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Hi Mark,
Beware the worst interference is not when the scope is pointed at the pole. The outside edge of the front aperture when looking ~2 hrs away from the meridian (east or west depending on the flip state) is the highest point the scope will get, but possibly worst is when looking near the zenith, the scope is not as high but far from the center of the dome. Watch out for protrusions (motors, ribs, shutter rack, etc) on the inside dome surface, they will always find a collision point!
Before going ahead with the scopedomes in Ark, I had made a 3D cad model and swung the 20" around virtually, I found that I had to optimize the pier height to have about 2" clearance (too high I hit the dome, too low I hit the base ring). Then later when I changed the mount from the PME to the 200HR, again I had to model it. It was a good thing I did since it would not have fit without offsetting the mount on the pier with an adapter plate. Now I have about a pinky's clearance with the shutter motor.
If you get it wrong your best solution (instead of cutting the pier) is to add counterweights to the front of the scope and pull the scope back in the saddle plate. This is fine if your are a long way from the mount capacity...I definitely wasn't with the 20" on the PME!
Best,
EB
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