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ITER is one of
the most ambitious energy projects ever.
In southern France, 35 countries are collaborating to build the world's largest tokamak magnetic fusion device, aiming to prove the viability of nuclear fusion as a large-scale carbon-free energy source on the same
principle that powers our sun and stars.
01 Challenge
The assembly of the ITER reactor is underway
.
Tokamak components from hundreds of plants on three continents are assembled
on site at this international project.
The ITER organization is responsible for integrating and assembling the components
delivered to the site by the seven project members.
However, assembling these elements is not just a game of interlocking components: these elements are not only complex and numerous, but also have extremely tight tolerances, even within
millimeters.
02 Solution
Digitally-based analysis is required to ensure that the components fit together
perfectly.
Data collection by measurement experts is an important preparatory step
.
Their goal is to provide reverse engineering experts with precise data
after measuring each component to verify its compliance.
In both phases – measurement and reverse engineering – PolyWorks software
is used.
The cryostat scans as a whole and plots the deviation from the nominal part
.
"Before I joined the ITER program, I used PolyWorks | on a large project Inspector™
。 I want to continue using this software, which allows us to acquire large point clouds directly in the software," says
Lionel Poncet, an engineer in the ITER measurement group.
"When it comes to analyzing a large number of points, there are a limited
number of points that other software on the market can analyze.
We chose PolyWorks | Inspector, which meets the need for fast analysis of data with a large number of points," adds Hani Gagueche, a CAD draftsman in charge of reverse engineering
.
03 Advantages
In May 2020, a cryostat base
was installed in the tokamak assembly pit.
The ITER team and its partner team spent ten years designing, building, delivering, assembling and finally welding the base
of this cryostat.
The cryostat base is about 6 meters high and 30 meters in diameter, and the weight that needs to be moved and positioned is 1250 tons, and the integration requires measurement and three-dimensional reconstruction to adjust the device
.
The cryostat is positioned
before being placed in the tokamak base pit for final assembly.
"When measuring, we can use PolyWorks | directly Inspector and laser scanning equipment
.
After scanning the object, we get a very accurate and very high-quality point cloud and a triangulated model, thanks to the tools used during the acquisition process," explains
Lionel Poncet.
"Once we receive the data, we analyze it using the reports we have that identify critical assembly areas, and consider the built components and the surrounding components of known dimensions to ensure that they work
well together.
For the base of the cryostat, we quickly realized that we needed to | with PolyWorks Inspector to identify very critical areas and needed a tool to move the component to the closest millimeter area
about 30 cm or more.
We have developed several tools
in-house.
PolyWorks| Inspector allows us to choose the most appropriate tool," added
Hani Gagueche.
Lionel Poncet further clarified that in this case, PolyWorks made it possible for us to optimize the installation sequence to less
than 12 hours.
While the installation of a cryostat base is not simple, more complex challenges await measurement and reverse engineering experts: the upcoming components will indeed be smaller, but now the area is crowded and tolerances will be tighter
.
At the same time, the deadline for performing the operation is approaching!
04Complex operation
"This summer, installing the first sector segment of the vacuum chamber of a tokamak device on a pre-installed tool was tricky," confirms
Hani Gagueche.
Magnets, thermal shields and vacuum chamber sector segments must be assembled
at the most critical locations with a gap of only 20 mm.
To provide integrated sensors, we had to use PolyWorks' renderings to reposition these elements relative to each other.
"
Lionel Poncet explains, "The prestressed ring was also fully scanned
.
We created a model, integrated into CAD software, to predict future assembly packages
.
The corrective coil was also scanned
with PolyWorks.
On the obtained model, the spacer must be designed to match the future interface
.
We also need to characterize and measure some pipes to ensure that they do not collide
with components that will come in the future.
What's more, this allows us to know the interface for future welding and cutting operations"
.
Assemble a cryostat base
in the tokamak base pit.
PolyWorks| A color map in the Inspector highlighting potential collisions
when last placed in the tokamak pit.
In addition to in-house teams, contractors also use PolyWorks
when acquiring point clouds.
“PolyWorks| Inspector is a universal module dedicated to measurement, allowing multi-device connectivity
.
It has standard or advanced software packages that collect data and post-process
dense point clouds with real-time "quality" indications.
For example, in addition to the measurement aspect, the software can also obtain clearance plots," says
Thibaut Hehlen, Sales Manager at PolyWorks Europa.
The company is a subsidiary of InnovMetric, publisher of PolyWorks
.
"The PolyWorks software is a great experience, it has a comprehensive range of features to quickly solve the problems
you encountered!" Hani Gagueche commented
.
To obtain some 3D reconstructions for critical cases, reverse engineering experts use PolyWorks | Modeler™, a modeling and reverse engineering solution
.
"This module allows us to reconstruct surfaces from very accurate meshes and provide CAD files that everyone can access, even if the user doesn't have PolyWorks or a powerful computer
.
Hani Gagueche explains: "CATIA users (there are many such users in the ITER program) can therefore access the documents
we make.
PolyWorks| The new automatic area calculation algorithm in Modeler will soon be tested
by the ITER team.
This algorithm can greatly save time on reconstruction!
05Featured products
