Anodizing NICER’s Patches

This video shows engineering technician Katrina Harvey anodizing NICER’s patches at the Plating Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

0:00 One of the NICER patch bodies hangs from a spiky stick by a wire. 0:05 Patch lids attached to a similar stick are seen submerged in a dark blue liquid. 0:07 Harvey lifts the lids and one patch body from a chemical bath and submerges them in a container of deionized water. 0:24 Several lids have been dyed black. 0:29 Harvey submerges the black lids into a chemical bath covered with white plastic balls. 0:42 Harvey lifts undyed patch bodies from a deionized water rinse. 0:47 Harvey lifts patch bodies from a chemical bath covered in white plastic balls and dunks them in deionized water. 1:07 A wider view of Harvey as she works on the patch bodies in the plating lab. 1:24 The patch bodies are shown submerged in a blue liquid. 1:28 A pan across patch bodies submerged in blue liquid. 1:34 Harvey lifts the patch bodies on their individual wires out of a well where nozzles spray them with deionized water. She then dunks them several times in a container of black dye. 1:54 She adds more patch bodies to the black dye. 2:22 She hangs the dyed bodies in a well where nozzles spray them with deionized water. 2:35 Harvey sprays the patches with deionized water. 2:40 Keith Gendreau (NASA), Steve Kenyon (NASA), and Isiah Holt (NASA) cluster together, looking at one of the dyed NICER patch bodies. 2:48 Harvey rinses dyed patch bodies. 2:58 Harvey holds several dyed patch bodies still on their wires. She lifts them and starts walking through the lab. 3:18 Gendreau and Kenyon help remove plugs from holes in the patch bodies. These protected screw threads during the anodizing process. 3:32: Someone dries one of the patch bodies with compressed air. 3:42 The dyed patch bodies rest on a table. 3:58 Close-ups of various features of the lab, like labels, knobs, readouts, buttons, clamps, and wires.

Credit:NASA/Sophia Roberts and Scott Wiessinger

Engineering technician Katrina Harvey lifts the lids of the NICER patches out of a chemical cleaner. It’s important to make sure all grease, oil, or other possible contaminants are removed before starting the anodizing process. The white balls floating in the bath in the foreground prevent evaporation.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: Photo of a woman lifting metallic pieces out of a container of liquid.

Descriptive text: In this photograph, a woman in a blue lab coat, purple gloves, and safety glasses lifts a long metal stick with spikes out of a container of liquid. The container is set in a long metal counter with several similar containers. Another counter runs behind her, so the camera can see the blue and white front. The spiky stick holds several flat gray triangles with holes in the middle. The top of the photo reveals tall walls lined with pipes and tubes. An orange, yellow, and white chart is fixed to the wall at the back of the room.

The dyed bodies of the NICER patches are hung up to dry in the Plating Lab at Goddard. The parts were submerged in black dye for 30 minutes before being placed in a container of sealant. Once the process is complete, Harvey removed the small plugs poking out from the sides of the patches. These protected screw threads within the holes.

Credit: NASA/Scott Wiessinger

Alt text: Photo of black triangular wedges hanging from thin metal wires.

Descriptive text: In this photograph, several black wedges hang from thin metal wires in the foreground. The foremost wedge has two plugs sticking out from the side. In the background, out of focus, a woman in a blue lab coat, blue gloves, and safety glasses works on one of the wedges.

Harvey submerges NICER patches in a chemical bath at the plating lab.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: Photo of a woman in a large lab space.

Descriptive text: In this photograph, a woman in a blue lab coat, purple gloves, and safety glasses stands in an aisle lined by chemical baths. She reaches across the baths on the left-hand side of the aisle, stirring something out of sight. The top part of the photo shows tall white walls lined with pipes and tubes. An orange, yellow, and white chart is fixed to the wall at the back of the room.

Harvey removes one of the NICER patch bodies from a chemical bath to rinse it in deionized water.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: Photo of a woman holding a metal part via a long wire.

Descriptive text: In this photograph, a woman in a blue lab coat, purple gloves, and safety glasses stands in an aisle lined by chemical baths. She holds a small wedge of metal at the end of a long wire. The top part of the photo shows tall white walls lined with pipes and tubes. An orange, yellow, and white chart is fixed to the wall at the back of the room.

Harvey dries one of the NICER patches with compressed air after completing the anodizing process. At this point, the patches are ready for assembly.

Credit: NASA/Scott Wiessinger

Alt text: Photo of a woman using an air compressor in a large lab space.

Descriptive text: In this photo, the camera is looking up slightly at a woman in a blue lab coat, blue gloves, and safety glasses. She’s holding a hollow, triangular, black wedge and is blasting it with compressed air from an orange hose. She’s standing in front of a long blue and white counter. Above, we can see the metal roof of the building, which looks large and warehouse-like.

The aluminum lids of the NICER patches are immersed in a sulfuric anodizing solution in which a 16.8-volt electrical current flows. This process opens the aluminum’s pores so it will more easily accept dye or sealant.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: Photo of triangular metal pieces submerged in a blue liquid.

Descriptive text: A spiky metal stick is submerged in a bright blue liquid in this photograph. Several flat, slightly rounded, gray triangles are attached to the spikes. Each triangle has one big hole in the middle and three smaller holes at the corners.