According to me, strongness, steadiness and weight must be the three qualities of a good pier. Entirely designed with a 3D software, the pier of my LX200 GPS 14" is made of metal and composed of three main parts:
- the base
- the tube
- the equatorial edge
Each part is fixed with other thanks to some solderings that enable to provide a strong pier. The thickness of each piece of metal is 5mm.
The base consists of a disk and four squares. They are aimed at improving the fixation between the tube and the base.
On the top of this base there is the equatorial edge. This part offers a smooth rotation of the upper stage to provide an efficiency polar alignment. To do so, the upper and the lower stages are connected with an axis that offer a rotation from 0° to 80° thanks to two screws of 20cm long and a diameter of 14mm. The telescope is fixed on the upper stage with a central screw under the control panel. The base and the equatorial edge are fixed on a tube of diameter of 84mm and 100cm height.