Local Company Finishes Large Hadron Collider Cooling Components

Fermilab, Department of Energy and Meyer Tool employees with cryogenic distribution boxes ready to ship to CERN for Large Hadron Collider

Fermilab Today, November 2, 2005

A key component for the Large Hadron Collider has been completed with the help of Fermilab, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a local manufacturer.  Meyer Tool and Manufacturing, based in Oak Lawn, shipped the final two of eight cryogenic distribution boxes to CERN earlier this week for use in the cooling system of the new accelerator.  The company was contracted to do the work in April 2003 with Berkeley Lab designing the boxes and Fermilab providing technical oversight for the project.

"This job has been a fantastic one for us," said Ed Bonnema, VP Operations for Meyer Tool.  "It's a great model looking forward to the International Linear Collider on how the labs and the industry can work together to go forward."  The distribution boxes will link the LHC's superconducting magnets with the systems that keep the magnets operating at temperatures near absolute zero.  "Everything has to make this transition from the low-temperature, vacuum-insulated environment of the magnet out into the tunnel where you have pipes and wires and tunnels," said Fermilab cryogenics engineer Tom Peterson, who worked closely with Meyer Tool and with fellow Technical Division employee Phil Pfund.  "The feed box is that interface from the power supply and cryogenic system to the magnets."

On Friday, a group of Fermilab, Department of Energy and Meyer Tool employees met to send off the last two distribution boxes.  "There are certain things that are hard to specify in a contract related to cooperation, communication, trust, and give and take, and I think there was a lot of that in this work between Fermilab, Berkeley and Meyer," said Pepin Carolan, of the DOE Fermi Area Office.  Fermilab engineer Jim Kerby added: "The ILC would be lucky to get a series of contractors like Meyer."

—Kendra Snyder

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