Light weight dual clamp tripod recommendations?
Any recommendations on a light weight dual clamp aluminum or composite tripod heavy duty enough for a robot? Thanks!
CT
- 5 Replies
No, and for good reason. Lightweight tripods are typically unsuitable for robotic instruments, due to the torque involved with spinning servos. Similarly, aluminum is the worst option.
Everybody has their preferences, but I would go with a fiberglass or carbon fiber Dutch hill or tri-max legs if you want the best stability, and large area to adjust over a point.
If you work near vibratory compactors, you really can’t beat a good set of wood legs. They do much better at absorbing vibrations.
Dittos on Summerprophet’s comments. Lightweight tripods should not be used with heavy instruments like robots. That, plus aluminum’s thermal expansion coefficient, will drive you nuts trying to get half way decent results. Dual clamps are the stuff of heavier tripods anyway. Lightweight and dual clamps don’t go together.
I prefer the Leica 120-9 tripods. Not dual clamp but heavy duty enough to handle a robot while not being overweight. The self closing feature of the legs renders them relatively easy to hike with, when necessary.
I’ve also used, and liked, the Tri-max tripods, which have a dual clamp option. Not particularly lightweight, but there are heavier tripods that aren’t as good.
I’ve recently had the pleasure to review a range of tripods from the German brand ‘Nedo’
Those I looked at had wooden legs and double clamps.
The small one is very light, with a tiny head, only really suitable for a backsight prism
The heavy one is pretty much the same as the current Tri-max/Trimble, only in wood
The medium is right on the sweet spot – easily good enough for daily robot use – though maybe not for a heavy instrument like the SX
They have a clever way to lock the legs together for transport – you will either love it or hate it.
I have used nearly every survey tripod on the market since 2001. The most important part of all the surveyors tools is the joint between the legs and head of the tripod. If there is even the slightest horizontal play when you try to rotate the head, then your total station doesn’t matter. I’m not a salesman, just a guy who wishes we had more good choices.
Leica Professional wood tripods are hands down the best combination of stability, long life, and reasonable weight. All of the important joints are bolted and designed so any play can be eliminated in the field. The hinge pivot hole can be clamped down as wear occurs, and the leg dowels are fastened with a bolt forced tapered wedge. The standard thumb screw leg clamps are automatically adjusted to the correct tension by you every time you use them.
Here is a summary of other tripod’s problems:
Quick release levers can slip if they are not adjusted. Dual clamps have no real benefit, and just add weight.
Any brand with fiberglass or aluminum dowels or tubes: vibrates, not temperature stable
Tri-Max: fiberglass (see above), too heavy and bulky, glued leg tube joints eventually loosen and can’t be tightened. The bolt that looks like it should tighten the joint has no effect because it bears on a straight sided aluminum part, not a wedge.
Dutch Hill: Used to be my favorite. fiberglass (see above), hinge pivot bolt holes at head eventually become enlarged and the resulting play can’t be fixed. Tightening the leg hinge bolt merely makes the leg harder to swing for folding the leg without eliminating the play. Tighten it too much and the plastic leg fixture will crack.
Topcon and Sokkia: Their wide frame wood tripods are similar to the Leica design, good, but too heavy.
Nedo: Their heavy duty wood tripods are not bad, just too heavy and bulky and lack refinement. Their lighter models seem not stable enough.
Generic brands: fiberglass (see above), wood: often appear to have a design similar to Leica, but miss critical details, such as the hinge pin adjustment might already be fully clamped, so no further tightening is possible when wear occurs, or the leg dowel fastening uses a through bolt rather than a wedge. When the bolt hole inevitably becomes elongated, no tightening will remove the play. Often the wood is not straight grained, or an unsuitable species, so the legs warp or split, or are too heavy.
An excellent summary. I fully agree.
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