Casting 6.5-meter mirrors for the MMT conversion and Magellan

Blain H. Olbert; James Roger P. Angel; John M. Hill; Stephen F. Hinman

doi:10.1117/12.176184

1 June 1994 Casting 6.5-meter mirrors for the MMT conversion and Magellan

Blain H. Olbert, James Roger P. Angel, John M. Hill, Stephen F. Hinman

Proceedings Volume 2199, Advanced Technology Optical Telescopes V; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.176184
Event: 1994 Symposium on Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation for the 21st Century, 1994, Kailua, Kona, HI, United States

Abstract

We report on the casting of two 6.5 meter diameter borosilicate honeycomb mirrors at the Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory. These F/1.25 primary mirror blanks are for the MMT Conversion Project in Arizona and the Magellan Project in Chile. The first 6.5 meter mirror blank was cast in April 1992. After a three month annealing cycle it was removed from the furnace using a fixture glued to the upper surface of the blank. It has since been stripped of its mold material in preparation for polishing. The mold material is broken up with a high pressure water spray. The second identical 6.5 meter was cast in February 1994. Each honeycomb 6.5 meter is cast from over 10 tons of E6 borosilicate glass manufactured by Ohara. This glass is melted onto a mold constructed of aluminosilicate fiber to produce a honeycomb structure with roughly 20% of solid density. The hexagonal voids in the honeycomb are produced by ceramic fiber boxes bolted to the bottom of the mold with SiC bolts. The furnace rotates at 7.4 rpm during the casting process to produce a F/1.25 parabola on the front surface. This rough parabola minimizes the amount of glass which must be removed during the grinding process. The front faceplate of the mirror will be 28 mm thick after generating. After the second 6.5 meter blank has been cast, minor modifications will be made to the furnace to allow casting of the first 8.4 meter mirror for the Large Binocular Telescope.

Citation Download Citation

Blain H. Olbert, James Roger P. Angel, John M. Hill, and Stephen F. Hinman "Casting 6.5-meter mirrors for the MMT conversion and Magellan", Proc. SPIE 2199, Advanced Technology Optical Telescopes V, (1 June 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.176184

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