UTILIZING CONVENTIONAL MACHINING TOOLS WITH CUSTOMIZED MACHINING TECHNIQUES TO MANUFACTURE MULTIFACETED TARGETS

Three recent experimental campaigns at Los Alamos National Laboratory have required unique application of traditional machining techniques to manufacture the components. For pRad experiments at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANCE), unique planar targets with varying profiles required unique fixturing: a custom programming software to create concentric rings with a 2-deg taper that had five different sine waves machined across the face. Also, experiments using P8 modulated capsules for Asymmetric Burn Experiment (ABEX) experiments at Omega made use of a water-soluble ultraviolet-curable glue, which was used for holding and locating purposes during machining operations to produce an indicating datum, as well as a custom fixturing system, which allowed the ability to apply the impression gum from behind. Finally, for the milling of a 125-mu m-thick silica aerogel for dense-plasma equation-of-state experiments, we used an ultraprecision milling machine with a highspeed spindle and precise positional accuracy that permits micrometer depth of cuts at higher feed rates, which allowed for a reduction in machining time.