Nadine is a home-made vacuum coater that was built and used for
many years at Chroma Technologies,
an optical filter manufacturer in Bellows Falls, VT. When it
was time for Nadine to retire from Chroma, they asked us if we would
like her, and of course we said "Yes" and "Thank You!". We didn't
feel we had a good place to keep Nadine at Stellafane, so we sent
her home with member Wayne Hilliard, who adopted her and has brought
her back to life.
Nadine Retires from Chroma Technologies
Photos by Ken Slater, 2009-Mar-26
Chroma Technology in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Stellafane appreciates Chroma's generosity in donating Nadine to us.
Chroma Technology
Nadine in the Chroma lab area, being disconnected from utilities.
Nadine in the Lab
Wayne Hilliard gets some basic training on how to run Nadine.
Wayne gets Basic Training
After a bit of work
maneuvering through narrow doors, Nadine made it out to the sidewalk.
Nadine on the Sidewalk
Here Nadine has been lifted slightly above the trailer bed, and
preparations are being made to gently
get her off the jack and onto the bed.
Lifting onto a Trailer
Wrapped. strapped and ready to roll!
Wrapped and Ready to Go!
Nadine Comes Back to Life
Photos by Wayne Hilliard
These are photos Wayne took to share with club members as he
brought Nadine back to working condition in April and May 2009 (Shown
in date taken order).
With the carousel removed from machine it will open up substantial space in chamber.
Carousel Removed from Vacuum Chamber
First of four trials with diffusion pump on and ion
gauge on.
First Diffusion Pump Trial
Second trial of diffusion pump.
Second Diffusion Pump Trial
Open chamber with tungsten electrode attached to low voltage.
Open Chamber with Tungsten Electrode.
Photo through porthole glass. Tungsten heated up to red. Black band unmelted aluminum foil on electrode.
Tungsten Glows Red through Porthole.
First shot of aluminum on test piece.
First Aluminum on Test Piece!
Glowing negative feed through.
Glowing Negative Feed Through
High-voltage feed through.
High-Voltage Feed Through
Test setup with glow electrode. My initial setup with crude
Pyrex stand for test slide.
Test setup with Glow Electrode
The test slide is resting against the screen of my laptop
showing the shadow of the test stand. One small area about the size of a pinhead came off with the scotch tape.
The graph is the record I made to measure the length of time the voltage was on to the tungsten.
Test Slide illuminated by laptop screen
(lower left)
Test slide before scotch tape first glow (Before scotch tape test).
Test Slide before Scotch Tape Adhesion Test
Coated 3-inch mirror on wire stand in open chamber.
Coated 3-inch Mirror on Wire Stand
Coated 3-inch oblique.
Coated 3-inch Oblique
Coated 3-inch showing coating thickness.
Coated 3-inch showing Coating Thickness
Filament after shot.
Filament after Shot
Support stand for 3-inch in chamber.
Support Stand for 3-inch
I have a web cam on the upper view port in the chamber. I will use this to monitor the filament to tell when to turn of power to the evaporation filaments.
