Cryostat Upending Frame

Acres design and manufacture lots of types of lifting and handling equipment.

The Cryostat Upending Frames were designed and manufactured by Acres for the University of Oxford Department of Physics. 

The frames are used to allow the two feeds to view clear sky during calibration runs. The mass of the cryostat on its support frame is around 170 kg. The frame when orientated vertically has been sized to allow the cryostat to pass through the doorway of an anechoic chamber in South Africa.

The frames were supplied with a custom designed and manufactured lifting beam, powder coated, assembled and load tested. 

Project Ref: AD-1884-2020-12-1 / 10610-P1

What is a Cryostat? 

A cryostat is a device or system used to maintain low cryogenic temperatures for the objects or samples placed inside it. It works by using cryogenic fluids such as liquid helium or liquid nitrogen to cool down the interior to temperatures typically below -150°C (-238°F) and can go down as low as a few millikelvins above absolute zero, depending on the design and purpose. Cryostats are widely used in various scientific research fields, including physics, biology, and materials science, for experiments that require low-temperature conditions.

There are several types of cryostats designed for specific applications, including:

1. Closed-cycle cryostats: These recycle the cooling gas, making them suitable for long-term experiments without the need for constant refilling of cryogenic liquids.
2. Bath cryostats: These immerse the sample directly in the cryogenic fluid, providing excellent thermal contact and uniform cooling.
3. Flow cryostats: These allow a continuous flow of cryogenic fluid around the sample, useful for experiments where the temperature needs to be varied or controlled precisely.
4. Optical cryostats: These are designed with windows to allow for laser or light-based experiments on samples at cryogenic temperatures.

Cryostats are essential tools for research in superconductivity, quantum computing, electron microscopy, and the study of material properties at low temperatures, among other areas.

What is a anechoic chamber?

An anechoic chamber is a room designed to completely absorb reflections of sound or electromagnetic waves, making it essentially free of echoes. This is achieved by lining the walls, ceiling, and floor with sound-absorbing materials, such as foam wedges or tiles, that are shaped in such a way to trap and absorb sound waves. Anechoic chambers are used for a variety of purposes in both audio acoustics and electromagnetic fields:

1. Audio Anechoic Chambers: In the context of sound, these rooms are used for measuring the loudness, frequency response, and other acoustic properties of various sources, including loudspeakers, microphones, and electronic devices. The absence of echo allows for precise measurements of sound as it eliminates the interference that would normally result from reflections. Audio anechoic chambers are critical for research and development in audio engineering, hearing research, and the calibration of audio equipment.
2. Electromagnetic Anechoic Chambers: These are designed to absorb electromagnetic waves and are used for testing antennas, radars, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) of electronic devices. They prevent external electromagnetic radiation from entering and internal signals from reflecting off the walls, ensuring that measurements of an antenna’s radiation pattern, for example, are not distorted by external or reflected signals. Electromagnetic anechoic chambers are lined with materials like ferrite tiles or foam absorbers coated with conductive material.

The design and size of an anechoic chamber can vary significantly depending on its purpose, from small chambers for testing individual components to large ones that can accommodate entire vehicles or aircraft. The key characteristic that defines an anechoic chamber is its ability to create a space with minimal reflections, providing a controlled environment for precision testing and measurements.

Acres design and manufacture lots of different lifting and handling solutions.

We also manufacture access platforms, jigs and fixtures and many other types of product. 

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