Features

Quickly Rotate Wheel to Change Filters
Available for Ø1/2", Ø1", and Ø2" Filters
SM-Threaded Base for Lens Tube Compatibility
Filter Wheel Slots are SM05, SM1, or SM2 Threaded
Retaining Rings Included
Post Mountable

Thorlabs offers cage filter wheels for its 16 mm, 30 mm, and 60 mm cage systems. They feature five or six slots and are designed to accept Ø1/2", Ø1", and Ø2" filters, respectively. A spring-loaded detent mechanism locks each filter into alignment with the bore that is centered along the cage system's mechanical axis. The filter slots are SM threaded for compatibility with the provided retaining rings, and the centered bore is also SM threaded on both sides to allow lens tubes to be connected to the base. Thorlabs manufactures spanner wrenches for tightening the retaining rings. In addition, the bottom of each base contains imperial and metric tapped holes that make the filter wheels post mountable.

The 30 mm and 60 mm filter wheel designs allow the two bottom cage rods to pass through the entire mount, but the upper two cage rods must terminate at the filter wheel. In contrast, the 16 mm cage filter wheel requires that all cage rods terminate at the mount. The maximum thickness of the filters accepted by each wheel is given below.

An example of the standard cage
plate measurements determining
cage system compatibility.

Cage System Overview

The Cage Assembly System provides a convenient way to construct large optomechanical systems with an established line of precision-machined building blocks designed for high flexibility and accurate alignment.

16 mm, 30 mm, and 60 mm Cage System Standards

Thorlabs offers three standards defined by the center-to-center spacing of the cage assembly rods (see image to right). The 16 mm cage, 30 mm cage, and 60 mm cage standards are designed to accomodate Ø1/2", Ø1", and Ø2" optics, respectively. Specialized cage plates that allow smaller optics to be directly inserted into our larger cage systems are also available.

Standard Threads

The flexibility of our Cage Assembly System stems from well-defined mounting and thread standards designed to directly interface with a wide range of specialized products. The three most prevalent thread standards are our SM05 Series (0.535"-40 thread), SM1 Series (1.035"-40 thread), and SM2 Series (2.035"-40 thread), all of which were defined to house the industry's most common optic sizes. Essential building blocks, such as our popular lens tubes, directly interface to these standards.

Standard Cage System Measurements
Cage System	16 mm	30 mm	60 mm
Thread Series	SM05	SM1	SM2
Rod to Rod Spacing	16 mm (0.63")	30 mm (1.18")	60 mm (2.36")
Total Length	25 mm (0.98")	41 mm (1.60")	71.1 mm (2.8")

Cage Components
Cage Rods	16 mm	These rods are used to connect cage plates, optic mounts, and other components in the cage system. The SR Series Cage Rods are compatible with our 16 mm cage systems, while the 30 mm and 60 mm cage systems use ER Series Cage Rods.
	30 mm
	60 mm
Cage Plates	16 mm	These serve as the basic building blocks for a cage system. They may have SM-threaded central bores, smooth bores sized for industry standard optics or to accommodate the outer profile of our SM Series Lens Tubes, or specialized bores for other components such as our FiberPorts.
	30 mm
	60 mm
Optic Mounts	16 mm	Thorlabs offers fixed, kinematic, rotation, and translation mounts specifically designed for our Cage Systems.
	30 mm
	60 mm
Cage Cubes	16 mm	These cubes are useful for housing larger optical components, such as prisms or mirrors, or optics that need to sit at an angle to the beam path, such as beamsplitters. Our cage cubes are available empty or with pre-mounted optics.
	30 mm
	60 mm
Post and Breadboard Mounts and Adapters		Mounting options for cage systems can be found on our Cage System Construction pages. Cage Systems can be mounted either parallel or perpendicular to the table surface.
Size Adapters		Cage System Size Adapters can be used to integrate components from different cage system and threading standards.
Specialized Components		Thorlabs also produces specialized cage components, such as Filter Wheels, a HeNe Laser Mount, and a FiberPort Cage Plate Adapter, allowing a wide range of our products to be integrated into cage-mounted optical systems. Explore our Cage Systems Visual Navigation Guide to see the full range of Thorlabs' cage components.

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Cage System Filter Wheels

Features

Cage System Overview

16 mm, 30 mm, and 60 mm Cage System Standards

Standard Threads