Show us what you're doing at work today

[Andy in Germany]

I finished painting this bad boy:

I'm guessing that's the NRM Workshop?

I like it when you post in this thread @Moon bunny: It's always something unexpected and interesting...

 

[Moon bunny]

I'm guessing that's the NRM Workshop?

I like it when you post in this thread @Moon bunny: It's always something unexpected and interesting...

I feel privileged at times, getting to handle some of the most valuable and beautiful objects the nation owns, from rockets and the big mill engine down to a ceramic cat.

 

[TheDoctor]

Jasper and Ringo. Ringo is a 18 month Lab who's really a big powerful puppy. Pulls (quite) a bit on walks.
Jasper is nearly 9 now, and just about the nicest dog ever.
If there's a storm he gets frightened and jumps on my bed, then looks unhappy when I stop stroking him.

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Delivering Carbon Literacy training to a room full of MDs. I really, really wish I wasn't doing Movember.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

 

[palinurus]

Measuring the composition of some tin-based alloys (in the original form of solder pastes)

First I melt the solder, pour off the flux and then tip the molten metal into a little round mould to give a little slug like this.

View attachment 648426

Then- to make it nice and flat and expose a fresh surface- I machine it with a lathe (it's a soft alloy so very easy to machine and the swarf doesn't give you splinters!)
View attachment 648428

Then I pop the sample face down on the spark stand of this atomic emission spectrometer (spark AES) and give it a whack with the electrode (it goes bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)- some magic happens and it displays the composition of the alloy (selected elements I'm interested in, anyway- silver, lead, bismuth, nickel, antimony, copper- several others)

View attachment 648429

Meant to have been a 15 minute job but the bismuth composition was low so a recalibration, preparation of new samples, re-testing of a known-good sample followed- took up a lot of time. Still not resolved so will pick it up again next week.

So this job took longer than expected. I've been waiving through any samples with slightly low bismuth in the meantime, sending some to our lab in Hungary for verification (they get a result between 2.80 and 3.25% which is the specification range for this alloy). I didn't have a reference standard with the right sort of bismuth content, I searched a database and found one- 3% bismith, some zinc and the rest tin. I don't care about zinc but it doesn't do any harm. Took ages to order it, we've just been taken over by a new company and we had no purchasing procedures. Finally it was delivered last week.

It's a little cylinder of alloy, with a certificate. It cost over £500. Bismuth content is certified at 3.03%.

As before turned it on the lathe (not very deep- that's expensive swarf right there)

(the swarf, incidentally, is very nice- the alloy is very soft and ductile and it remains in one continuous thread of metal)

Put the sample on the AES and flushed with argon, gave it a zap with the electrode -three zaps- in different places, everything in triplicate at least. The bismuth came out at 2.65%- there's the problem.

It's easy to adjust- add a correction factor until the result shows 3.03%. Then I rechecked some earlier samples.

Seems OK now, three samples from earlier this year which were originally low are now within specification.

This is a minor part of my job, mainly do this because we're short of technicians and because I like machining the samples.

 

[winjim]

Today I have been mostly analysing horse urine. Maybe alloys would be preferable but at least I don't have anything to do with the sample collection.

 

[Moon bunny]

Picking out posters for the 2024 calendar:

 

[Andy in Germany]

Picking out posters for the 2024 calendar:
View attachment 668904

Thanks for this: my parents send me that calender as a little slice of "home" so it's nice to know who puts it together...

 

[Moon bunny]

 

[TheDoctor]

Two dogs who've gone home now. Dexter the Parson Russell, and Lotta the little Cocker.
Both lovely little dogs and both doing about Mach 2.

 

[slowmotion]

Fun but incredibly frustrating troubleshooting.

 

[TheDoctor]

Fun but incredibly frustrating troubleshooting.

Excellent! What is it?

 

[TheDoctor]

Bradley, some of Lotta, and part of my right knee.
Having a rare dog-free day, so I'm going shopping and getting the car washed. I know how to live...

 

[FishFright]

Getting paid for this

View attachment 658978

A friend of mine is the canvas for a tattooist's competition stuff.