Kaleidoscope Workshop

Here are some photos of things that go on in the workshops.
We’re lucky to have two lovely big workshops, one for all the component fabrication where all the machining happens, and another for the glass coating, electronics, powder coating and assembly.

Using a lathe as a horizontal borer gives you almost endless depth of hole. This setup is powered by compressed air rams, which both lock the block in the holder, and also drives it onto the auger. The Scope, on the right, is held in the lathe by modified drives at both ends, so that the outside is absolutely concentric with the hole.

Some wonderfully interesting turning can be required !!

Some traditional engineers lathe processes, and some not. The LED housing for a Bubble Scope on the right has been held in the 3 jar chuck, but has been actually made with wood turning tools, held by hand, with a temporary tool rest set up in the lathe’s tool post.

This, on the left, is my first Thermal Vacuum Coater, a converted Autoclave. On the right you can see the rear bay of the jig, with 5 frames holding cut glass strips. The vertical rods have tungsten filaments, at their ends, with pure aluminium wire added to them.

When the vacuum is good enough, I energise the filaments, one by one, and the vaporised aluminium coats everything. Viola !!! Front surface mirror !!

Our new dichoric glass coating machine. Quite a learning curve !!

To see more about this machine, and what it is capable of, click here to go to our Dichronz web site.

On the left are the heap of pieces that go into an early Iris Bubble Scope, and on the right some clear and some black powder coating.