Science
In reply to the discussion: Quantum Entanglement, Dark Counts, Coincidence Detection [View all]caraher
(6,278 posts)Do you have an optical breadboard? (These typically have 1/4-20 holes drilled on a 1-inch square grid.) if you buy or make one that will let you use lots of standard mounting hardware. Machining might be cheaper for a lot of things, but don't forget to put a dollar value on the time you'd rather spend doing optics instead of machining!
I don't remember your optical setup, but optical mounting rails might be useful if you don't want to spring for a breadboard.
Some folks have developed optics mounts for 3D printers. I haven't tried any yet but I'm intrigued by the concept. Meanwhile I buy from eBay, ThorLabs and often from PhotoMachining's surplus pages. (This reminds me of a quip I read recently - theorists' shelves contain textbooks, experimentalists have catalogs - though these days so much is online I think the shelves have started to find other uses!)