ATM Optical Tooling

[Anthony Stillman <atmer@flash.net>]

I'm now about half finished making a small (300 mm square) optical table.
And by half I mean about a third.  Also, its not actually a optical table,
but rather an optical vertical.  It's articulated, well it will be, that's
the part that isn't done.  The part that is done is the table bit, a 70 mm
thick mostly  hollow construct of composite board, wood and glue.  The face
is arrayed with 64, 1/4-20 T-nuts.  I folded back the spiky do-hickeys on
each T-nut and epoxied one T-nut into each of the 3 inch center to center
spaced holes.  I did the folding thing because, having done this before, I
know that if you don't, they expand the board back and drive the board face
concave.  I did considered drilling four little satellite holes around each
main hole to give the spikes someplace to go, hey it was late.

Next to make is the support piece onto which the articulation mechanism
goes.  Articulation is accomplished with a ball and socket in one corner.
On the two adjacent corners will be half-inch diameter carriage bolts.  The
heads of said bolts have been filed smooth and spherical.  One will engage
a flat plate, the other, two parallel rods.  All three are epoxied to the
back of the bed.  The ball, two bolt heads, and associated engagements form
a kinematic mount.  The bolts will have knobs epoxied to their threaded
ends which stick through the back of the support piece. Also, there are
tensional springs located between the bolts and the ball joint.

Assuming my description is lacking, and you care, you can look at
<http://www.newport.com/store/product.asp?lone=Opto%2DMechanics&ltwo=Mirror+Moun
ts&lthree=PERFORMA%26%23153%3B+Kinematic+Optical+Mounts&lfour=&id=3667> to
see roughly what I'm copying.  Sans the big center hole and plus an array
of mounting holes.

I think it will take me another week to finish the mount.  And by week of
course, I mean month.


Anthony

PS  Next on the list is an air mounted 2x7 foot articulated optical table.
For some inexplicable reason the significant other seems to thinks I should
finish the current mount first.  You know, women just don't get it.