RACE - Laser welding trials

Concepts

• race - laser welding trials
• abingdon
• technical testing and analysis
• laser test facilities
• trials of its own design of laser
• laser welding
• race
• laser power source
• similar set of trials
• analysis of welds

Location

Oxfordshire: Culham

Description

RACE has been investigating laser welding and carried out trials of its own design of laser welding equipment in 2018. It has just completed a second iteration of the design to implement improvements (higher power output, more reliability) and a similar set of trials to the 2018 work needs to be carried out to verify the design. RACE does not have the equipment and expertise to test internally. The services, facilities and support needed are: • Laser test facilities (Safety cell, laser power source, robot, measurement equipment) • Technician support to run experiments • Guidance on welding setup and parameters • Analysis of welds • Interpretation of welds and expert opinion

Total Quantity or Scope

• Laser test facilities (Safety cell, laser power source, robot, measurement equipment) • Technician support to run experiments • Guidance on welding setup and parameters • Analysis of welds • Interpretation of welds and expert opinion

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 71600000 - Technical testing, analysis and consultancy services

Legal Justification

The RACE laser welding head is an evolution of the previous design that was tested at TWI. Only part of the design has needed to be changed. Testing at a different supplier is likely to require redesign of the interfacing components, requiring allocation of more resource and increasing design and management costs. Various adaptors and ancillary components are needed to connect the laser welding head, having previously tested with them, we already have the equipment needed to operate at TWI. The costs to change to supplier are estimated around the £1500-£2000 mark, assuming the safety provisions, control systems etc. are identical to TWI. This amount of money was found to be the difference between suppliers in the original selection of TWI. Core to value for money being achieved through TWI is their previous involvement in this project. Because of this they have a good understanding of the projects aims and of UKAEA’s needs. Additionally, TWI have already demonstrated that they are capable of performing the results needed to fulfil this type of testing, by completion of the previous set of trials. TWI have the necessary expertise, equipment and analysis ability required to provide useful insights into the performance of the welding head and the quality of the welds produced, all under one roof. Alternate facilities, for example at an academic institution, would not have this level of knowledge in-house. In addition to this, keeping the supplier consistent between the trials will ensure consistency in the results collected. This will make direct comparison easier, which is necessary to show the effectiveness of improvements in the design.

Other Information

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