🔬 How to find the best Darkfield Filter for a microscope by 3D printing

[@peterhowie6834]

Worked for my cheap Amscope. Just used heavy black card. A base small ‘eye’ then stick larger eyes on top. Great stuff.

[@bendirval3612]

I'm doing this same experiment now for the American Optical series 110. The optimal filter size (no wiggle room) is 34.85mm. A nice height of 3mm is good (because it is a slide-in filter)--makes a very robust patch. I have figured out the rough best sizes for each objective (within 2mm), but I'm doing every single mm, so I can figure out the minimum size for each objective. Then I can do the same with a hole in the middle and put a gel there to get rheinberg. When I get all that working, I'll do oblique. Thanks for the video.

[@garfish307]

I have been doing that exact same thing this past week! I have the Swift SW380T. No optimization yet on the filter. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@M_Czaps]

I have this same model. Did you have any luck?

[@kisakuru5656]

If you don't have a 3D printer (like me) you could also print them on laser printer foil like used for presentations. If you have a color laser printer you could also color the gaps with different colors to give the observed objects some colorful "shadows" to add contrast, like diagonally two fields green and the other ones red really improves contrast. Maybe you will have to overlap two prints if the color is too weak. But it really is a fantastic method to improve the observation in a really cheap way (i printed them in a copy shop).

[@kisakuru5656]

I hope i am allowed to do this, but if any one is interested, here are the filters i made (feel free to distribute): drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CpccDxjYDlhsSWumW4RIzGcfCD5rWfk_?usp=sharing

[@ta513]

@@kisakuru5656 Thank you so much for sharing!

[@kisakuru5656]

@@ta513 You're welcome

[@duckburghardt]

@@kisakuru5656 great thanks!

[@flioink]

Yep, a 3d printer should come in handy with a microscope. I suppose a 3d printed filter would work better with a LED lit condenser, otherwise a halogen one might heat up the plastic. Edit: You should be able to remove the build plate after printing is done and flexing it to avoid hacking stuff off. I believe the Ender you got has that option, if not built in then certainly as an aftermarket upgrade.

[@JohnSmith-ws7fq]

The flexible PEI sheets make removing the prints much easier. You can also decrease the adhesion by cleaning the sheets with Windolene.

[@pitkamatka]

Hello! Thank you for a great overview about the amazingness of filters. However, I don’t want to put anything that has a change of melting, so I want to ask you where can I buy ready made filters for cheap? I tried searching, but maybe I used the weong words because I didn’t find anything. I ordered the Swift SW380T after doing lots of research and viewing your videos :)

[@ahmetkaracaoglu5617]

thanks! amazing video, it helped me figure things out. so useful :)

[@Alex-gs7rw]

If my condenser is 32mm in diameter should I convert all the dimensions down by 3mm? And make the disk diameter 31.5mm? Thanks!

[@Markfps]

Most useful video I've found about this topic

[@peterjf7723]

Another way of making patch stops would be to have them laser cut, there are a few companies offering a online service and they post the results to you.

[@WITHINOHBOAT]

Thanks! I didn't realize until today that my microscope has a filter holder. I also didn't know until today that the eye pieces will slide out when I turn my microscope upside down. Ooops! ps. I made myself a dark field filter, and it worked! required materials: 1. potato salad hard plastic container 2. electrical tape 3. scissors 4. round thing the size of my filter holder 5. sharpie pen 6. tarp hole punch, ≈1cm 7. hammer It worked on my 4 & 10 x objectives, but not on my 40.

[@elenaacim]

Happy microbe hunting!

[@Fibr3Optix]

I tried 3d printing stops for my labophot microscope. I even had to make a special holder to hold the stops. It worked great BUT the heat from the halogen lamp melts the plastic.

[@yonutz333]

Cool, could you please link an STL for those that have a 3d printer

[@jasonbannister611]

You recommend the Swift 380t.. Will the darkfield filter work? Company says no, but seems to me it should... Thanks for your informative videos..

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

I made a darkfield filter and it worked.

[@allenjackson8615]

Can you provide an STL so we can 3D print our own?

[@gabrielyosei7565]

I made one for the 40X but it doesn't seem to work ... What could be the problem?

[@Feynman.R]

Did you figure it out?

[@kevinj5989]

Where can I buy a set of commercial patch stops? I have looked around on the net but don't see any. Also, are your TinkerCAD or gcode files available for sharing (like on the Thingiverse)? Thank you

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

They are easy to make out of cardboard. Glue a dark piece of cardboard on some clear plastic foil.

[@kevinj5989]

@@MicrobehunterMicroscopy Thank you. I saw that you used a 3D printer to print some, so that is my next strategy. But I will try the dark cardboard approach on some plastic salad packaging with some double-sided tape. Thank you.

