The Assembly Experience of the First Cryo-module for HIE-ISOLDE at CERN

The HIE ISOLDE project aims at increasing the energy of the radioactive ion beams of the existing REX ISOLDE facility from the present 3 MeV/u up to 10 MeV/u for an A/q up to 4.5 [1]. The upgrade includes the installation of a superconducting linac in successive phases, and ultimately comprising two low-β and four high-β cryomodules. The first phase involves the assembly installation and test of two high-β cryo-modules, each housing five high-β superconducting cavities and one superconducting solenoid, aligned within tight tolerances. Following design and procurement of cryo-module components for 2 units, the first unit is now being assembled at CERN, in a dedicated facility including class100 (ISO5) clean rooms equipped with specific tooling. The assembly is foreseen to be complete and the cryo-module delivered to the beam-line in May 2015. In this paper, we present the assembly of the first unit, including the methodology, special tools, assembly procedures and quality assurance aspects. We report on the experience from this first assembly, including tests results, and present prospects for the next-coming cryomodule assemblies.