-08-02 16:17:46.013)

Hello, I am contacting you concerning the VM1/M mount. I was wondering whether it would be possible to have additional graduations on the actuators (similarly to standard micrometer screws) to keep track of how many rotations of the actuators have been done, in order to have a better 'absolute calibration' of the angle. My application is the following: I need to align a nonlinear crystal to a reference position, and then detune it by a certain angle. The VM1 gives me a very good angular accuracy, however as soon as I need to detune by more than one rotation of the actuator, I need to pay extra attention and keep track of how many rotations I did in order to know the detuning angle. This easily gets unpractical, especially since I need to detune over a wide range of angles. Best regards, Ivan

llamb (posted 2018-08-03 08:57:18.0)

Hello Ivan, thank you for contacting Thorlabs. We use the component with the engraved witness line in various other products as well, so a large scale modification would not be feasible because of the different graduated scales for each product that uses this component. We may be able to offer a one-off quote for a customized product, where the witness line has perpendicular engravings to keep track of your rotations. I will reach out to you directly to discuss further.

arne.meyeraufderheide (posted 2017-09-26 15:15:11.237)

Hello Thorlabs, do these top-driven mirror mounts also exist for 2" optics? Due to a lack of space we want to minimize the footprint of our 2" mounts, the usual 2" mirror mounts have the knobs behind the mirror which sometimes collide with other optomechanic in our setup. Best regards

nbayconich (posted 2017-10-12 12:23:59.0)

Thank you for contacting Thorlabs. We can offer this as a special made item. I will reach out to directly about our custom capabilities.

werner.engel (posted 2017-02-16 20:04:40.277)

What I did not find at any optics shop is a device as slimm as the VM1, but also capable of the other 2 axis - like the K5X1. The reason for this: Sometimes you need to build a very short cavity - in this case the screws behind the partly reflective mirror are much too long!! The length of the whole device should be as short as possible. Has this been discussed allready? Any plan to develop such a mount? This would make optical cavities much shorter! Waiting for your feedback, Werner

tfrisch (posted 2017-02-20 09:53:59.0)

Hello, thank you for contacting Thorlabs. I have posted your need in our internal engineering forum, and I will reach out to you directly to discuss this application.

thbu (posted 2016-12-20 07:09:36.823)

For my design a VM05/M would be very suitable. On the other hand I consider the Polaris K05 mount for the well tested and documented stability. Do you have similar stability measurements for the VM05/M? How much better is the Polaris series? Best regards.

tfrisch (posted 2016-12-22 06:13:18.0)

Hello, thank you for contacting Thorlabs. The Polaris line was designed with stability in mind whereas VM05/M was intended to be a compact stage with the actuator knobs accessible from the same side. I will reach out to you directly for more details about your application.

user (posted 2013-03-05 16:06:01.21)

FYI: The step model of VM1 seems to be a little messed up. The plate for mounting the optic is offset to the left, unphysically.

cdaly (posted 2013-03-07 16:13:00.0)

Response from Chris at Thorlabs: Thank you for your feedback. The front plate does appear to be offset, looks like it was mated to the edge of the cutout rather than being centered. I will try to get this updated. Thank you for pointing this out.

jlow (posted 2012-08-03 16:07:00.0)

Response from Jeremy at Thorlabs to Fran: The VM05 and VM1 use setscrews to hold the optic in place instead of retaining rings. Therefore, there's not really a maximum optic thickness. The minimum optic thickness is about 0.14" (3.6 mm).

franxm (posted 2012-08-03 10:29:05.0)

What is the maximum thickness optic the VM05 and VM1 can support? Thanks, Fran

Ø1/2" Kinematic Mirror Mount with Vertical Drives

Ø1/2in Kinematic Mirror Mount with Vertical Drives

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Mounts Ø1/2" Optics
Minimum Optic Thickness: 0.14" (3.6 mm)
Total Angular Range of ±3°
0.5° per Revolution Adjustment
8-32 (M4) and 4-40 (M3) Mounting Holes

Thorlabs' VM05(/M) Compact Kinematic Mount with Vertical Drive features top-mounted, 0.25 mm pitch actuators designed to keep the beam path clear, which is ideal for use with high-power lasers. Sensitivity is achieved by two fine adjustment screws that offer a 1/2° of angular adjustment per revolution. Each knob can be rotated by hand or by using a 5/64" (2.0 mm) hex key or ball driver. The VM05(/M) mount offers a total angular range of ±3° and a Ø0.44" (11.2 mm) clear aperture. A nylon-tipped locking setscrew secures the Ø1/2" optic. The mount's thick main body increases rigidity to prevent flexing during adjustment.

Ø1" Kinematic Mirror Mount with Vertical Drives

Ø1in Kinematic Mirror Mount with Vertical Drives

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Mounts Ø1" Optics
Minimum Optic Thickness: 0.11" (2.8 mm)
Total Angular Range of ±3°
0.25° per Revolution Adjustment
Graduated Knobs, 50 Divisions per Revolution
8-32 (M4) Mounting Holes

Thorlabs' VM1(/M) Compact Kinematic Mount with Vertical Drive features top-mounted 100 TPI actuators designed to keep the beam path clear, which is ideal for use with high-power lasers. Sensitivity is achieved by two fine adjustment screws that offer a 1/4° of angular adjustment per revolution. Unlike the VM05(/M), the screws at the end of the knob cannot be used to rotate the knobs. The VM1(/M) mount offers a total angular range of ±3° and a Ø0.94" (23.9.2 mm) clear aperture. A nylon-tipped locking setscrew secures the Ø1" optic. The mount's thick main body increases rigidity to prevent flexing during adjustment.

View All »Matching Part Numbers

Kinematic Mount with Vertical Drives

Ø1/2" Kinematic Mirror Mount with Vertical Drives

Ø1" Kinematic Mirror Mount with Vertical Drives