Final Main Ring Magnet Installation Day and Night Task
It was 5:28 o'clock on Friday afternoon, April 16, 1971, when the final and 1,014th magnet was put into place in the Main Accelerator's four-mile ring. Two Atomic Energy Commission Chairmen - Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, of the United States; and Andronik Petrosyants of the Soviet Union -- watched while Dr. Robert R. Wilson, Director, NAL, congratulated the Main Ring on the achievement of another NAL milestone.
The event took place less than six months after the final pre-cast concrete section was placed in the ring-shaped enclosure which totals approximately 20,600 feet in length. "It was a Herculean effort and I wish to thank all of my NAL colleagues as well as many sub-contractors and their employees for their team spirit which enabled us to achieve this milestone," said Ernie Malamud, Main Ring Section leader.
The fabrication, measurement and installation of the magnets was a day and night operation centered at NAL's Magnet Assembly building and at a plant in West Chicago. A number of records were set -- the production record was 12 magnets in one day with a weekly record of 56 magnets and 12 magnets in one day for magnetic measurements with a weekly record of 80 in one seven-day week.
Malamud congratulated the Magnet Assembly shop working under the direction of Will Hanson for their performance in the total effort. During the week that they fabricated and measured the magnets for the final emplacement, employees worked there from 5 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., after having been on a three-shift basis for an extended period. The West Chicago plant made a major contribution in refurbishing previously-fabricated bending magnets.
Last-day efforts at the Magnet Factory were full of hustle and bustle. The almost completed magnets were loaded on flat bed trucks while workmen continued with final touches such as cleaning and painting the magnets as Belding employees waited to haul them for final placement, about 20 feet below ground level in the Main Ring tunnel.
Among those involved in Magnet Assembly activities were Phil Rosenberg, Supervisor; Clarence Bowling, Assistant Supervisor; Raul Gonzales, Day Foreman, Magnet Assembly; Thomas Gutierrez, Night Foreman and Arthur Gilbertson, Technician. At West Chicago, those involved included Ted White, Manager; Ron Norton, Assistant Manager; Ralph Huggins, Chief Inspector; Donald Mizicko, Night Supervisor; Glenn Spaulding, Day Supervisor and Clayton Bossert, Chief Engineer. Jack Jagger was in charge of the magnet inspection and magnet reworking at both sites. At the site, Bob Sheldon is responsible for the installation of all Main Accelerator components and Tony Glowacki has coordinated the installation of magnets and all tunnel piping. Others involved included Tony Winchester and Joel Rosenberg, who assisted in magnet installation; Chuck Schmidt, Dean Krause and Fred McIntosh, Magnetic Measurements Group, and many, many others.
Each Main Ring bending magnet weighs approximately 12.5 tons and is 20 feet in length. The bending magnets are painted light and dark blue; there also are quadrupole magnets painted red which are four and seven feet in length. Now that the coil and magnet production groups have achieved one milestone, they are producing magnets for NAL's Experimental Facilities areas, as well as spares for the Main Ring. The rest of the Main Ring section is pushing a tight schedule to hook up the magnets, complete the vacuum system, connect power supplies and low conductivity water piping.
A photo of the early accelerated proton beam from NAL's pre-accelerator: 200 milliamperes during 80 microseconds pulse Belding engineering workman, Ed Thomas, of Aurora, guides final 200-foot Main Ring bending magnet onto flat bed as Ernest Malamud, Section Leader, congratulates Main Ring members gathered at Magnet Assembly Shop upon the departure of the 1,014th magnet which completed the four-mile Main Accelerator magnet assembly. The event was the highlight of a 13-hour day for the Belding crew, NAL and the subcontractor employees in which 44 magnets were set to break the previous Laboratory record. Less than six months earlier, the last concrete section for the Main Ring tunnel was put into place.
The 1,014th and final magnet for NAL's Main Accelerator pauses for a few moments at the Sector A major vehicle access on the Ring Road. Members of the Main Ring gathered around it to commemorate the occasion. They are (L to R): Wally Pelczarski, coordinator of installation of vacuum systems; Barb Schlucter, Secretary; Jim O'Hara and Johnny Green, electronic technicians, magnet power supply; Vic Garzotto, in charge of welding all ring piping; Hal Landers, mechanical technician. In rear, standing: Tony Glowacki, coordinator of installation of main ring magnets and tunnel water and power piping systems and Frank Kleber, executive assistant, Main Ring.