An insider's view of vacuum vessel fabrication
10 Jul 2017
The complexity of the ITER vacuum vessel, its dimensions, the quantity of welding, and the degree of precision required makes the manufacturing effort for this strategic component one of the most challenging of the entire project.
European vacuum vessel fabrication underway at Walter Tosto in Chieti, Italy. © Walter Tosto Spa
Procurement responsibility falls to Europe and Korea. In 2010, the European Domestic Agency selected the AMW consortium (Ansaldo Nucleare S.p.A, Mangiarotti, Walter Tosto) for its share of the vessel sectors. Today, following detailed engineering, prototyping and qualification phases, manufacturing activities are in full swing.
In a recent video filmed at the Walter Tosto premises in Chieti, Italy, we get an insider's access to fabrication activities: the qualified technicians, specialized tooling, and many subcomponents involved in the fabrication of vacuum vessel sectors #5 and #4. (Nine sectors in all will form the full ring of the torus-shaped vacuum vessel.)
View the Walter Tosto video on Vimeo.