WTB small 3 axis CNC for microscopic 3d inspection

Hello,

I am an optical and electrical engineer. I am developing a Mach3 plugin
for 3d optical scanning. I am not finished with it but I am pleased with
how it is coming along.

Due to health problems I am limited to projects that require very little
exertion. So I am moving toward smaller and smaller machines. Especially
since I like to transport them to demos and shows for training.

So I want to build a very small 3d scanning system. Maybe an inch of
travel for each axis. Maybe less than 10 pounds.

http://www.thorlabs.com/thorProduct.cfm?partNumber=PT3-Z7 is something
like I had in mind. Weight less than 7 pounds. I don't need the
accuracy. Probably 0.0001 inch resolution would be good enough. Maybe
even 0.001 inch would be adequate.

This is pricey at $2k without electronics. I hope to find something like
this used for maybe half that price.

Then add motor drive electronics and my own camera/laser combination.
Plug it in to the parallel port and run it with Mach3.

I will be watching ebay. Any other suggestions for where to shop for a
small and lightweight 3 axis motorized stage for less than $1k?

Tom Hubin
thubin@...
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