LH Fall 2013

September 2013
This month I helped Ann Marie prepare the fusing unit by cleaning the glass ferrules. I spent most of my time working on making AutoCAD and TurboCAD drawings with Alan for the backplane. This required talking a lot to Alan about what would be the best way to format the drawings. We also discussed the parts and tools needed to produce the backplane and I gave the list to Ann Marie to order.

October 2013
This month the backplane drawings were finished and ready to be machined, so I started working on the parts needed for all the bending and gluing stations. Each station had about 4-5 parts that needed to be drawn. After the bending and gluing station drawings were completed, I worked on creating multiple styrofoam pieces which we can order to safely carry all the bundles down to JLab without straining the bends in the fibers. I made 3 different versions, each simpler than the previous. However, the quotes we received from the styrofoam manufacturer were too expensive and it was decided that the fibers will just be carefully packed in a box with packing peanuts.

November 2013
I started working mainly on production this month. This involved learning the procedures for measuring, straightening, fusing, and painting the fiber bundles. Below are things I've learned are important to look for during production:

Measuring: The lab completed all rough-cut measuring of all the bundles this month! Kenny is the fastest at measuring. We found that one of the micrometers sticks at a point and is no longer in use.

Straightening: Make sure the anchor screws for each collar are evenly tightened and tight enough to not become angled due to the tension. Also double check the 5x6 matrix before inserting the fibers into the PVC.

Painting: Be extremely wary not to put the paint gun too close to the fibers to cause run-off or bubbles. Also be careful and thorough while cleaning the paint guns. Painting was only done in the first week or two of December. I know bending was halted before intermission, so there weren't any bundles for me to paint this month after the 16th.

Fusing: Always watch the pressure gauges. For an instant after the light turns on, the pressures drop. Make sure that they return to the appropriate pressures while the fibers begin to fuse. Also, putting a little bit of downward pressure on the light guide will help the fibers stay flat within the ferrules.

We also spent a few days cleaning the lab. We swept, mopped, tidied, and re-organized. All drawings and rough-cut measurements are hole punched and in a 2" binder, the upper shelving above the tank was re-organized. I found that using rags to sop up the last of the water is the fastest way to clean and dry the bending tank.

December 2013
This month was spent almost exclusively on bundle production.

Fusing: I have been fusing a lot with Keegan or Jon. Usually one of us is actually operating the fusing machine, and the other is measuring light guides, sanding the lips of the fuses, and measuring the final fuse joint. This is more efficient than just one person fusing. Just myself fusing it would take about 4 hours but with two people, it can take anywhere between 2.5-3 hours.

I updated Jim's fusing procedure from a few years ago and put it on the wiki. I believe Keegan added photos to the procedure and updated formatting. There were a few things that had to be specified from Jim's procedure. I mentioned the need to observe the pressures after starting the fusing unit.

Straightening: I've been straightening a bundle about once a day/every other day. It's been going well. I've helped Ann Marie plot the temperature data for the a few bundles to put into her Google Doc.

Polishing: This month I learned how to polish. I've found that making small circles is the quickest way to polish a bundle. We have noticed that sometimes grit from the paper is getting underneath the cladding so we have been careful to reduce the occurrence.

There hasn't been any painting to do since the bending process has been stopped.