External control of existing microscope lens motors

[parksyp]

I am looking for someone who can do do some programming and electronics work for me. I have a Leica microscope lens that has motorised control of Focus, Iris and Zoom controlled by a Leica controller. I want to be able to control the three motors with an alternative controller so that I have much finer control over it and can use it for filming.
For example, the existing Zoom control is designed to change the zoom position at either a fast or slow speed. I want to have fine control over the zoom and be able to control the motor at a range of speeds, or possibly with a joystick or other controller.
If anyone has experience of this kind of work, I would love to hear from them. I can give further information as necessary.
If I have added this to the wrong category then please advise.

 

[kellys_eye]

Many years ago I designed a focus controller for my telescope that resulted in a rotary control that directly controlled a stepper motor geared to the focus control itself and it offered microstep resolution therefore high accuracy. It's not difficult to do using dedicated stepper controller devices these days (mine was done using discrete TTL logic circuitry as specific modules weren't available in those days) - available from many hobbyist outlets.

These days there are also many, many 3-axis CNC controllers out there as well which offer the one-package-fits-all solution for the three motors you have. All you need is a signal for the 'in-out' (direction) and one for the 'step'. Again, many hobbyists have developed individual solutions. Dedicated steppr controllers can be found that deliver 'microstepping' outputs that chop up a simple single step into up to 128 (possibly more) individual steps - the accuracy in astronomy is required to resolve a 1 arc-second movement and a microscope should easily manage such control.

Whilst there are many here - including myself - that could deliver a working platform solution it might be worthwhile investigating the off-the-shelf solutions or browsing DIY sites that discuss 3-axis stepper control.