Humanscale M8
I finally mounted my M8 arm last night. I got the wall mount which went up fairly easily and seems very secure. However, I dug through my nuts and bolts and replaced the original mounting screws with identical ones that were longer. The supplied screws were a bit short for my liking. However, Innovative says that they don't even provide screws for their 7500 series heavy duty wall mount 8325.
Yes, the ball mount is somewhat troublesome. Also, even though mine arrived 5-6 weeks ago and I briefly inspected the package contents, I found out last night during installation that my VESA plate doesn't have the clips for attaching the two hex/allen wrenches. I contacted Humanscale today and they didn't even understand what I was talking about. On the ball, I should have not loosened the hex screws first which I did because the ball was off center. When I first put the iMac on it drooped and I had to take it down and tighten them. Of course I over tightened and then had to loosen to get just the right amount of tension on it. It is a bit stiff, and certainly can't change tilt angle probably as easily as the Innovative 7500s but it can be changed without using the hex wrenches and I assume over time because of the weight, I will need to re-tighten them.
Humanscale also advertises that you can prevent over 180 degree rotation so that it won't hit the wall. However, I couldn't figure out how the recessed hex screws at the elbow and base should be placed for this to work. I also expected to easily move my screen to any position, weightlessly. Well, the spring does allow the upper or dynamic arm to move freely up and down. And it stops where I put it. Likewise it will swivel on the rotating joint right behind the stem of the ball joint very well too. But, the lower arm is called the fixed link arm, and it isn't suppose to rotate freely. Especially with this beast on it, the weight is too much so if I want to freely move that arm, I have to help it out a bit. The elbow where the fixed and dynamic link arms (upper and lower) come together does rotate fairly smoothly. Not super glide smoothly, but well. Now I have only had this up a day, so I haven't used it much, but those are my install and early impressions.
I originally envisioned being able to push it flush to the wall (or as flush as it gets and parallel to it) and then move it further out and into the corner in front of the hard drives when in use, but I found that I like the position in the pics below better. So I imagine it won't see much movement, and will simply serve the purposes of removing the stand, and giving my peace of mind that the kids can't knock over a 27" iMac.
My apologies as these were shot with an iP4.
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I was expecting a button to depress to allow for adjustment...
how do you adjust this thing. with no weight on it.. I can't budge it....
Actually you can. You have to squeeze very hard and when you get enough pressure it will compress. I can squeeze mine all the way together and hold it with one hand for about five minutes before I have to let go. I did this to take measurements as the compressed size to determine the height for my wall mounting.
Once you put the iMac on, it will succumb to the weight without drooping. It stays at the height you put it and of course can be adjusted to tighter tension if needed.
Also regarding the plastic. I am really not worried about that. What I did find was that when inserted their is a little bit of wiggle. So when I try to level the iMac, I can, but I can tell that if I move it, I may take it off level. I may try to shim it and some point with a paperclip, sliver of wood or something so that it can't wiggle in that housing, but I understand there was no way to make it an absolute snug fit. You'd never get it in there. Remember, while it is rated to support this 30 pound monster, very few monitors come close to this sort of weight, so it really isn't what it is designed for. Actually they make a dual arm span for it, so I am guessing the weight rating is more for managing two screens.
