Maintenance
This chapter discusses routine user maintenance. For details about how to fully take-
apart your scope and re-assemble it see the PUMA GitHub page and PUMA Microscope
YouTube channel videos.
Avoid excessive heat
The body of your microscope is made of PLA plastic which has a glass transition
temperature of about 60 ºC (140 ºF). This means it will start to soften and may deform
is allowed to get near that temperature. It is advisable to avoid exposing the microscope
to temperatures in excess of 40 ºC (104 ºF).
Under no circumstances should the scope be placed on or near a room heater or
radiator (e.g. to dry off if it gets wet or for any other reason).
Avoid keeping the scope in a vehicle on a sunny day or in a transparent closed cabinet
exposed to the sun.
Moisture and condensation
The body of your microscope is made of PLA plastic which can withstand moisture by
water and many solvents but it is not completely solid or waterproof meaning that if
submerged to exposed to excessive wetness that liquid might find its way into the air
cells inside microscope components and take a long time to evaporate. Furthermore
PLA plastic is biodegradable so having aqueous solutions stagnating inside its
components could hasten degradation (although noticeable effects may take several
years).
For these reasons please protect your scope from the rain and do not immerse it in
liquid.
The lenses of the microscope should also be protected from moisture and condensation
because if any water or other solution gets in-between. lens elements the optics may
become unusable because trapped moisture can cause condensation on the inner,
unexposed, layers of the lenses and this cannot be wiped off. It may take considerable
time to evaporate. and in that time fungal attack on the sensitive anti-reflection
coatings may build up and permanently damage your lenses.
Lens care
The need to keep lenses away from moisture and condensation was stated in the
preceding section – which see for details.
Take care to avoid physical contact with lens surface as these have sensitive anti-
reflection optical coatings that may be damaged with coarse contact and lenses may get
chipped which will reduce their image forming quality.
Avoid hard knocks or dropping the lenses (especially the objective lenses) as this can
dislodge elements from precisely aligned positions and make focal planes uneven
PUMA Foundation Scope
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User’s Manual v1.0