A twin-aperture, 10 m long, prototype magnet was designed by CERN to gain experience in the construction of full scale twin-aperture Dipole Magnets. HV Wooding were given the task to produce the Twin-aperture Dipole magnet Laminations.
Challenges
- Produce 380 off Twin-aperture Dipole magnet Laminations in the required lead-time.
- Achieve tolerances down to 4-8 microns.
- Engineer a competitive solution (Fully wire eroded parts would be very expensive).
Solutions
- Identify critical features through discussions with CERN physicists.
- Develop a route of manufacture using multiple processes depending on dimensional tolerance.
- Design and manufacture wire erosion fixtures for pre Lasered parts.
- The process was to Laser-cut profile, fully deburr, wire eroded critical features and final CNC machine.
Impacts
- Delivered high-quality conforming product within budget.
- This route of manufacture is now considered state of art for application.
- CERN has a proven method of manufacture for prototype Laminations.
- 4.Highly impressive Magnet performance and test results resulting from the accuracy of these Laminations.
Added value
- Have a standard procedure in place for evaluating future design iterations of Dipole Magnets.
- CERN is able to further evaluate Magnet/Lamination requirements before committing to substantial tooling investment.
- Innovative solution, reduced timeframe with lower investment.