[@yosiah-eshbenisrael215]

Hello, which brand darkfield microscope do you recommend for blood analysis?

[@duckburghardt]

Are your 3D-printdesigns for these filters available? There is a 3D-printshop in my city and I would very much like to have them printed.

[@MrRuslanCC]

Hello, can you share 3d model of your filter?

[@elenaacim]

Fun and beautiful 🌱

[@NengVang2007]

Can I have the stl for the filter?

[@rynieryarom4277]

Is there such a thing as a "reverse aperture"? Like the variable aperture in normal microscope but in a "reverse aperture" only the centre enlarge and shrinks. Is there a name for it?

[@ivangallardoluna7188]

Is it possible to make a filter 3D printed for dark field with immersion oil?

[@mothman_slayer4217]

You should sell these!!!

[@annemariesofie]

Is there a way to make a patch for the 100 objective?

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

No, you need a special condenser for this. There will be too little light otherwise, because the central dark disk has to be larger for higher NA objectives (such as the 100x), and there is already little light for higher magnifications.

[@annemariesofie]

@@MicrobehunterMicroscopy Ok, thank you!

[@ivangallardoluna7188]

¿Qué medidas has usado para los filtros? What measures have you used for filters?

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

Information added to the description.

[@adriansun2999]

Can you maybe sell the dark filters yourself? I would like to buy some.

[@handle8handle2handle2]

if i accidently print a blue darkfield filter would i be able to paint it black and it will make the background black?

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

Yes, but sometimes the blue filter will also look nice, giving the image a blue background (a bit less contrast, which can also be an advantage sometimes).

[@handle8handle2handle2]

@@MicrobehunterMicroscopy ok thanks for the information :D, ill make sure to try both.

[@handle8handle2handle2]

@@MicrobehunterMicroscopy ok so now i am having another issue, the actuall patch stops are blocking areas of the sample, i can actually see that in the light there is a big area that is blocked from light passing through, and thus it will not work with 40 times and bearely 10 times, i have tried many different sized patch stops aswell.

[@microbehunterlive]

@@handle8handle2handle2 Open the condenser all the way. Dark field with the 40x is difficult anyway (too dark) but with 10x it should work. Also the filter holder must be in the middle. Some microscopes allow you to move the condenser up and down and make sure that it is all the way up.

[@handle8handle2handle2]

@@microbehunterlive so i have tried that just now but the shadow is still casted from the actual filter making some black patches in the sample when i look at it so its either to bright, or the right darkness but with a black shadow, sorry im quite new to darkfield so im still trying to work this stuff out. Also im using the SwiftSW380T.

[@alrizki509]

i want buy this. but how? beacause im in indonesia

[@africanelectron751]

Something to do with the laser cutter at work...

[@mhamado.abdullah6925]

Nice 😍😍 thank you for sharing your experience

[@miguelelento5637]

I have a problem on my condenser filter holder, by putting stops on it , overtime the holder become loose and when I tilt the microscope it swings out and sometimes I don't see anything.

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

Tighten the screw a little if it becomes loose and if you can not see anything make sure that the filter holder is all the way out or in and not half-way.

[@WITHINOHBOAT]

Why do you tilt your microscope? I'm very new to microscopy, and suspect that there are a myriad of things microscopists do, that newbies have yet to discover.

[@miguelelento5637]

@@WITHINOHBOAT because it can, to adjust the angle of the eyepiece.

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

@@WITHINOHBOAT In some battery-powered microscopes, the battery compartment is in the base and then one has to tilt it to the side to exchange the batteries. Many halogen bulbs can also be accessed from the bottom. But as was mentioned above, one has to be careful becasue some parts can fall out (filter, eyepiece).

[@sreebasparui]

what on earth is this Rheinberg Illumination?

[@mikb4372]

Hi good job we would be grateful if you give us the measurement of the best darkfield filter thanks

[@MicrobehunterMicroscopy]

I added the informaton on the size to the description now.

[@voila8562]

Hello Microbehunter, I have just bought an optical microscope which already has a filter holder and even 2 filters for darkfield microscopy. However, I can't reproduce this effect on my higher magnifications (x1000 and x2500). I'd really like to reproduce this effect, which is often seen in certain blood observations, but which I believe are normally done with much more expensive microscopes. kzbin.info/www/bejne/maCnZGaMmLh_a6M Do you think these filters are enough to imitate these microscopes ? Thanks for your work and perhaps your reply. Have a nice day.

[@adriansun2999]

Can you help me to find some dark filters on Amazon or something, please? I do not have a 3D-printer.

[@lotharmayring6063]

not a good idea to use 3d-printer for making this filters. Better use a laser-cutter, gives better quality an is much faster

[@benibuntu2052]

❤️❤️❤️⚘️🌷⚘️🙏🙏😊😊😊👍👍👍