April 27, 2017 - Further progress has been made on the Spanish pier. Both azimuth supports are now in place on the Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA), and the main connecting I-beam, known as the "keel," has been attached between them. The orange banks of capacitors were pre-installed on the keel beam prior to its attachment.
April 21, 2017 – Fabrication of the Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) continues in Spain. The large steel structural components that make up the azimuth assembly are painted and undergoing installation on the Spanish pier. A previous post explained the duplicate Spanish pier will be used to support the trial assembly and testing of the TMA prior to its demolition and subsequent reinstallation of the TMA on site in Chile.
The elevation drive arc, which was machined in March, recently underwent test fitting of aluminum surrogate motor magnets. Meanwhile, the motor magnets have been installed in the azimuth track and covered with plywood to keep them from attracting metal fragments during the assembly process. During operation, the motor magnets in the azimuth and elevation assemblies will allow the telescope to rotate smoothly and quietly on both axes.
The two azimuth supports were inspected and coated this month; one has been lifted into place and positioned, and the second support is awaiting installation. The enormous scale of the TMA is hard to represent in photos; for perspective, the “small” box you can see behind the azimuth assembly in the photo below is actually an office with space for several employees!