Brixworth Engineering has supplied a purpose-designed Benco support and manipulator frame to the UK Astronomy Technology Centre at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh.
This has been supplied to cover the handling requirements during the production and integration of a new K-band multi-object spectrograph instrument (KMOS), designed for the very large telescope (VLT), operated by the European Southern Observatory and located in northern Chile.
The instrument is approximately 2.1m diameter x 1.5m long, has an anticipated total mass of 2.5 tonnes with an out-of-balance load of 3,000Nm.
A full rotation of movement of the instrument can be accommodated by the Benco manipulator frame, which has been designed to withstand an earthquake side loading of 1.344g (13.2m/s^2).
The unit supplied to the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) is based upon the Benco engine-stand concept, which can be manufactured in a variety of configurations to cover loads up to 20 tonnes.
A tailstock with in/out adjustment ensures easy loading of the instrument cryostat (or carcass) to the Benco frame using purpose-designed interfaces.
The head and tailstock flanges also incorporate indexing plungers to provide positive locking of the load, preventing unintentional rotation.
While a full 360deg rotation of the instrument was provided, locking of both axles at 45deg intervals has also been incorporated to ensure the degree of access and manipulation required for the progressive assembly and installation of sub-components and associated wiring for the safe and successful completion of the instrument.
A manual ratchet drive was provided with 160:1 ratio for the controlled rotation of the workpiece, with provision for power drive from a standard cordless drill attachment also being possible.
Lifting points at each corner of the frame (each fully load tested) were fitted to ensure that the frame could be lifted either with or without the load being attached.
As well as the facility for bolting the frame to the floor, jacking castors were also fitted for easy manual movement of the frame within a laboratory area.
