Daniele Piazza PLATO TOU Meeting, Catania, 11.06.2014

PLATO - TOU

Mechanical Structure Feasibility

Osservatorio Astronomico – CataniaJune 11th, 2014

Daniele Piazza PLATO TOU Meeting, Catania, 11.06.2014

Introduction

The material chosen for the structural tube is AlBeMet AM162 from Materion (former Brush Wellman), which consists of 62% Be and 38% Al.

Beryllium dust is highly toxic, therefore special precautions are needed for machining, e.g. encapsulated machines. Only few workshops available in Europe (UK, D, CH). Coating companies not always treat Beryllium and its alloys.

ITAR situation: Raw material just needs end user declaration. (Semi-)finished parts are subjects to export restrictions.

Daniele Piazza PLATO TOU Meeting, Catania, 11.06.2014

End of 2010 a contract was placed at APCO to carry out a feasibility study focused on: Procurement of raw material Machining Coating (anorganic)

A report with ecouraging results was provided (A4.AN.37294, dated 10 May 2011).

Some weeks after formal contract closure coated samples from different suppliers were provided to UBE, whereby excellent results could be observed.

The outcome of the feasibility study was definitely positive.

Feasibility Study