This is my prototype Harmonic Drive mount which I'm using since 2016.
The mount is based on two Harmonic Drive gearboxes with included cross roller bearings (HFUS_32 160:1 for the right ascension axis and a smaller type HFUS_25 160:1 for the declination axis). The mount body is made of birch plywood, inside the wooden blocks there are Nanotec stepper motors with 10:1 planetary gears.
Because of the periodic error of about 30 arc seconds I had to use short exposures for the autoguider, which made the guider actuelly follow the seeing effects. Therefore I added a Renishaw encoder ring on the right ascension axis (ID = 150 mm, 23800 lines). This allows full compensation of the error in the controller, guiding can use much longer exposures so that the seeing is avereraged out. I successfully tried guiding with up to 10 seconds exposure time (after proper alignment).
The wood construction is stable enough to hold the 10" newton telescope firmly, the only disadvantage is the influence of the surrounding humidity. Wood expands and contracts a little with changing weather conditions, so sometimes a new alignment is necessary.
So I plan to have this mount made of aluminum.
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