Reducing stage sliding friction
First determine
if z stage needs to be a little wider or narrower by pushing firmly on
the plastic outward and inward (moving the rods about .05mm by
squeezing/stretching the entire stage). Use half or even all of
your finger strength. At the same time with the other hand slide
the zslider back and forth to see if friction is lower or higher.
To disassemble pop it apart as shown below - insert file and twist.
If you had to
push outwards (move rods farther apart) then after disassembling file
the outside part of the z stage. If you had to squeeze the stage
inwards then file the inner surfaces that hold the rods as shown in
this picture
. It's super easy to get this backwards. The
way I think of it is that when you push hard on the lower part with
your fingers you are moving the rods and not the brass parts. When you file you need to again think of which way you want to move the rods
and file on the side that you want the rods to move towards. You
really shouldn't have to do any of this as we do this for you before
shipping the kits.
You really need a curved file as shown.
Reassemble and repeat as necessary. Sometimes one side needs more filing than the other.