Project: SHRIMP IIe Ion Microprobe
CANBERRA-based manufacturer Australian Scientific Instruments (ASI), produces instruments for the geochemistry and geomechanics industries which are exported around the world.
ASI won a competitive tender to supply an advanced SHRIMP IIe ion microprobe to the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI) in Ochang, South Korea.
The project required modifications to the basic design of the SHRIMP IIe multi-collector, in order to measure microscopic particles of nuclear fuel collected from air sampling.
During fabrication of the instrument, the company’s key subsystem supplier of vacuum-compatible piezoelectric linear motors ceased manufacture, requiring a redesign of the multi-collector assembly using a different technology for in-vacuum movement of the instrument’s laser-cut slits.
When Exfo ceased manufacturing ‘inchworm’ linear piezo-electric motors during the contract period, the team at ASI had to quickly redesign the three internal, vacuum-compatible slit-selection mechanisms to use stepper motors with lead screws.
ASI invested in an EDM wire cutter (Sodick) in order to reduce manufacturing lead times and provide greater flexibility for custom and prototype manufacture. Because ASI’s engineers use SolidWorks mechanical CAD, the design of custom or modified parts, and their production with the wire cutter, is very rapid.
This allowed the ASI team to confidently re-design the multi-collector head array to reduce the detector spacing from 3.5 to 3.2 mm per head, conceptualise the changes and check for clearances with SolidWorks, and manufacture the components.
The power and flexibility of the wire cutter has been progressively adapted to the manufacture of other components of the SHRIMP IIe, and ASI’s other products, the AlphachronTM helium thermochronology instrument, and the High Temperature, High Pressure test rig.