INDUSTRY

December 2021 ESRFnews

SEF Technologies acquires an advanced ESRF magnet-testing bench.

Industry benefits from the ESRF in several ways. Many companies use ESRF beamlines to further their proprietary research; others collaborate with ESRF experts, or are involved in the procurement of demanding ESRF instrumentation. But some companies benefit when they acquire the synchrotron s technology as is the case with SEF Technologies. Primarily, SEF is a technology

supplier. Based in Toulouse, France, the company manufactures electromagnets for particle accelerators, such as CERN, SOLEIL, and indeed the ESRF; it provided electromagnets for the Grenoble light source s original storage ring, as well as for its new storage ring, the Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS). Now that the ESRF EBS project is complete, however, the company has switched sides to become a customer, by purchasing an ESRF-designed magnet- testing bench. At about one-tenth of the company s annual turnover, the purchase has been a significant investment, but it is enabling SEF to offer magnet testing as an additional service to its clients. Recently, we won a call for tender

on the basis that we could test as well as supply the electromagnets, says

SEF CEO Eric Fanio. As a result, the investment has already paid off! Testing is a necessary step for

any bespoke particle-accelerator magnet. Engineers need to check that the devices conform to design specifications, and make adjustments as necessary. For the EBS project, the ESRF developed a magnet- testing bench based on the latest stretched-wire measurement (SWM) technology, in which a tense wire connected to a high-precision

Purchase power

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voltmeter determines minute variations in magnetic flux. The ultra-fast commissioning of the new storage ring at the end of 2019 and early 2020 is a testament in part to the quality of the magnets, and the accuracy of the magnet testing using the ESRF SWM bench. Our purchase of the ESRF s SWM

bench has been a strategic decision, says Fanio. Several of our larger competitors already offer magnetic measurement as a service. The new bench is helping us transition from being a pure manufacturing company to a more integrated technology company that can model, design and measure magnets, as well as build them. Meanwhile, it is good for our clients, because they will be getting pre-characterised magnets, and will no longer have the expense of doing this kind of testing in-house. 

Jon Cartwright

The investment has already paid off!

SEF Technologies is not the only company to benefit from ESRF technology (see main story). In September, the UK design and manufacturing company Quantum Detectors sold its 100th V2F100 an advanced, ESRF-designed voltage-to-frequency converter. As the global distributor for the V2F100, we have been delighted with the success of this easy-to-use and compelling product, says the company CEO, Roger Goldsbrough. The V2F100 has enabled our customers to improve their data quality substantially with minimal adjustment to their workflow. One hundred units are far more than we anticipated when we undertook the project with the fantastic guys at the ESRF. It s been an absolute pleasure and we look forward to continuing this successful relationship into the future.

SALES MILESTONE

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Designed for the EBS upgrade, the ESRF s magnet-testing bench uses advanced stretched wire measurement technology.