Introduction: SteveAstroUK's Workspace

About: I'm an Engineer, who originally inherited the family business (Thanks Dad (RIP JC Taylor, 1938-2011)) after working in it for 25 years, designing and building scientific instruments. In 2013, I was head-hun…

Here's a sequence of pictures from my workspace. Yes, we do really have to work too, but since we live and breath engineering, its not much of a deal.

This is a picture of the latest of our products. Its a scientific instrument for measuring the properties of liquid  - metal, glass, pretty well anything that hasn't vapourised by 1750 C

Step 1: Mechanical Workshop (lathes)


We make ALL our own mechanical parts for the instruments. That means we need a full-service machine shop at our disposal. Here it is. We start with the lathes.

We have one working CNC lathe, and two other CNC projects of Steve's lying around. There are another three manual machines, which since the XYZ CNC you see here arrived, have seen a lot less use.

Step 2: Mechanical Shop (milling)

These aren't brilliant shots of three of all four of our milling machines, starting with no picture of our CNC mill, our American Gorton mill, our 1918 Edgwick horizontal and a naerok Mill-drill, which we use for little jobs.

Step 3: Mechanical Shop (sheet Metal)

We do experimental sheet metal ourselves with the tools in this area of the shop - the grey machine is a flypress, for punching holes, we also have a "box and pan" folder, and a guillotine for steel and aluminium.

Production work goes to a local company, who specialise in making cabinets for the pharmceutical industry,

Step 4: Mechanical Shop (welding)

We do some welding. Here are our two machines, a MIG welder, with eurotorch, and TIG/MMA welder. There's a plasma cutter somewhere around here too.

Step 5: Electronics Development

Since we also do all our own electronics, we have a laboratory for that.

Step 6: Mechanical Shop (lapping and Grinding)

Here are four  rare machines for many shops, cylindrical and surface grinders, and two "lapping machine" All of these are used to produce work to tolerances down in the optical.

Step 7: Laysseerr.

Here's my CNC laser.

Step 8: Stores

This is where we store finished parts and stock electronics.

Step 9: Mechanical Workshop (drilling)

Here is part of our collection of drills, taps and reamers.

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