Laboratory instrument design progress report, July 1--31, 1948

One current model Ryerson quartz-fiber microbalance fitted with a quartz-fiber beam but lacking the entire optical system was received from Argonne National Laboratory on June 30, 1948. The first trails of the fiber drawing machine indicated excessive vibration originating in the motorized variable-speed transmissions and accentuated by the machine frame. Isolation of the motorized transmission vibrations from the drawing machine permitted successful drawing on first trials of the eight diameters of fibers between 750 and 5 microns needed for balance beam construction. Each trial yielded a full reel (approximately 150 feet) of usable fiber, through storage facilities were inadequate to preserve the entire quantity