Robotic test installation in the ATLAS cavern of HiLumi LHC vacuum module

By Oliver Boettcher, Sergio Di Giovannantonio and Florence Thompson (CERN)

Figure 1. The CRANEbot system, developed at CERN, lifted a prototype VAX M1 module and installed it into a mockup of the forward shielding in the ATLAS cavern, testing for the real manoeuvres that will take place during Long Shutdown 3. Credit: BE-CEM-MRO team.

A remote-handling test of the VAX M1 vacuum module has been successfully carried out in the ATLAS cavern using the CRANEbot robotic system, developed at CERN.

The VAX is the vacuum system for the beamline of the ATLAS and CMS experiments and will enable vacuum to be maintained during HiLumi operation. It is formed of three modules: two sector valve modules called M1 and M3, with a pumping module called M2 in the middle.

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