Thorlabs' 58 mm thick optical breadboards are offered in a variety of lengths and widths from 300 mm x 450 mm (12" x 18") to 900 mm x 1800 mm (36" x 72"). The stainless steel top and bottom skins are 5 mm and 3 mm thick, respectively, and have a matte finish. The top skin is precision-machined with a surface flatness of ±0.15 mm (±0.006") over any 600 mm x 600 mm area. Metric breadboards have M6 mounting holes on 25 mm centers with a 12.5 mm border at the edges, while imperial breadboards have 1/4"-20 mounting holes on 1" centers with a 0.5" border at the edges. The maximum screw depth of these mounting holes is 54 mm, except for the outer border holes which have a maximum screw depth of 16.0 mm. The screw depth is unimpeded by the honeycomb structure, as shown in the diagram to the bottom right.
These breadboards are intrinsically damped and are an ideal solution for applications requiring minimal vibration damping. The 0.26 mm thick precision-formed honeycomb core extends from the top to bottom skin without intermediate layers, leading to a stiff and stable board as large as 900 x 1800 x 58 mm (36" x 72" x 2.28"). When paired with the 5 mm thick top skin these breadboards offer good rigidity and damping performace.
Click to Enlarge Outline of the honeycomb core location on an optical breadboard. The core does not intersect with any screw holes.
As the size of any breadboard is increased the chance for static deflection will rise, especially when high loads are being used. To increase the rigidity of the system and minimize static deflection, we recommend using a thicker breadboard, such as our 110 mm thick Nexus Breadboard. Static deflection is a factor when slight variations of the optical axis height are detrimental. A thicker breadboard will help maintain the optical axis height throughout the system and simplify long-distance alignments. For more information regarding breadboard design and vibration damping please see our Vibration Isolation Tutorial.
For a comparison of our breadboard options please see our BB Selection Guide Tab. Custom sizes and options are also available, contact Tech Support for more information.
Support Options
Isolation Feet We offer passive and active self-leveling isolator feet for mounting a breadboard on top of a table. They can support a variety of breadboard sizes and loads and can be easily attached to any breadboad.
ScienceDesks™ Our ScienceDesk line of breadboard frames are high-quality ergonomic supports optimized for applications where the user will be seated. They are available with rigid, passive, or active vibration isolators, and feature a modular system of accessories. ScienceDesk frames are available to fit many of our breadboards sized from 600 mm x 900 m (24" x 36") to 900 mm x 1200 mm (36" x 48").
Breadboard Frames We also offer Breadboard Frames available with rigid supports, or with passive or self-leveling active vibration isolation.
Click to Enlarge Comparison of the compliance curves for both the B6090A Nexus and B6090AX Optical Breadboards. Our intrinsically damped breadboards are ideal for applications requiring minimal damping, while our line of Nexus Breadboards is highly recommended when high-vibration damping and minimal deflection are necessary. See the Vibration Isolation Tutorial for more information on compliance.
Specifications
Construction
Breadboard Thickness
58 mm (2.28")
Top Skin Flatness
±0.15 mm (±0.006") Over Any 600 mm x 600 mm Area
Top Plate
5 mm (0.20") Thick Stainless Steel 430 Grade Working Surface
Can you provide a test report for B90180AX (like you provide for nexus series breadboards)?
