Pictures of the frame

A picture is worth a thousand words... in a deliberate effort not to overwhelm you with too much information, I will therefore just let you enjoy the pictures of the finally assembled frame! But before that, let me thank Doi-san for his great design and work on the frame: very nice job, Yoshi!

Frame update

I just thought I'd share some updates on the construction of the frame. While some parts are being made at the machine shop, Doi-san is assembling others to the frame... Today, he is working on the vibration damping system that will hold racks for the electronics of SCExAO and HiCIAO.

About two hundred holes need to be drilled to the frame to attach this very cool contraption by Yoshi Doi-san.

By the way, Yoshi is also a talented musician who plays Hawaiian music: ukulele and slack key guitar, and makes his own music instruments. You can follow Yoshi's musical adventures on his Youtube channel.

SCExAO Frame delivered!

Last week, the frame that will carry SCExAO when at the telescope was finally delivered to Subaru HQ! The big white painted welded steel structure that looks sturdy enough (thanks to Doi-san for the design!) now sits in the Subaru Simlab, ready to host the SCExAO bench, the HiCIAO camera, all of the necessary electronics and computers with spare room at the Subaru Telescope IR Nasmyth platform.

There is still a fair bit of work to be done on the frame: attachment holes to be drilled, pads for the frame resting on the floor and rails for lateral positioning of the instruments... but this is a big part of the project and having it finally delivered after over a year of discussion and design is quite a relief!