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Optical Table Top Information

Functionality You Will Love

Product Overview:

Our breadboards and tables are designed by optical researchers with experience in both academic and industrial laboratories. The design stresses functionality and performance at the lowest possible cost. Advanced materials and designs are used to provide increased vibration damping and decreased weights when compared to conventional breadboards and tables.

The skins, core and final coating are manufactured separately and then assembled into the final unit permitting a wide variety of skins, cores and coatings to be used based on specific applications. Computer aided design stations are directly linked with  computer controlled manufacturing centers to provide high dimensional accuracy and fast error free production.

Custom products and special designs can be quickly created saving you, our customer both money and lead-time.

Honeycomb Core:

Most table manufacturers use a metal honeycomb core, which conducts vibrations and has multiple resonant frequencies, and then install tuned vibration dampers to try to suppress the resonance’s. These dampers are size specific and add significant weight to the table. The nonmetallic honeycomb core in VERE's tables is designed to absorb vibrations. Our tables have better vibration performance than metal honeycomb tables without the need for damping, or the extra weight.

Our standard honeycomb core  is available standard in 1/2, 1, 2 , 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 inch thickness’ to offer the optimum choice in vibration damping, strength and weight.  

Core thickness’ of 2" or 4" are recommended for boards under 4 feet long or longer boards which are evenly supported. 8" or thicker cores should be used for 6 - 8 foot and larger tables and where static or dynamic compliance is critical.

Despite our low price, our honeycomb core features a very small cell size (3/8 inch). The small cell size puts more of the core in contact with the metal surface. For those applications where the core must be Aluminum or Stainless Steel, please consult our Sales Department for special pricing.

Lightweight Design

A high strength-to-weight core combined with careful board design gives us one of the lightest boards on the market.  Our standard breadboard weight is at just 12 lb. (5.4kg) per square foot.  Boards as large as 2'x4' can be shipped via UPS for additional savings!

At only 15 lb. (6.8kg) per square foot, our tables (8.3in thick) save on your installation costs as well.  A 4'x8'x8.3" table can easily be uncrated and fully installed onto our VIL legs by 6 average people in under one hour with just hand tools. 

No movers or special equipment required. For critical light weight applications, we offer Titanium, at 2.2Lb’s per square foot (with 2” core) and our “ULTRA” Light Weight material at 3.6 LB's per square foot with a 2” core.

Sealed Holes

All machining, on the skins, core and sides, is done prior to the final assembly.  The components are then cleaned, the holes sealed with a polymeric film (applied just over the holes) and the skins laminated to the core. This produces a product completely free of oil and chips.  The film punctures when screws are inserted allowing sizes up to the full depth of the board (or maximum 3”) to be inserted into the board.

Some brands use a continuous plastic film or formed plastic wells, where the core is bonded to the plastic and not to the metal skin. This type of bond can creep with time or even delaminate. In our boards, greater than 50 % of the core is directly bonded to the metal skins.

Choice of Skin

Unless specified otherwise, the standard top and bottom plate are Ferromagnetic steel.  Other skin materials such as Stainless Steel, Polycarbonate, Invar, Aluminum and Titanium.  We can supply your “Non-Magnetic” needs.

Using identical top & bottom skins on our standard breadboards and tables avoids the problem of unmatched coefficients of thermal expansion.  It is important to maintain matched thermal expansion coefficients as unmatched thermal coefficients will cause the board to bow even under uniform temperature changes.

Laser Saftey

There are 2 ways to get rid of unwanted laser reflections: absorb them or scatter them. In order to help provide protection against laser reflections and provide an attractive appearance, our boards are coated with a lightly textured flat black polyurethane coating. This coating is impervious to almost all chemicals, highly durable and absorbs >90% of the light incident upon it. The texture is less than 0.001" thick yet it helps to scatter an incident laser beam,  preventing unwanted reflections and the potential eye damage from those reflections.