cwright
 (posted 2019-09-20 07:52:19.0)
Thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately we do not have this test report as this is a specification we only measure for the Nexus range of breadboards. For comparison of the two ranges we do provide a juxtaposition of a B6090A Nexus Breadboard's curve and a B6090AX Intrinsically Damped Breadboard's curve. This will look similar for all comparably sized boards. https://www.thorlabs.com/images/TabImages/Breadboard_Intrinsic_Compliance_G2-780.gif
7.0 mm (0.28") 9.5 mm (0.375") 12.7 mm (0.5") 19.05 mm (0.75")
12.7 mm (0.5")
Working Surface
430 Grade Stainless Steel or 304L Grade Nonmagnetic Steel Top Plate
430 Grade Stainless Steel Top Plate
Aluminum
416 Grade Stainless Steel
Solid Aluminum Anodized or Unanodized
Acrylic
Top Skin
5 mm (0.20")
5 mm (0.20")
6 mm (0.24")
N/A
N/A
N/A
Bottom Skin
5 mm (0.20")
3 mm (0.12")
3 mm (0.12")
N/A
N/A
N/A
Core Design
High-Density Plated Steel Honeycomb, 0.26 mm Thick
High-Density Plated Aluminum Honeycomb
N/A
N/A
N/A
Side Panels
Rigid Steel Box Section
Unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride (uPVC)
Black Laminated Aluminum Sides
N/A
N/A
N/A
Ferromagnetism
Magnetic or Non-Magnetic Options
Magnetic
Non-Magnetic
Magnetic
Non-Magnetic
Sealed Holes
Sealed (25 mm Depth) or Non-Sealed Options
Non-Sealed
N/A
N/A
N/A
Thread Options
1/4"-20 (M6) Tapped Holes
1/4"-20 (M6) Tapped Holes
1/4"-20 (M6) Tapped Holes
1/4"-20 (M6), 4-40 (M3), or 8-32 (M3) and 1/4"-20 (M6) Tapped Holes
1/4-20" Tapped Holes
Spacing
1" (25 mm) Centers
1" (25 mm) Centers
1" (25 mm) Centers
1" (25 mm) Centers or 0.5" (12.7 mm) Centers
0.5" (12.7 mm) Centers
Distance from Edge to First Holes
0.5" (12.5 mm) on all Sides
0.5" (12.5 mm) or 1.0" (25 mm) on all Sides
0.5" (12.5 mm) on all Sides
0.5" (12.5 mm) on all Sides
1.0" (25.4 mm) on all Sides
Performancea
Damping
N/A
N/A
N/A
Stiffness
60 mm (2.4") Thick
58 mm (2.28") Thick
25 mm (0.98") Thick
12.7 mm (0.5") Thick
7.0 mm (0.28") Thick
12.7 mm (0.5") Thick
110 mm (4.3") Thick
55 mm (2.2") Thick
19.05 mm (0.75") Thick
The damping and stiffness performance shown here is qualitative and does not relate to exact specifications of each breadboard.
Optical Breadboard Selection Guides
The selection guides below list every size offered for our honeycomb, solid aluminum, and acrylic breadboards. Simply locate the specific width and length needed and then select the type of breadboard. Expand each table by clicking the More [+] button within the header.
Solid aluminum breadboards are offered with four different thicknesses: 0.5" (item # prefix MB), 0.75" (item # prefix MBH), 3/8" (item # prefix MS), or 0.28" (item # prefix MS). Select sizes are also available without an anodized coating (item #s ending with U).
Item Number Suffix:
F, A, B, or G: Non-Sealed Mounting Holes
T, L, U, or N: Sealed Mounting Holes
FN or AN: Nonmagnetic Mounting Holes
Y or Z: No Mounting Holes
S: Stainless Steel
Tapped Hole Pattern Aligned at 45°
Build-to-Order
Includes a T-Slot in Side Panels for Compatibility with 25 mm Rail Accessories
Solid aluminum breadboards are offered with four different thicknesses: 12.7 mm (item # prefix MB), 19.05 mm (item # prefix MBH), 9.5 mm (item # prefix MS), or 7.0 mm (item # prefix MS). Select sizes are also available without an anodized coating (item #s ending with U).
Item Number Suffix:
F, A, B, or G: Non-Sealed Mounting Holes
T, L, U, or N: Sealed Mounting Holes
FN or AN: Nonmagnetic Mounting Holes
Y or Z: No Mounting Holes
S: Stainless Steel
Tapped Hole Pattern Aligned at 45°
Build-to-Order
Includes a T-Slot in Side Panels for Compatibility with 25 mm Rail Accessories