3-axis & 5-axis CNC Mill

The Astronomy Instrumentation Group (AIG) in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University has been funded to provide two Small Aperture Telescope (SAT) receivers and one Large Aperture Telescope receiver (LATR) to the SO:UK programme, including the development of detector technology and associated horn blocks and housings. Two CNC mills are to be purchased for the in-house R&D and manufacture of components for the SAT and LATR receivers: - 3-axis CNC for the manufacture of other SO:UK associated parts, and to relieve the workload through the AIG’s existing machines. - 5-axis CNC mill for the manufacture of the complex horn blocks and detector housings. Parts made using these new CNC mills will typically be from aluminium, copper, plastics, and steels; and will be of varying sizes and complexity. They will need to be machined to tight mechanical tolerances and will need to be of high-quality surface finishes.