Case Study: Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon achieves precise telescope instrument alignment with Hexagon metrology solutions

Reaching for the stars with Hexagon

The customer, the Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), required extremely high-precision metrology solutions to build and align sophisticated astronomical instruments, such as spectrographs, to a tolerance of 10 microns. Their challenge was to ensure perfect alignment of these complex components, a process made more difficult by the large scale of the instruments and the need for on-site verification at remote telescope locations. To meet this challenge, they looked for advanced equipment from Hexagon.

The solution implemented by Hexagon was the provision of an Absolute Arm 85 Series and a Leica Absolute Tracker AT403. These portable and highly accurate tools provided the necessary flexibility for both in-house alignment and on-site verification at the telescope in Chile. The results were a significant improvement in the precision and efficiency of CRAL's assembly process, allowing them to meet their critical 10-micron tolerances and ensure their instruments are perfectly positioned for groundbreaking astronomical research.

Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon

Florence Laurent

Optical Design Engineer