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A D V A N C E D
M A T E R I A L S
&
P R O C E S S E S | F E B R U A R Y
2 0 1 6
7
METALS | POLYMERS | CERAMICS
backplane using a robotic arm, guided
by engineers. Completion of the prima-
ry mirror is expected in spring 2016, and
the telescope’s launch is planned for
2018
NANOSCALE PLATES ARE
BOTH THIN AND STRONG
Researchers at the University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, successful-
ly manufactured nanoscale plates that
are 1000 times thinner than a sheet of
paper but strong enough to spring back
into shape after being manipulated by
hand. Typically, a nanoscale film needs
to be stretched across a frame or put
on a rigid backing to prevent it from
curling. “The problem is that frames
are heavy, making it impossible to use
the intrinsically low weight of these
ultra-thin films,” says professor Igor
Bargatin. “Our idea was to use corru-
gation instead of a frame. That means
the structures we make are no longer
completely planar. Instead they have a
3D shape that looks like a honeycomb,
but they are flat and contiguous and
completely freestanding.”
The team deposited aluminum
oxide in precisely controlled atomic lay-
ers, producing 25-100 nm thick plates
with hexagonal divots. “It’s like an egg
carton, but on the nanoscale,” explains
professor Prashant Purohit. In addition
One dozen flight mirror segments, out of a total of 18 that make up the primary mir-
ror on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, have been installed at NASA’s Goddard
Space Flight Center. Courtesy of NASA/Chris Gunn.
CENTRAL MIRRORS INSTALLED
ON JAMES WEBB SPACE
TELESCOPE
One dozen flight mirrors are now
installed on NASA’s James Webb Space
Telescope, out of the 18 segments that
make up the primary mirror. “This
Pexco LLC, Atlanta, a specialty
plastics manufacturer serving med-
ical, defense, and industrial mar-
kets, acquired Scientific Plastics
Corp. (SPC), St. Paul, Minn. SPC
manufactures injection molded
plastics and has experience with
materials such as PEEK, Ultem,
polysulfone, and polycarbonate.
Pexco also acquired Precision
Extrusion Inc., Glens Falls, N.Y.,
a medical extruder, in December
2015. .
BRIEFS
Ducommun Inc., Carson, Calif., received a contract from Airbus, Hern-
don, Va., to produce titanium formed parts for the windshield assembly
for both the A320 and A330 families. Parts will be manufactured at Du-
commun’s facility in Parsons, Kan., which specializes in titanium thermal
forming technology. .
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., Los Angeles, acquired Tubular Steel
Inc. (TSI), St. Louis, a distributor and processor of carbon, alloy, and
stainless steel pipe, tubing, and bar products. TSI stocks over 60,000 tons
and ships over two million custom lengths of pipe, tubing, and bar prod-
ucts annually from its seven U.S. locations. The company also operates a
fabrication business. .
milestone signifies that all of the hexag-
onal shapedmirrors on the fixed central
section of the telescope structure are
installed, and only the three mirrors on
each wing are left for installation,” says
Lee Feinberg, optical telescope element
manager at NASA’s Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., where the
structure is being constructed.
Each hexagonal mirror seg-
ment measures just over four feet and
weighs 88 pounds. After assembly, the
18 segments will work together as one
21.3-ft mirror, unfolding and adjust-
ing to shape after launch. The mirrors
are made of ultra-lightweight berylli-
um and are placed on the telescope’s