Infrastructure

The infrastructural tasks of the Scientific Instrumentation Section comprise
the tool management, i.e. market investigation, procurement, storage and maintenance of tools and measuring instruments as well as advice and handing-out to PTB members. Special tools such as form cutters, profile cutting tools and engravers can be fabricated at the Toolmaking Shop, if needed,

the Tool Grinding Shop in which milling and boring tools, circular saw blades for wood and metal as well as strip cutters of super high-speed steel and hard metal are sharpened.

Figure: Universal tool grinding machine of Walter Helitronic NC make, type 30C

The heat treatment comprises the hardening and case-hardening of steel, annealing with nitrogen, argon and hydrogen as protective gases, stress-relief annealing of various materials and quenching and tempering of steels.

For the necessary hardness tests according to Rockwell C, Vickers or Brinell, a universal hardness testing machine is available.

In the Plastics Workshop, the trainees learn in a three-week course how to process thermoplastic materials by welding, bending, forming, gluing and polishing.