Catalogs >
API - Automated Precision Europe GmbH >
Tracking the future -portable 3D laser metrology at the Max Planck Insitute

Tracking the future -portable 3D laser metrology at the Max Planck Insitute
4Pages

Catalog excerpts

Tracking the future -portable 3D laser metrology at the Max Planck Insitute - 1

p6,8,10,12Fusion feature.qxp 24/10/2012 13:46 Page 6 LASER TRACKERS Wendelstein Fusion reactor at MaxPlanck-Institut für Plasmaphysik Greifswald, Germany (Picture: Dietmar Gust) Tracking the future Portable 3D laser metrology play a key role in the build and assembly of the Wendelstein 7-X plasma fusion energy system at the Max Planck Institute. V ery rarely is a research area as dependent on 3D-measurement technology in the setup of its major experiments as fusion plasma physics. When one realises how highly complex these systems are, and how deeply industrial 3D laser measurement technology, and in particular the mobile variants – highly-developed laser trackers, scanning and photogrammetry systems – have become interwoven with this research area in the meantime, one can imagine what the systems are now capable of achieving. One thing is clear: without their sisters-in spirit – 3D CAD software – the Wendelstein 7-X fusion research system that is close to completion in Greifswald could not have even been designed, let alone constructed, without laser trackers. But the goal is (almost) worth all the effort: power generation on the basis of nuclear fusion, as has taken place in the Sun for millions of years, and will also be realised here on Earth in the not too distant future. 6 www.qmtmag.com Theory and practice The Wendelstein 7-X fusion experiment that is being constructed in the Max Planck Institute in Greifswald is based on the Stellarator principle. This special design, characterised in particular through the irregular and highly complex, threedimensional shape of its coils, places special demands on the development, design and construction of this machine. Wendelstein 7-X will not actually create any fusion energy, but, within a few years, should provide the proof that the Stellarator principle is suitable for use in a power plant. In a fusion power plant, deuterium and tritium nuclei are fused together to form helium. The fusion of only 86 grams of this mixture results in an amount of available energy equal to the combustion of 1,000 tons of coal. This is the theory. In practice, the problems on the path to this become much more concrete – and a large portion of them can only be solved QMT November/December 12

Open the catalog to page 1

Tracking the future -portable 3D laser metrology at the Max Planck Insitute - 2

p6,8,10,12Fusion feature.qxp 24/10/2012 13:46 Page 8 LASER TRACKERS with high precision 3D measurement technology, paired with a healthy dose of metrological inspiration and an unwavering passion for metrology. Symmetries: negative! The plasma vessel, which is surrounded by hot plasma at up to 100 million degrees, is reminiscent of a twisted, half-deflated bicycle inner tube of approx. 11 m at the large diameter and approx 1,5 m at the small diameter. The highly complex, three-dimensional contour of the plasma vessel orientates itself to the geometry of the toroidal magnetic field generated...

Open the catalog to page 2

Tracking the future -portable 3D laser metrology at the Max Planck Insitute - 3

p6,8,10,12Fusion feature.qxp 24/10/2012 13:47 Page 10 LASER TRACKERS easily with a laser tracker positioned anywhere in the line of sight of the port, the control of the connection of the inner pipe with the plasma vessel is a great challenge. In order to be able to measure the pipe to be welded onto the plasma vessel, a laser tracker must be able to look into the approx. 2-metre-long port from the outside. It must also be positioned directly in the axis of the port. A small laser tracker that can be flexibly mounted in its position is a decisive advantage here. The laser tracker is fitted...

Open the catalog to page 3

Tracking the future -portable 3D laser metrology at the Max Planck Insitute - 4

p6,8,10,12Fusion feature.qxp 24/10/2012 13:47 Page 12 LASER TRACKERS On the Wendelstein 7-X fusions reactor in Greifswald: Dr. Torsten Bräuer, Head of Measurement Technology but also when supporting the teams of fitters and welders. In the last few years, the build-up of the fusion system has moved well ahead with regard to the principal components, and the outer shell has become almost completely closed. The assembly of the Wendelstein 7-X is now concentrated on the installation of the fittings within the plasma vessel. Until recently, photogrammetric systems in combination with jointed...

Open the catalog to page 4