Daily Image
12-11-2007
X-shooter Extreme-Light-Weight Balance Arm
| Submitter: | Ramon Navarro |
| Description: | The extremely light-weight balance arm is the last X-shooter component that is manufactured in the ASTRON mechanical workshop. Previous components include the blanks for cryogenic mirrors and gratings, the large and complex Dispersion and Collimator Boxes, the oversized lid for the cold optics box and some Titanium suspension rods. This balance arm is not just any piece in this illustrative list. It's "extremel-light-weighted"! This is a unique application that is patented by ASTRON and optimizes the stiffness-to-weight ratio of components to unsurpassed levels. This is achieved by evacuating (i.e. carving out) relatively large chambers through small openings on the front and back plane. This is certainly not common practice and quite some interaction with software vendors was needed to get CAD, CAM and postprocessor working smoothly on this. It is the first time ever that extreme-light-weighting is used in manufacturing a component for one of our instruments and it is therefore the true climax of a very successful era of X-shooter hardware production at ASTRON. We invite anyone to come down to the workshop and hold the extreme light weighted demonstration brick, to get a feel of what this technology can do for you. |
| Copyright: | X-shooter |
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