This paper is focused on an engineering project applied to astronomy for scientific purposes. The project consisted elementally on the design, fabrication and characterization of an interface or mechanism to align and focus the lens of the Echelle spectrograph and its CCD camera. This instrument is part of the 2.1 m telescope of the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional located at the Sierra de San Pedro Martir, B. C., Mexico (OAN-SPM). The mechanism described in this article is composed functionally of the next pieces: two half- clamps, three profiles type "L" (that function as support columns), a fixed plate, a reference sliding plate, and three digital sensors for measuring the relative position between the camera interface of the spectrograph and the plane of its dewar. The cryostat system has a lens that must be focused and aligned with the spectrograph. The cryostat and the mechanism have to be attached and it has to allow rotational movements around the three axes with linear adjustments along them. Similarly there is a brief description of the adjacent elements to understand the mechanism and functionality design criteria used in order to ensure the proper functionality of the mechanism that has been tested and integrated in the telescope. Such results are also described as well as the technical specifications, the manufacturing process and the manufacturing drawings. A brief description of the scientific instrument and some finite element simulations are also included in this work. Finally, some recommendations and future work that may be carried out as a continuous improvement mechanism are presented.

Date Published: 28 July 2014
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 9147, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V, 91474Y (28 July 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2057039

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9147:
Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V
Suzanne K. Ramsay; Ian S. McLean; Hideki Takami, Editor(s)