No pause in action
Careful planning by the construction teams ensures that the giant tools used to assemble vacuum vessel modules are never idle for long.
The twin sector sub-assembly tools in the ITER Assembly Hall are engaged in a sprint.
Erected and tested between 2017 and 2019, the tools have been working almost continuously for the past 18 months. In another year and a half they will have fulfilled their mission: producing sector modules ready for installation in the tokamak pit by pairing each of the nine ITER vacuum vessel sectors with its thermal shield and two toroidal field coils.
With every successive sub-assembly operation, a little time is saved. Lessons learned from earlier sector assemblies, combined with streamlined work organization, improved procedures, and the dependability and performance of upgraded tools, have reduced the time required to finalize these strategic “building blocks" of the ITER machine by days, weeks and even months.
Sector #1, shown in this photo, was moved into the building in advance of last week's transfer operation for sector module #8, ready to take its place in the sector sub-assembly tool and leaving as little downtime as possible. It will be upended to vertical on Wednesday and transferred shortly thereafter to the waiting tool.