Resurfacing the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank
 The Lovell Telescope has stood proudly over the Cheshire
plains for over 40 years. It is the flagship of the Jodrell Bank observatory
which is part of Man-chester University.
In early 2000 Galvanised Sheet and Coil Ltd were approached
by Manchester University and Shal Engineering to see if we could supply
the Galvanised Steel Shapes needed to resurface the telescope. The project
involved shear-ing 2295 sheets of which over 95% were Isosceles Trapeziums.
To take on such a huge project meant developing new working practices,
designing new jigs for the guillotines, developing new quality control
procedures and re-training staff, as we had never done anything like it
before. After various meetings with our highly trained and experienced
team we decided to take the project on.
We started work on the Telescope plates in April 2000 and
continued into 2001, with plates being called off by Shal Engineering
as required. Due to our deep rooted principles of Quality Control and
the expert knowledge and knowhow of our workforce the last plate was fixed
to the telescope in the summer of 2002. Not one plate was the out of specification
with every one fitting perfectly, something we were congratulated on by
Shal Engineering, Manchester University and Prince Charles who met members
of staff at the Lovell Telescopes opening ceremony.
http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/tech/lovellupgrade/ |