General Specifications

General Specifications - Optical Table / Breadboard Products

Available Skins: Top & bottom skins are the same material unless noted otherwise*

  • (FMP) Ferromagnetic Steel: Black Polyurethane Coating 0.125in (3mm)

  • (FMW) Ferromagnetic Steel: Class 100 White Polyurethane Coating 0.125in (3mm)

  • (ALP) Aluminum:  Black Polyurethane Coating 0.190in (5mm)

  • (ALW) Aluminum:  Class 100 White Polyurethane Coating 0.190in (5mm)

  • (ALN) Aluminum: Natural with Matte finish (no coating) 0.190in (5mm)

  • (ALK) Aluminum: Black Anodized 0.190in (5mm)

  • (ALX) Aluminum: Clear Anodized 0.190in (5mm)

  • (LW) "Ultra" Light Weight 0.236in (6mm)

  • (LWI) "Ultra" Light Weight (w/ threaded inserts) 0.157in (4mm)

  • (LWIW) "Ultra" Light Weight-Class 100 (w/ threaded inserts) 0.157in (4mm)

  • (INV) Invar : Natural with Matte Finish 0.125in (3mm)

  • (CFI) Carbon Fiber (Graphite) with threaded inserts: Natural with Matte Finish 0.125in (3mm)

  • (PCP) Polycarbonate - Black Polyurethane - Nylon Thumb Screws Required - Call for information

Core: Our Lightweight, High Dampening, Honeycomb Style (standard)

  • System Eliminates Resonances

  • Cell size: 3/8 inch cell

  • Vertically bonded

  • Waterproof 

  • Acid resistant

  • Optional Core Materials -- Aluminum Honeycomb or Stainless Steel Honeycomb

Tapped Holes: Lead screw tapped

  • 1/4-20 (English), most common

  • M6 (Metric) holes

  • 8/32 available

  • 10/32 available

Finish: Top / Sides / Bottom

  • Standard: Black anti-refective polyurethane impervious to most chemicals.  Absorbs more than 90% of light incident upon it.  Absorbs more than 95% of the energy in near perpendicular incidence and scatters grazing reflections to less than 5%.

  • Optional: Black anodized or Natural with matte finish (Material Dependent)

  • Optional: Cleanroom Class 100 finish

Borders and Corners around grid:

  • Standard Border - 1st row 2" from edge (50mm)

  • Optional Borders - .5” (12.5mm) or 1” (25mm)

  • Rounded corners are standard with our product

Technical Specifications:

  • Max. Compressive load:>55lbs/in�, >3.9N/cm�

  • Max. Static load before failure:    P/n: 12362E1 supported at end  >11,000lbs, >5000N

  • Max. Dynamic Deflection Coefficent:  0.3 x 10^-3

  • Max. Relative Motion (in.) - IRDmax:  1.3 x 10^-9

  • Deflection:    VERE Part # 12362E1 (Supported at 24") 32�in/lb, 1.5�/N

  • Deflection:    VERE Part# 48968E1 (Supported on legs) 2�in/lb, 0.1�m/N 

Top Grid Patterns:

  • Standard: 1”   (Center to Center)

  • Cost Saving: 2”   (Center to Center)

  • Metric Standard: 25mm   (Center to Center)

  • Metric Cost Saving: 50mm  (Center to Center)

  • Optional:   No grid

Support Mounting Holes (Bottom Skin):

  • Standard: (4) ----- 2” (50.8 mm) inward from edges

  • Size and type: ---- Matches top grid holes. (E=1/4-20) (M= M6)

  • NIL / VIL / VIH Leg Mounting: --- Location is unit dependent

  • Tables Stand Mounting:  Most units use the “Standard” mounting holes

Dimensional tolerances:

  • Length, width: +0.05 -0.125in (3.2mm)

  • Thickness: 0.1in (2.5mm)

  • Hole positions wrt other holes: 0.004in (0.1mm)

  • Hole wrt edges: 0.1in (2.5mm)

  • Flatness (top surface): 0.007” over 1 ft distance for unit sizes 48” x 72” and under. Over 48” x 72”, .010" over 1' with .030" over the total length.

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