Would you like to use the O3Q material yourself (in class)? Here you will find some hints and helpful tips for a successful start.
Build it yourself or buy it?
Before you start with O3Q experiments, you need to decide whether you want to build the materials yourself or purchase them. Depending on your time, resources and technical capabilities, you can choose the option that suits you best.
Build it yourself
The assembly instructions provide a detailed description of the individual modules and give a good overview of the level of difficulty of assembly.
The required work steps include, among others:
- 3D printing of the required components.
- Soldering the cables to various components.
- Gluing and screwing the components together.
- Melting threaded inserts with a soldering iron (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS_BzeVacQE).
Buy
The experiment materials are also available from our cooperation partners if you prefer a ready-to-use solution.
- The student company IT4U of the Osterholz-Scharmbeck Vocational College offers ready-made sets. Inquiries under: https://www.bbs-ohz.de/schuelerfirma/it4u/
- In future, the Alexian workshops for vocational rehabilitation and reintegration will also offer ready-made sets. Information will follow
The project members of the O3Q project do not offer any sets for sale themselves.
Purchasing material
To reproduce the material, some components have to be 3D printed, while others have to be purchased. An overview of this can be found in the Excel table, which can be downloaded together with the 3D files here: 3D files
The Excel table serves as an adaptive parts list. Below are some notes on its use:
- In the Wish list worksheet, you can enter how often each experiment should be produced (column B). Additional components can also be added.
- In the Components by cubes worksheet, the table itself calculates how often each module should be built (row 2). This takes into account that all experiments can be built, but one after the other and not simultaneously. If, for example, a 1 is entered in the wish list for both the Michelson and Mach-Zehnder interferometers, only one laser diode is calculated, not two.
- It also calculates which file must be printed how often (cells 3C – 52C). The names (cells 3A – 52A) correspond to the names of the STLs.
- It is also already calculated which components need to be ordered how often (cells 54C – 93C).
If you find any errors in the Excel table, please contact us at info@o3q.de.
About 3D printing
All files should already be suitably aligned and can be printed on standard FDM 3D printers without support. For the matching colors we recommend BASF Ultrafuse PLA in the colors:
- gold
- bronze
- silver
- red
- black
- white
No special print settings are required. The following settings are possible:
- Layer thickness: 0.2mm
- Ceilings and floors: 0.8mm
- Walls: 1.2mm
- Infill: 16%
Experts can use the settings to ensure an optimal fit. (For example, the “Horizontal Expansion” setting in Ultimaker Cura or the “X-Y Contour Compensation” in BambuStudio can be used to ensure that the silver inlays fit exactly into the cube frames).
Assembly of the cubes:
Follow the assembly instructions for assembly. To get started, it is advisable to begin with a simple component, e.g. a mirror, a beam splitter or a lens module.
Have fun and enjoy experimenting!