AESOP, the 4MOST fibre positioner: engineering principles

Jurek Brzeski; Dave Adams; Gabriella Baker; Sufyan Baker; Rebecca Brown; Scott Case; Timothy Chin; Jack Coyne; Tony Farrell; James Gibson; Peter Gillingham; Ellen Houston; Urs Klauser; Yevgen Kripak; Nirmala Kunwar; Jon Lawrence; Slavko Mali; Wojtek Maslak; Helen McGregor; Rolf Muller; Vijay Nichani; Naveen Pai; Ellie O'brien; Will Saunders; Scott Smedley; Sudharshan Venkatesan; Lew Waller; Jahanzeb Zahoor; Jessica Zheng

doi:10.1117/12.2627903

29 August 2022 AESOP, the 4MOST fibre positioner: engineering principles

Jurek Brzeski, Dave Adams, Gabriella Baker, Sufyan Baker, Rebecca Brown, Scott Case, Timothy Chin, Jack Coyne, Tony Farrell, James Gibson, Peter Gillingham, Ellen Houston, Urs Klauser, Yevgen Kripak, Nirmala Kunwar, Jon Lawrence, Slavko Mali, Wojtek Maslak, Helen McGregor, Rolf Muller, Vijay Nichani, Naveen Pai, Ellie O'brien, Will Saunders, Scott Smedley, Sudharshan Venkatesan, Lew Waller, Jahanzeb Zahoor, Jessica Zheng

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12184, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IX; 121846N (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627903
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Conference Poster

Abstract

The Australian Astronomical Observatory’s (AAO’s) AESOP project is part of the Multi-Object Spectrograph Telescope (4MOST) system for the VISTA telescope. It includes the 2436-fibre positioner, space frame and electronics enclosures. The AESOP concept and the role of the AAO in the 4MOST project have been described in previous SPIE proceedings. The project final assembly stage has been completed. In this paper, engineering principles applied during assembly of critical components and testing of the instrument are discussed. The major performance requirement for AESOP is that all 2436 science fiber cores and 12 guide fiber bundles are to be re-positioned to an accuracy of 10 micron within 1 minute. With a fast prime-focus focal-ratio, a close tolerance on the axial position of the fiber tips must be held so efficiency does not suffer from de-focus losses. Positioning accuracy is controlled with the metrology cameras installed on the telescope, which measures the positions of the fiber tips to an accuracy of a few micrometers and allows iterative positioning until all fiber tips are within tolerance on the focal surface plane. Maintaining co-planarity of the fiber tips requires accurate control in the assembly of several components that contribute to such errors. AESOP requires a consistent production of high accuracy components and assemblies in a quantity of above 2500 items. To achieve this, we had to apply the highest engineering standards, including assembly procedures, metrology, and control systems. We designed many jigs and fixtures, which enabled us to produce high quality components and assemblies at reasonable cost. The results – working instrument was vastly achieved with the help of university students after providing a training in engineering practices.

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Jurek Brzeski, Dave Adams, Gabriella Baker, Sufyan Baker, Rebecca Brown, Scott Case, Timothy Chin, Jack Coyne, Tony Farrell, James Gibson, Peter Gillingham, Ellen Houston, Urs Klauser, Yevgen Kripak, Nirmala Kunwar, Jon Lawrence, Slavko Mali, Wojtek Maslak, Helen McGregor, Rolf Muller, Vijay Nichani, Naveen Pai, Ellie O'brien, Will Saunders, Scott Smedley, Sudharshan Venkatesan, Lew Waller, Jahanzeb Zahoor, and Jessica Zheng "AESOP, the 4MOST fibre positioner: engineering principles", Proc. SPIE 12184, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IX, 121846N (29 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627903

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