Stonemaster Stackmaster

Have questions about the equipment used for macro- or micro- photography? Post those questions in this forum.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

dhmiller
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Stonemaster Stackmaster

Post by dhmiller »

Did a search and only found only one mention here to the Stackmaster rig (from 2017). Has anyone used this system and if so, any comments or critiques?

enricosavazzi
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Re: Stonemaster Stackmaster

Post by enricosavazzi »

dhmiller wrote:Did a search and only found only one mention here to the Stackmaster rig (from 2017). Has anyone used this system and if so, any comments or critiques?
I know nothing about it, but as a reference the Stackmaster is made/marketed by a company called Stonemaster, which also advertises lapidary equipment:

https://www.stonemaster-onlineshop.de/

They also advertise a bigger system, which they call StackUnit, containing the Stackmaster and other equipment:

https://www.stonemaster-onlineshop.de/f ... 3961045596
--ES

Adalbert
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Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 1:09 pm

Post by Adalbert »

Hello,
Many users of the StackMaster can be found in the following forum:
https://www.stonemaster-forum.de/
BR, ADi

dhmiller
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Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 7:42 am
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Post by dhmiller »

Thanks for the replies. I saw their other products, but have only spoken with one person who owns any of them. The forum looks great, but it is entirely in German, which I don't speak.

lonepal
Posts: 322
Joined: Sat Jan 28, 2017 12:26 pm
Location: Turkey

Re: Stonemaster Stackmaster

Post by lonepal »

enricosavazzi wrote:
dhmiller wrote:Did a search and only found only one mention here to the Stackmaster rig (from 2017). Has anyone used this system and if so, any comments or critiques?
I know nothing about it, but as a reference the Stackmaster is made/marketed by a company called Stonemaster, which also advertises lapidary equipment:

https://www.stonemaster-onlineshop.de/

They also advertise a bigger system, which they call StackUnit, containing the Stackmaster and other equipment:

https://www.stonemaster-onlineshop.de/f ... 3961045596
It is strange.

How can they sell it without a global web site?
Regards.
Omer

enricosavazzi
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Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2009 2:41 pm
Location: Västerås, Sweden
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Re: Stonemaster Stackmaster

Post by enricosavazzi »

lonepal wrote:It is strange.

How can they sell it without a global web site?
It could indicate that they are not interested in selling globally. Maybe the German market is enough for them.
--ES

isbjoern
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:48 am
Location: Germany

Post by isbjoern »

Hello,
I´m a happy user of the Stackmaster...
Some information on the stack unit (including the stackmaster) can be found here:
https://www.mindat.org/article.php/2254 ... ing+Device
and here:
https://www.mindat.org/article.php/2089 ... chronology

The rail is very much intended for studio work and rather heavy duty. Due to a reduction gear precision ist very high and the rails accepts higher loads than most competitors. It does not come with a manual controller box as compared to the StackShot or Novoflex Rail, but is controlled by a PC software (Windows or Mac). As far as I know the software supports the English language as well.
Rainer Ernst (the guy behind Stackmaster) also sells various stands and a brilliant LED lamp (an early iteration of which is mentioned in the link above).

The main reason for me to opt for the Stackmaster was the fact that the company is about 1 hour drive from my home, so I could pick the system up myself and would have the option for local support. I suppose a lot of the user base resides in Germany but there are definitely international users, too.

Best regards
- Björn

Macro_Cosmos
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Post by Macro_Cosmos »

It looks like a great system but it comes with a hefty cost. I would guess shipping outside of German would be a forbidden cost on top of the already high pricetag. If you're in the USA, you should be able to build something very similar with $2800 (about 2550 euros) using surplus items. Start with a heavy slab of granite/marble, optical breadboard on top...

What are your intentions? Curiosity or is there an actual goal you have and the stackunit ticks many boxes?

I love the cable management they have, mine looks like a network switchbox maintained by an intern... however, I don't see transillumination support along with some other lighting methods I like to utilise.

This however looks interesting: https://www.stonemaster-onlineshop.de/s ... 2829123896
Looks like a nice table top unit to create thin sections indoors.

They have shipping costs here: https://www.stonemaster-onlineshop.de/j ... dab6cd88b3
That's quite the tag.

ChrisR
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Location: Near London, UK

Post by ChrisR »

I think their cutter is for gems, rather than microscopy. Plus geodes etc.
Chris R

Scarodactyl
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Post by Scarodactyl »

Very odd. I've never seen a lapidary setup like that, but the Germans do things in odd ways (it kind of feels like they were early adopters to modern industrial lapidary techniques and a lot of older stuff has held on).
Anyway it looks like a pretty rad setup!

Macro_Cosmos
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Post by Macro_Cosmos »

ChrisR wrote:I think their cutter is for gems, rather than microscopy. Plus geodes etc.
Yeah, that would the general use. However It is possible to hand grind thin sections (~200-300um), I've seen it being done before. That machine should work well.

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