Tarkin has a new type of head that should be better quality, easier to maintain, and will unlock some important options in the future. It has a better air assist flow shape and seems to work really well!
There is a new purple focusing tool. The old one is gone. Since it has a slightly different layout, the tool works a little differently, but not much.
There is a black 3D printed focal reference ring above the nozzle. It is tightened down at a precise point, please do not move it. It’s not going to move unless it’s loosened up with a hex key first so no worries.
The purple 3D printed focusing tool does not line up with the nozzle itself, it will line up with that black 3D printed focal reference ring in a V-groove near the top as shown.
Questions that users don’t really need to know but hey let’s cover this:
- Q: Do I need to do anything with the two adjuster screws on top of the head? A: NO, please don’t touch them. They’re calibrated and locked in place. They would only be adjusted if the mirror is changed, which is not a user task.
- Q: If you loosen the tube locking screw on the left side of the head and drop the whole tube down or remove it for cleaning, what happens to the focal reference adjustment? A: the focal reference ring is tightly clamped onto the tube and cannot slide up or down, so it won’t need any readjustment.
- Q: How does the tube go back in if removed? A: Just slide it all the way back up and tighten the holding screw back down. The focal ref ring is the reference point for the lens tube, so the tube being slightly higher or lower won’t affect the way the tool finds the focal point. The tube has a little ruler printed on it. We don’t use it and it doesn’t matter which way that faces. The air line elbow has to go out the right side of course.
- Q: The nozzle had a lot of thread, and a lock ring (technically a jam nut). What’s up with that? A: The nozzle is technically adjustable up and down, which changes the clearance and changes the air flow but does not change the focus. I left it similar to the clearance on the old head. Please leave this fixed as it is for now. Main thing is, we don’t want to complicate the setup for the main body of users who just want it to work. We’ll work on what policy guarantees the basic users will always walk up to it and not find it set any differently.
- Q: OK but I got really curious, I screwed up and loosened the air assist cone, and the lock ring moved. A: Well, it needs to go back and locked by the ring, and this photo is probably the reference for approx where it should be right now. I don’t have a real reference yet for the “right” position. It’s not a really critical adjustment, it won’t affect the focus because the lens is not in the cone. It would have to be moved by more than a mm to matter at all. This is going to be opened up anyways any time we check the lens, and there’s no lock ring on the lock ring, so it’s going to turn freely once the nozzle is loosened. Could we locktite it in place? Maybe, and maybe we will, but then it can’t be adjusted, and I don’t want to get into that yet.