Cover Glass Dispenser
by
Ron Neumeyer, Delta BC, Canada
www.microimaging.ca
Some time back I purchased an interesting and handy device – a cover glass dispenser. Like many microscopists I find selecting a single cover glass from the package to be a bit of a challenge. So when this dispenser came up for sale on eBay I went for it and won. After several years of use it continues to function perfectly - releasing one cover glass each time. This article describes this dispenser in detail as it seems to be something that an enterprising person might be able to fabricate at home.
As the pictures illustrate it comprises a conveyer belt like system for moving cover glasses forward against a spring steel block plate that allows only one cover glass to escape on to the steel tongue. It can accommodate two cover glass sizes. To load, a stack of cover glasses is placed on to the belt. The belt is moved forward by means of a knurled knob until the cover glasses butt against the block plate. To dispense, the space between the bottom of the block plate and the conveyer belt is adjusted to allow only one cover glass to pass at a time. To hold the cover glasses in position a steel back plate is inserted in to one of two slots in the side walls that match either square or reticular cover glasses. The dust protection top is then secured by means of lock screw. When the belt is advanced by means of a knurled knob a single cover glass is forced out on the steel tongue.
Comments to the author are welcome (ron@microimaging.ca).