Iter deploys robots for 9-tonne divertor cassettes
iter is pushing specialized robotics, machine vision systems, and force-sensing technologies into the tokamak interior as it prepares to assemble and later maintain components that are too large and too constrained for direct human work. The heaviest of those parts include divertor cassettes that reach 9 tonnes.
Raphael Hery at ITER workshop
Raphael Hery, an ITER handling and robotics expert, said during a dedicated session at the third ITER Public-Private Fusion Workshop in April, “We are preparing for the future while we are building this machine,”. The line captures the practical shift now under way: ITER is designing the tools that will move parts through narrow ports, not just the parts themselves.
7.5-metre blanket manifolds
Long, snake-like manipulators extend deep into the vacuum vessel through narrow openings to lift and position bulky components. Some blanket manifolds rise as high as 7.5 metres, and blanket shield blocks can weigh up to 4 tonnes, so the work is closer to precision handling than to conventional factory assembly.
Remote handling inside ITER
ITER’s in-vessel components were designed from the beginning for remote handling, because radiation levels inside the vacuum vessel will eventually make direct human access impractical during high-power operations. That leaves a hard engineering problem rather than a future convenience, since many of the parts must be maneuvered around the vessel and positioned with extreme precision.
The complication is scale. ITER’s in-vessel assembly is described as one of fusion’s toughest engineering challenges, and the parts do not simply sit in place once installed. The same robotics and sensing systems that help build the interior are expected to support later maintenance, which means the handling equipment has to work reliably in a space where errors are costly and access will be limited by design.
The unanswered question is how far this remote-handling system has progressed beyond preparation and workshop demonstrations, including when the full assembly tooling will be ready for the vessel work ahead.
