Macor ceramic machining for Dynamic Nuclear Polarization optics

DNP requires the marriage of high magnetic fields and intense mm-wave radiation.  Metal mirrors can distort the very homogenous fields required, so thin metal film coated dielectric mirrors can bring significant performance advantages: As part of building a quasi-optical probe delivering microwave power for a sample buried deep in a highly homogenous superconducting magnet, we have been making full use of our precision Bostomatic high-speed milling machine: The recently arrived Swiss-made Lehmann AG two-axis table and 5-Axis Heidenhein TNC640 controller has allowed us to machine the Macor glass cerami with a precision elliposodal form. A short video can be seen below {mp4}Maco...

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New precision CNC Lathe arrives at TK

Notwithstanding the strange times we are living in, TK continues to invest in capital equipment to better serve ourclients :   Pictured above is an almost new Doosan Puma GT3100 CNC 2 CNC lathe being unloaded.  'Almost new' in that we bought it at Auction (an interesting experience - like Ebay, but with a lot more money attached).  The manufacturing dates on the plate is September 2019 and with only 108 hours on the 'clock', it has only really be run in.    

Our first Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) injection mould

We are delighted to have finished making - some two weeks after the steel arrived and now trialed - our first Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) injection mould for new client Air Control Entech to provide the frame of a face visor: Thanks to a lot of hard work by a lot of people, especially Simon Duke, our Toolroom Manager... Pictured below is Apprentice Zac Feeman with a trialled part in his hands... as well as one on his head.     and a video of our customer running mould running can be seen here   A snipped of the mould tool design can be seen here     and video of programming the tool paths and our high speed Bostomatic CNC milling machining cutting the form in...

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Covid-19: TK continuing to work

  Thomas Keating continues to work: Staff who can work from home (Physicist, Designers etc) are doingso -  and our IT infrastructure (in particular, VPN's give remote access to our network, including CAD,electromagnetic and thermal analysis software as well as printing) is currently holding up well.  Colleagues who cut metal are practicing social distancing (our machines are well spread out, so 2M distance.... a broomhandle away) is possible and cleaning their hands alot... So Thomas Keating Ltd is operating surprisingly normally   The Physics Department in Cardiff is currently closed, so QMC Instruments is continuing to design, market and support our customer base, but n...

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CubeSat mm-wave calibration loads ship to NASA Goddard

At the end of January, TK shipped two types of loads for mm-wave radiometer calibration:  An internal cone load - derived from the SWI instrument on ESA's Juice mission. In this case TK is a subcontractor to VDI, having alsodesigned and buit the from end optics of the protype CubeSat     .. and two loads derived from the warm pyramidal target on the MetOP-SG Ice Cloud Imager mission:     The latter can be seen in our TVAC chamber where the embeded Platinum Resistance Thermometers (PRTS) are being calibrate against four surounding SPRTs, to a precision at the 10mK level.    

MetOP-SG's MWS PFM radiometer On-Board Calibration Target undergoes final testing in Bern

TK has been developing in collaboration with the Institute of Applied Physics in Bern - for a number of years - the calibration target for EUMETSAT's MetOP-SG MWS radiometer. The ProtoFlight Model - (PFM) - the first one due to fly in space - has been undergoing successful final RF testing in Bern. In the pictures you can see the equipment used to make radiometric S11scattering measurements across the microwave sounder's bands - from 23 to 229 GHz. The target - whose temperature can be determined from embedded Platinum Resistance Thermometers to a few milliKelvin- is the black object to the top right. All S11 measurements are with the very tight -45dB monostatic reflectivity requirement - an...

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