NSCL Mechanical Engineering and Design

Mechanical Design staff at NSCL supply engineering, design and detailing services. more

Since most of the equipment used at NSCL to produce and utilize the ion beams is specialized and generally not available from manufacturers' catalogs, the lab must do its own mechanical engineering and design to carry out the work. Over the years, the lab has accumulated significant expertise in a great many technical areas including high field magnets (room temperature and superconducting), high power RF systems (room temperature and superconducting), high voltage electrodes, high vacuum techniques, charged particle beam tuning and diagnostic equipment, beam target and detection systems, and civil engineering for the infrastructure.

Starting in the early 1980s, NSCL has sought to integrate computer-aided systems into the engineering and design work. Finite element analysis of stress, strain and thermal systems are routinely done as designs are developed. All new equipment designs are modeled on 2D and 3D computer aided design systems and complicated parts can be solid modeled and produced by direct transfer of CAD data to the fabrication machine center.

The combination of decades of experience in ion beam related technologies and the concerted effort to integrate computer-aided systems into our processes puts NSCL at the forefront of providing mechanical engineering and design services for nuclear and accelerator physics research.