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Meet an employee at IFA

Monthly contribution from Anders Petersen, Precision engineer

Photo: Anders Petersen
Photo: Anders Petersen
Photo: Anders Petersen
It looks like a trophy, but in fact it was created by accident many years ago. A chip hook was used to remove metal shavings at the back of the insert, but when the insert had started with the wrong direction, the hook was instead wrapped around the tiller. There was a loud bang, the screwdriver flew off, the machine stopped, and the operator perspired. Luckily, no one was hurt. Photo Anders Petersen
Photo: Anders Petersen
Here you see small threaded roof, nut, washer, spacer and test holder plate. Made of tantalum material, which is particularly well-suited for withstanding high temperatures. Melting point is approx. 3020 degrees Celsius. On the plate, an exam is mounted, which, for example, is irradiated at a Beamline down at Astrid 2. Photo: Anders Petersen
[Translate to English:] Foto: Anders Petersen
A smaller aluminium chamber for the laser group of Peter Balling. The purpose of the chamber was to create an air-empty area around a detector. The top is closed with an O-ring and a lid, and the holes on the sides are for various optical lenses. Photo: Anders Petersen

Briefly explain your path to IFA/AU. Where have you been before?

"My Way to IFA – Well... It's been a few years ago, and I can tell you that it was right back to the 9th-grade on-the-job training, where a committed engineer one day asked me if I wanted to see the facilities at IFA. At the time, Lars Therkelsen was a member of the same model plane club as I, and he often talked about the exciting research equipment he designed. My interest in mechanics became more intrigued when a guided tour of IFA and one week's on-the-job training became a reality. A few years later, when the school was completed at the Rudolf Steiner School, I sent an application to IFA, and yes, the dream education in precision engineering had started.

The years after the end of the teaching period have only been interrupted by a short visit in Randers at a privately owned machine shop – as time however flies. "

 

What is the best thing about your job?

"The best thing about my job is clearly my good colleagues. They help to bring a smile on your face, even on days when the little toe is kicking the door frame, you drop the coffee cup in the car, or what else happens – "ahh yeah those mornings". Also the mood is extra high when the complicated work pieces come out of the machines flawlessly. Sometimes faults occur, and I have to start all over again with the processing, and in such cases we borrow the "brokpokalen" of each other. A little humorous way of discreetly saying, "Yes yes, I know that I've messed up".

 

What is the best thing about teaching/communicating?

"Personally, I'm proud to have the opportunity to train/teach the workshop's apprentices. This is an important task that I share with my good colleagues. For me, teaching/communication helps to keep myself academically sharp, and so I often take into consideration that apprentices actually ask me questions that I can't always answer. In short, they challenge me on both an academic and theoretical level. In addition, we are very different, which also applies to the way we acquire knowledge, so one of the crucial tasks at hand is therefore to locate the best possible way to communicate my knowledge to an apprentice ".