The move to our cave location became necessary when Brunson started adapting surveying equipment for the tight tolerances of the jet age on behalf of what would become one of our biggest customers, the Boeing Airplane Company. The year was 1948, and Brunson’s downtown factory just couldn’t cut it… so founder A. N. Brunson had an idea:
Rear Adm. Richard Byrd knew how to survive in extreme cold. In 1939, the explorer would set out for his third expedition to the Antarctic. It was his first with U.S. government sponsorship.
The 150 servicemen under his command would load four small aircraft, a massive, 33-ton vehicle called the ‘Snow Cruiser,’ along with dog teams, provisions, tents and cold weather gear aboard two vessels, the USS Bear and North Star. The ships steamed southward out of Boston toward the icy continent 80 years ago today: November 15, 1939.
Governor Parson is pictured at left with Brunson Instrument Company President Deighton Brunson.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson toured Brunson’s unique underground factory in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday, October 22nd. Founded in 1927 in downtown Kansas City by inventor A. N. Brunson, the employee-owned company is now represented by third-generation leader Deighton Brunson. Deighton expressed his appreciation to the governor for state programs that have helped support valuable training of Brunson employees.
Laser trackers are amazing, complex machines. Lots of moving parts. You baby them, of course—they are your most precise measurement device. But you still worry. It’s in your job description.
Now, you’ve got some critical measurements coming up. And it’s been 5 months since your tracker arrived back from the manufacturer’s certification.
Can you be confident in that next reading? Is your tracker performing within Maximum Permissible Errors? How about another 5 months from now?
Living on the Edge… but Never Falling
They get cracked, scratched, and occasionally dropped into the assembly while taking measurements. Brunson Instrument Company offers several options for controlling your SMR so it stays in place or securing it so that even if it does get dropped, it doesn’t get damaged.
Consider these innovative SMR target holders:
For a laser tracker to function correctly, the SMR has to cooperate. Brunson Instrument Company offers drift nests and adapters that place your SMR where you need it and record that next measurement accurately. Consider these target holders:
Brunson Instrument Company has been helping the world measure for more than 90 years, and we continue to develop equipment that makes industrial measurement easier, more effective and precise.
Not everyone is getting the most out of their laser tracker. Consider these target holders, each designed to address specific precision targeting challenges and allow you to get the next shot faster and more efficiently:
Amber Nelson Brunson repairing precision surveying equipment in his shop, 1929.
The founder's story is like many of the early 1900s: an ambitious, gifted and intelligent young man moves from a hardscrabble farm (and a log cabin!) to the big city to look for work.
Amber Nelson Brunson was forced to leave school after the 3rd grade to help his family make ends meet, but what he lacks in formal education he makes up for in mechanical aptitude, design skills and determination.
