 |
 |
Progress on New Mount to date: August 1998.
Note: Design of the declination section of the mount has begun and is moving along. The process has been slower than expected of course. After a trial design, the structure had to be modified because the gear originally made for the declination drive was not made correctly. The new gear used is heavier and will be more suitable but this problem caused a two month delay in work on the declination drive. To see progress on the Declination Platform as of August. Press Here
The wedge, RA shaft and drive have been finished in a preliminary form. The wedge turnout very fine. It is very strong and has the exact design characteristics desired. The weight of the steel plates totals 120 pounds. The 2" shaft and end plate adds another 35 pounds. Even then it is easily adjustable over the required angular range for my location. When locked tightly with the several holding bolts is extraordinarily rigid. An overall view of the wedge and RA shaft is shown below on the left. The dial indicator is being used for measurement purposes only. It is not a part of the design.
The RA shaft is 2" diameter steel rod with a 2" thick by 6" diameter mounting plate on the top end. It is held by a pair of precision pillow bearings mounted 16 inches apart. The bearings are mounted as an integral part of the wedge. The shaft despite its mass turns very smoothly at the touch of a finger. This main RA shaft has no more than 0.01 mm play even with great force applied. The result of this design and its fabrication is totally satisfactory I believe.
Progress continues on the new mount. The new worm and worm gear
have arrived. They are shown in the following three photographs.
The new worm and worm gear are significant in size. The worm gear
is 1" thick and 12" diameter. The worm is 2 3/8" diameter, mounted
on a 1" shaft. Now I am in the process of designing the motor and
gear train necessary to drive this gear setup. Little by little
the project moves ahead.
|
|
The mount as it now exists is shown below. The worm has to be mounted and the motor, gear reducing mechanism is still to be designed and constructed. The project is going slowly, but this is not a concern at the moment since the new pier and building are not yet under construction either. They will probably not be ready until Spring of 1999.
The mount as shown now weighs about 145 pounds. It will require
a strong motor and a large stable pier. The shaft is 2" diameter
and 26" long. It is designed to hold 200 pounds with little concern
for perfect balance. The idea is to have a mount so strong
that the optical tube and equipment load is easily handled. Time
will tell if this is successful. It is certainly a learning experience.
 |