Company Profile

DFM Engineering, Inc. was founded in 1979 by Dr. Frank Melsheimer, a highly recognized authority in telescope design and manufacturing.

Dr. Frank Melsheimer is the President and founder of DFM Engineering, Inc. and has a lifetime of photonics experience designing, building, and testing research grade telescopes, retrofitting and rebuilding older telescopes, instrumentation, and control systems.  His expertise and guidance in daily business operations at DFM continues to assure quality products and customer satisfaction.

Dr. Frank Melsheimer has written multiple scientific papers for the astronomical community, many of which are currently quoted and referenced in today's marketplace and educational institutions.

For example, Dr. Melsheimer presented an AAS meeting feature paper titled:  "A Very Wide Field, Very Fast Telescope" as a study of the U.S. Naval Observatory 1.3M telescope. The design performance, optical fabrication techniques, and optical test results are discussed in detail and the paper is referenced frequently.

In an engineering discussion documentation, The Optimal Telescope, Dr. Melsheimer analyzes telescope structural components such as: Steel vs. Aluminum, Geometry, Deflections, and Pointing. These, also, have been referenced regularly.

As a special credit to his integrity and thorough knowledge of the astronomical community's quality requirements, Dr. Melsheimer has written a very popular, comprehensive paper entitled:  How to Buy a Telescope for Your Institution.

With his many years of practical experience in the industry, he outlines the necessary steps involved in purchasing a research-grade telescope augmenting features such as: What is a telescope?, Why buy a telescope for your institution?, Cost vs. Performance, Purchasing Considerations, Quality Assurance, and Service. It is an excellent guide and safeguard when in the market for a scientific instrumentation expenditure of such high regard.

Dr. Melsheimer's extensive technical experience is obvious in his paper entitled: Comparing Telescope Drive Technologies. He offers a plethora of performance criteria with comparison charts. In this paper, he investigates the various drive technologies and discusses the advantages, disadvantages, and performance of these telescope drive systems.

Observatory Design and Construction, by Dr. Melsheimer is an excellent guide strategically outlining the necessary criteria in planning and constructing an observatory designed to house a research-grade telescope. Dr. Melsheimer's extensive experience offers a pristine perspective with practical applications coupled with modern technology solutions to current observatory design obstacles. He provides handicapped accessible features to meet current standards. He works closely with customers to determine telescope features, building and dome requirements, integrated mirror handling, and control room size and placement.

Dr. Melsheimer addresses the necessity of efficiency in an astronomical telescope by a remote user over the internet in his paper, Internet Telescope Performance Requirements.  Consistently high performance from the telescope, instruments, support facilities and control system is required for successful real time direct imaging. Dr. Melsheimer thoroughly outlines these determining performance factors for research study.

Dr. Melsheimer has previously supervised the mechanical engineering department, optical and mechanical shops at Lick Observatory. He has also been a member of many of the design review teams for the Keck Telescope and has designed the Transportable Lunar Ranging Station at the MacDonald Observatory.

Dr. Melsheimer and his team have designed, manufactured and installed over 100 professional telescopes worldwide. Always a front runner in the astronomical community, DFM has evolved to offer a wide selection of telescope systems and upgrades, optical services, electro-optical-mechanical systems, instrumentation, lidar components, satellite trackers, and observatory design consulting.

The experienced DFM Engineering Team offers innovative technical solutions for a wide variety of engineering challenges:

• technology assessment, problem solving
• conceptual design, design studies
• engineering design and fabrication of precision products
• prototypes, robots, & mechanisms
• servo motor controls
• DC motor controls
• stepping motor controls
• real time computer control
• mechanism design
• detail design and prototyping
• specialized manufacturing
• precision positioning systems
• precision manufacturing and assembly
• optical testing
• instrument design
• full machine shop including machining center
• CAD and CAM workstations
• electronics shop with assembly and test equipment
• precision assembly personnel

You are guaranteed quality products, expert professional service and customer satisfaction in all facets of the DFM experience as well as timely response to your inquiries. Choosing DFM Engineering, Inc. assures a high quality return for generations to come.

Dr. Frank Melsheimer
President / CEO / Chief Engineer
fmelsheimer@dfmengineering.com

University of California - Berkeley
Doctor of Engineering Degree
Mechanical Engineering Design
minors:
Structural Engineering
Aeronautical Engineering
Operations Management

Master of Engineering Degree
Bachelor of Engineering Degree