Fine Art by
Brian Fromant DipSBA
aka Fropencil
Updated - Winter soon to be SPRING
2026
Please let me know of any mistakes or wrong facts I am just trying to do my best to get Camscan noticed.
Camscan Bar Hill 1980's
Hello - Just found this in my toolbox -Name the people
Staff at Camscan in the 1980's
Camscan -
Originated and built in Bar Hill, Cambridgeshire under the directors Barry Drayton and Malcolm Tye
Built and maufactured by me and my colleagues above
A brief explation of an SEM.
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various signals that contain information about the surface topography and composition. The electron beam is scanned in a raster scan pattern, and the position of the beam is combined with the intensity of the detected signal to produce an image. In the most common SEM mode, secondary electrons emitted by atoms excited by the electron beam are detected using a secondary electron detector (Everhart–Thornley detector). The number of secondary electrons that can be detected, and thus the signal intensity, depends, among other things, on specimen topography. Some SEMs can achieve resolutions better than 1 nanometer.
Specimens are observed in high vacuum in a conventional SEM, or in low vacuum or wet conditions in a variable pressure or environmental SEM, and at a wide range of cryogenic or elevated temperatures with specialized instruments.[1]
For more information on Scanning Electron Microscopes please go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scanning_electron_microscope
Camscan
at the chemistry department Trinity College Cambridge
What happened to CamScan
Moving on to
CamScan Announces the Apollo 300, TFE SEM at Microscience 2006
16 Jul 2006
CamScan unveiled their new Apollo 300 Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope at the Microscience 2006 International Conference and Exhibition at ExCel London on 27th June 2006.
The Apollo 300 complements the present range of high quality SEMs and combines exceptional Analytical qualities for simultaneous multi-detector analysis (including EDX, WDX and EBSD) with low accelerating voltage and Delphi through-lens imaging.
The Apollo 300 maintains CamScan’s excellent reputation for reliability, build quality and exceptional performance.
This meeting proved to be very successful for CamScan with a great deal of interest being shown for the new product. It was also confirmed that the first of these instruments will be delivered to a prestigious engineering college in the UK in the near future.
Eucentric Stage 6 Movements
I was responsible for assembly and testing.
6-Axis Eucentric Stage is a specialized sample stage used in desktop scanning electron microscopes (SEM), such as the Phenom XL, enabling precise and safe manipulation of samples for detailed imaging and analysis.
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Key Features:
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True Eucentric Movement: Allows a specific point on the sample to remain in focus and centered during tilting, rotation, and shifting.
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6 Motorized Axes: Combines 4 motorized axes on the sub-stage (tilt, rotate, shift, lift) with 2 motorized axes on the main stage for full control.
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Safe Operation: Integrated anti-collision algorithms prevent damage to the sample and SEM, even at extreme tilt angles up to 90°.
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Real-Time Visualization: Features a live CAD rendering of the chamber for intuitive navigation and position monitoring.
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Rapid Integration: Can be loaded or unloaded within 1 minute, replacing standard sample holders seamlessly.
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Applications:
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Material Science: Enables detailed surface and cross-sectional analysis.
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Failure Analysis: Supports in-situ tensile testing with real-time SEM imaging.
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Cryo-EM & Microscopy: Critical for cryo-stage setups where maintaining eucentric height ensures consistent imaging during tilt series.
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The picture and Text below was taken from the Applied Beams website.
In the nearly 50 years since its foundation, Camscan Electron Optics earned a reputation as a world leader for innovation and quality in the design of electron microscopes. Now, Applied Beams holds the technology for this comprehensive range of SEMs, designed to meet the requirements and challenges of the modern microscopist. Whether you're looking for a conventional or variable pressure SEM, FEG, LaB6, or Tungsten source types, we offer the technology to suit your needs.
The Apollo 300 is a highly versatile Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope design which provides a true depth of field capability with a resounding quality of build that provides excellent performance at low beam energies.
While a low energy electron beam typically suffers from increased aberrations as the electrons travel through the column, the Apollo 300 SEM design utilizes the concept of variable energy optics, allowing higher electron energies to be used for the electron beam in the column, and minimizes degradation of the beam. An in-lens secondary electron detector provides for efficient secondary collection. The Apollo system can be equipped with EDX, WD, EBSD, EBIC and cathodoluminescence detectors to provide a system which can be used in a variety of applications through materials life sciences and nanotechnology.
The CS series of research SEMs can be supplied for tungsten, LaB6 or FEG operation, and each can be configured for Low Vacuum operation. The CS3000 series of instruments are high quality, superbly engineered Research Grade SEMs performing to the highest level of stability and precision with beam energy of 40keV, and the only available 50keV field emission SEM. The geometrical design enables simultaneous operation of EDX, WDX, EBSD, and cathodoluminescence detectors. Many automated features are incorporated in our Caesium system control software. Full control is available via mouse functions, which can be complemented with the optional Delta Pad multifunction manual control unit. All instruments can be fitted with the Delta Pad at time of purchase or field upgraded in the future.
Derived from Camscan HeliosTM software, our Caesium control system provides new features, new capabilities, and brings your SEM into the 21st century running on the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. Caesium incorporates an easy to use GUI which allows the operator to choose the setup which most suits their style of operation, whether it is mouse control or keyboard shortcuts. Appearance may be changed to include preferred tool bars and multiple windows or a more simple layout with one window and pegged control panels.
Advanced features in Caesium include:
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Multiple image windows, up to 20 image panes per window.
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Support for multiple USB cameras allows in-chamber viewing on the Caesium screen, with integrated camera controls
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Image processing: contrast, brightness and gamma adjustments of live and stored images
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Image calibration and measurements
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Drag and drop images into Caesium from Windows Explorer and other applications
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Image notes and tool properties display in Windows Explorer
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Simple, text-based scripting for automated tool control
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Store and automatically recall user settings
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Image reflection for optical microscope camera display
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Save image in tiff, bmp, jpeg, gif or png formats
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Complete integration of Applied Beams EBIC and Cathodoluminescence products