Fixing Nikon Microscope Stage Wobble – Easy Screw Replacement

Read the Edited Video Transcript for Fixing Nikon Microscope Stage Wobble – Easy Screw Replacement

Hi, this is Chad from Munday Scientific. Today, we’re going to talk about a common issue with a lot of Nikon scopes, which is Nikon Microscope stage wobble.

This screw right here has a plastic tip and is spring-loaded. I’m going to back the screw out and show you—see how the plastic tip is broken off? That little pin showing there used to be part of the plastic piece. This is a very common problem—it breaks or fails over time.

So, every time you go to lock your stage down, it doesn’t work properly. Let’s lock it down. I’ll put the screw in—the threads on these things are really long. You’ll lock it down, and half of that plastic tip might still be there while the other half is missing. So it doesn’t get a good grip, and your stage wobbles like this.

We’ve manufactured a solution to this. Now, you can buy all the parts, disassemble this screw, take off the C-clip, and replace the plunger on the end. Or, you can just pick up this all-steel screw that won’t fail. You replace it once, and it won’t break again.

Let me go ahead and thread that in.

This stage screw works on the E400, E600, 50i, 55i, and the current Nikon Ci models. Now, see—it’s locked in. You can use the stage, and it doesn’t spin anymore. When it’s backed off, it spins. When you lock it down, it doesn’t.

Whenever you’re putting these stages on, always use an old slide. Loosen the stage a little bit, put the slide behind it, push your stage back, and then lock it in. The reason you do that is to make sure your stage is perfectly square. If it’s not perfectly square, your slide can move diagonally during scanning.

So, if you’re scanning in the X or Y direction and the specimen is going diagonally, it could be that your head has an issue—or your stage is mounted crooked.

These are the Nikon stages we work with. We’ll include all the stage descriptions and compatible product models in the video description, to help you easily find the part you need. We’ll also include a link to this screw—you can find it on microscopemarketplace.com, which is our e-commerce platform.

If you have any questions, you can always email us at , or call us at 919-775-5596.

Need a customized setup? We’ve got options! Visit us at Munday Scientific, Microscope Marketplace, or email for expert help.

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