Got to admire your attitude .
How hard was it to get the thing to work "correctly".
Was your warranty still in effect ? (sorry)
-----Original Message-----
From: Guenter Grossmann [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 1999 12:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] TechNet Millennium Message ( very
long )
Steve
Now that you mention your experience regarding the soldering
machine maybe
you'd like to hear my story from the lab regarding a X-ray
microscope.
About 2 years ago, I bought a new X-ray microscope. Not
In-line, lab size.
However, when I looked at the drawings and when I read that
the thing
weights 3 tons I got a bit nervous. First thing I did was to
ask to our
building people how much the floor can bear. No way to place
3 tons on an
area 3 x 2.5 meters ( for those not familiar with the metric
system, 1
meter is a good step ). Hence, we gave a job to our internal
manufacturing
center to build a frame to distribute the load. Yea, no
problem I heard.
Okras doits. Next thing was, to send a fawns to the X-ray
vendor with all
the measures from the delivery door into the lab. Yea, no
problem I heard.
So I bought the damn thing.
As planned, the frame arrived 2 weeks ahead of the
microscope. But.. it was
too small to go through the door. The folks at the
mechanical shop have an
extra size door. No way to bring it in my lab. So we had to
cut the
soldered frame in 3 pieces bring the into the lab and
reassemble it. Of
course, even that we had all furniture and instruments on
one side it was a
pain, to bring the thing in the right place where it was
welded again,
ruining my electrostatic proof floor. What could we do? We
had to empty the
whole room to make it possible to replace the floor cover.
In the meantime the delivery date came closer and closer.
And, as the
Germans are, at 7 am the truck arrived. To be honest, I
didn't expect him
so early so I came at 8. Gave a good mood to the driver.
Well he didn't
know what he was up to. Because!!! The X-ray was delivered
with an extra
large truck. And it was too large to go below the roof of
our delivery
entrance. My fax has arrived, but nobody cared for it. In
addition the
truck didn't have a lift so our lift and the backside of the
truck stood 3
meters apart. Ready to be bridged with 3 tons of X-ray
microscope. We went
to the workshop and they put something together to roll the
microscope
over. Believe me, scary, nobody was closer than 3 meters.
Exempt of me and
a colleague of mine. W had to operate the 2 fork lifts each
with a capacity
of 2 tons. Luckily we brought the X-ray over the swinging
bridge. An,
hooray, the delivery door was big enough. And yippee, the
aisle as well.
But damn it, in the centre of the aisle was a column. A
column made of
iron, diameter 25 cm. No way to pass there. The column was
in my plan I
send but, nobody cared for the plan. There was no way than
going the whole
way back, over the swinging bridge into the truck. We went
for lunch and to
pacify the driver I invited him. After lunch we looked for
another way to
enter the building. We found an entry, with a big door, with
a high roof,
but no lift, like the truck. So I had to organize a crane to
lift the 3
tons of lead and steel into the entrance. By than the driver
was pretty
nervous. But he could go, lucky beggar. I stood there with
my baby not
knowing what to do. In the meantime, the technician who
should install the
X-ray had come. He was not very enthusiastically in his
white coat about
the prospect to move the microscope. But there was no held.
We moved the
X-ray with the 2 folk lifts round a corner, down the aisle
until we reached
a high step, 1.5 meters deep, fortunately with a lift. I
mentioned the
problem to the technician. But he assured me that we should
have no further
problems. Well the elevator was able to carry 4 tons. But
when one fork
lift entered the elevator and part of the microscopes weight
was in, the
elevators bearing ropes extended, lowering the cabin for
about 5 cm. thus
blocking the entry for the X-ray and causing a step between
the elevators
floor and the save floor of the building. So we could
neither in nor out.
Bach to the workshop again. This time we got a sheet or iron
to span the
step between the cabin and the buildings floor. After
blocking the elevator
for 2 hours ( not to mention that our way went through the
underground
garage thus blocking the garage as well ) we had the X-ray
out again. We
decided to continue the next day. The next day saw us
tilting the
microscope from vertical to horizontal. In the meantime the
technician had
measured the whole way into the lab and found it clear. Did
you ever tilt 3
tons without appropriate equipment? We had to, since no
crane able to bear
3 tons was able to enter the garage. We stood the X-bastard
with its
backside towards the lift we used earlier. Than we lifted it
on the other
end thus tilting the microscope until it leaned against the
platform of the
lift. We then lowered the lift, stopped, and moved the edge
the X-ray was
standing on slowly forward. Like this we made it. And we
could get into the
lift. And we could exit the lift in the 3rd floor with the
iron sheet. And
we saw, that the ceiling was high enough to transport the
Microscope
upright but that the firealarms being installed every 5
meters made it
impossible to move the X-ray on its base. Luckily we had it
on laying on
its back. You guess it. The technician made a measuring
error. The
microscopes outer dimension fit through the door. But, since
it was laying
we had to make a turn to come into the room from the aisle.
No way. We got
yammed half way in. It took us the rest of the day to bring
the XY?!@..
back into the garage where the technician hat to disassemble
the X-ray by
cutting it up with a cutting disc ( another visit to the
workshop ).
After 2 days we started to bring the pieces to the lab.
First the
manipulator, then the X-ray source and at the end the cabin
frame and the
lead panels. Hold on, it's not over jet. You know, the lab
was high enough
to accommodate the cabin. Even on the frame it was supposed
to sit on. But,
Steve I think you know Geometry as well as Math, die
diagonal of a cube is
biggest than its sides. And the cabin was the heaviest part
of the
microscope. And we had no space in the lab left to bring in
any equipment
able to handle 2 tons. Neither had we space between the edge
passing the
closest to the ceiling for any machinery. We than started to
drill holes
into the concrete ceiling, fixing rawlplugs to the ceiling.
Than we lifted
the thing like the old Egyptian did. Securing with ropes,
lifting with a
fork lift some centimeters, supporting with wooden pieces.
God had mercy .
Can you imagine the moment when the microscopes point of
gravity moved over
the edge? In the end we did it. All we had to do now was to
pop the thing
on the frame. No way to assemble the microscope before since
it would then
be too heavy to lift with a fork lift. We had to move the
cabin first. But,
the opening to go into the cabin was supposed to stand right
to a wall. So
we had to rotate the cabin until the service door was
pointing towards the
room. This enabled us to move the interior into the
microscope. No details,
but it was hell. Then the technician had to reassemble the
thing again.
Welding. I didn't care this time for the burnt floor. And
when the X-ray
was in one piece again we hat to rotate it into the desired
position It was
now 3 tons again and there was no space on the frame for 2
fork- lifts. We
made it centimeter for centimeter. Compared to what we did
before this was
a piece of cake. The whole procedure absorbed three men for
over a week.
All the best to all of you
Guenter
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