Together with Hexagon, we had the opportunity to test the practical suitability of the Leica Absolute Tracker ATS 600 at the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Technology FHR in Wachtberg near Bonn for the measurement of tracking and imaging radar (TIRA) in practical use.
In several measurement runs, the 34m main reflector and the sub-reflector were measured at different inclinations.
Our conclusion:
The measurement system is suitable to perform surface measurements on very large telescopes automatically and with sufficient accuracy. In particular, the fixed installation of the measurement system on the feedcone convinced us, because it allowed us to measure the antenna surface at different elevation angles in about 20 min. per measurement run.
We would like to thank Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence for the good cooperation and the provision of the measuring system for this special project!
