Quick Shot

The need to improve target fabrication by the use of table-top-based machining resulted in a drilling machine that also supports microtooling using 0.05-mm to 3-mm commercially available drill bits. The drilling machine is shown residing on a 12-in. base. On its left is a spindle that operates at 80,000 rpm. In addition, because of its modularity, 150,000-rpm spindles can also be introduced. Its low height also allows for the deployment of an 80× objective microscope. Below its camera, sitting in a black container in the back of the unit is an axial laser-read head with 1-µm repeatability. The inset is a view through a microscope showing ten holes in an 800-µm sphere bored by the machine’s 50-µm drill. This Quick Shot reflects work at the lab completed in February before the stay-at-home order.