Week+of+12-3-2012

12-4-2012 When I came into the lab, Matt informed me that the completed scope that I will eventually be using will not actually be ready until probably January. This is due to a backorder on some of the parts(I am not clear on the specifics) we needed for it. Also, we will be using invar, which is a nickel-iron alloy that has a very low thermal coefficient(which is good for our experiment). Kevin has yet to machine it into the proper dimensions that we will need. In the meantime, I will be working on redesigning and rebuilding a scope that Matt had built a while ago.

Here are some pictures of the original scope which I will be rebuilding. The sample is placed on the ceramic piece and then it is placed in front of the hole where the tip is. This scope then uses a motor to rotate the base of where the tip is which slowly moves the tip forward where it eventually comes in contact with the sample so it can scan. I will be doing so to replace the alligator clips as seen in the second and third image with BNC connector ports and cables. Professor Kandel asked us to redesign this scope mainly so that it is more reliable. To do so, I used Autodesk to create a sketch for the machinist. The first image below, will house the motor, circuit board that controls the system, and the place where the scanning will take place. The two holes in the bottom left will be where scope is bolted down. This base will be 4 inches x 3 inches, much larger than the current 4 inches x 1.5 inches. The goal of this will be to alleviate the clutter caused by all of the wires on the side and, if possible, to find a battery stack that we can mount on to this base.

This piece of metal will be where all of the BNC connectors will be mounted. Matt will finalize these design and I will most likely spend my time in the near future assembling this revised scope and also, soon, the electronics for it. 12-6-2012 When I came into the lab today, something had come up and Matt was unable to prepare the task I was supposed to do for today which was working on the electronics for the scope that I had worked on redesigning Tuesday. Matt told me to simply finish working on the design in Autodesk so I spent the rest of the day measuring bolt holes on the other setup and applying the necessary modifications to the design so it can be machined. The finished designs are below. The bottom base: The side base: