Fast curing super glue with minimal fumes

[zzffnn]

Hello, fellow microscopists.

I am looking for a fast curing super glue that produces minimal fumes.

Regular super glue fumes and often leave some white marks on optics. In my application, I cannot wipe off the white fume marks once glue is cured. So I require very low fuming / gassing.

I think E6000 type of glue would work and doesn’t leave white fume marks on optics. But they cure too slowly.

I don’t know if those UV super glue fumes less?

[PeteM]

Loctite "gel" glue seems to do a bit less outgassing. I've used it near optical components, tiny drops, and let it thoroughly cure before tucking it away in a closed space without the dreaded white coatings on adjacent lenses. It can grab in minutes, but need a day or more to outgas. Your results may vary - it's not really ideal, but somewhat better than the usually thin and runny formulations in my experience.

Loctite and others make optically clear UV adhesives which would be worth a try. Not all of these are an acrylate formula, using some other monomer and a UV-absorbing curing agent. Most "super glues" are cyanoacrylate formulations.

What are you trying to glue up? Using some sort of jig to hold things in place while traditional adhesives cure can often offer better properties. Some degree of flexibility is often wanted between glass and its mount and here, special epoxies, something like E6000, and even contact cement might be choices.

Other options might include hot melt glues and double-sided or UV-curing tapes, depending on the application. It's also often possible to mask off optics while using super glues.

[zzffnn]

Thank you very much, PeteM.

I am joining a DIY Davis Shutter or nosepiece iris to a regular RMS objective.

The objective has glass element very close to the junction. Masking was the first thing I thought about, but it would not work because once junction is sealed, glass element would not be accessible (masking cannot be then removed).

The Davis shutter has RMS thread on the turret side but no thread near the junction; it offers very little surface area for making a mechanical adapter or using tapes but just barely enough for strong glue.

I am guessing E6000 type of glue will work, but I want to join within minutes and break within minutes; because I want the Davis Shutter on different objectives and quickly change/remove at will. The breaking part should be easy, even with super glue, because surface area is so little, I can simply use force and/or tiny drops of solvent.

My DIY Davis Shutter is far from perfect, because it extends tube length by about 34mm, so I will not make it a permanent junction. Not to mention I have different objectives that I want to use it with.

[PeteM]

Can you cut off a bit of RMS female thread from a parfocal extender and turn the diameter just beyond that thread so it is a close fit to your iris? If so, then you could glue it together and simply unscrew whatever objective you wanted to use. RMS male thread already on the iris - RMS female thread securely epoxied to fit the IRS and objective below. This might add only 1-2mm length.

[zzffnn]

Great idea, Pete!! That way (even if I use cheap fuming) super glue will not ever touch any glass element.

I will execute your idea. I just tried a RMS extender that I have and both halves of it can be used. I am lucky in that working part of my iris can be pressed and glued into both halves of the RMS extender.

I will not use my original RMS male part, as it is slightly too long.

With your design, I can probably get away with adding only about 18mm total in tube length (my iris part is 16mm thick).

[MichaelG.]

.. Davis Shutter .. I had to look it up

https://microscope-antiques.com/vhdavis.html

MichaelG.

[KurtM]

Thanks for that, MichaelG. I often wonder where on Earth Fan comes up with some of the things he comes up with?! And for that matter, I've often wondered how in the world Pete knows all the stuff he knows! You guys are amazing.

[zzffnn]

Thank you for the high praise that I am not sure I deserve, Kurt.

I think I learned about the device (and its name) from Phil and / or a YouTube microscopy lesson. I like using iris objectives for increasing depth of view (at expense of resolution loss) and controlling flares in darkfield and COL, so such Davis Shutter is quite useful for my applications.

I know Pete tinkers a lot with many microscopes, hands-on; so I feel fortunate to receive his advice.

[PeteM]

My experience has been fixing over three hundred microscopes for my local kids' "Micronaut" program in retirement -- and developing a variety of science-at-micro-scale lessons. It gives me a somewhat broad but very uneven level of knowledge compared to someone properly factory-trained or deeply knowledgeable in any area. For example, as Kurt is in the world of diatoms.

[MichaelG.]

Curiosity led me to find the short piece in JRMS 1882 … which is viewable and downloadable here:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ite ... 0/mode/1up

It doesn’t help with the glue question, of course !

MichaelG.