NCSX Vacuum Vessel Fabrication

The National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) is being constructed at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in conjunction with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The goal of this experiment is to develop a device which has the steady state properties of a traditional stellarator along with the high performance characteristics of a tokamak. A key element of this device is its highly shaped Inconel 625 vacuum vessel. The vessel is being fabricated by Major Tool and Machine, Inc. (MTM) in three identical 120deg vessel segments, corresponding to the three NCSX field periods, in order to accommodate assembly of the device. This paper describes the manufacturing of the vacuum vessel