Development of an Actuator for Ambient to Cryo Application - December 2010

Karen Menzel, Hans Jürgen Jung and Jörg Schmidt

The article "Development of an Actuator for Ambient to Cryo Application" appeared in the December 2010 issue of Power Transmission Engineering.

Summary
During the qualification campaign of the NIRSpec (near-infrared spectrometer) instrument mechanism, the actuator could not achieve the expected lifetime that had been extended during the development phase. The initial design could not be adapted to the requested number of revolutions during that phase. Consequently the actuator needed to be modified so that the function of the mechanism would not be endangered or, by extension, the overall function of the NIRSpec instrument. The modification included a change of the overall actuator design—internal dimensions, tolerances, materials, lubrication and assembly process—while keeping the interface to the mechanism, mass and function.

Keywords
space mechanisms, actuators, gears, motors, design

The article "Development of an Actuator for Ambient to Cryo Application" should appear in the box below, but if you do not see it, you can download it here.