Bob Smith (Research Engineer) and Donald Hamlin from Seattle UW Medicine, the University of Washington, visited our location in the Netherlands in November to attend the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) of the new hot cell combined with an Ellex Solid Target delivery system, guided by Dr. Jozef Comor, Director of Elex Commerce
This complete system realizes a transfer from the Ellex Solid Target delivery from a 50MeV Scanditronix Cyclotron to a 4” Customer-made hot cell for research and production.
Theo Bouwman (Project Manager): “In the past, people used a message in a bottle to send and transport, hoping it would reach the recipient. In this solid target system, the solid coin is sent in a targeted manner by using the tube system so that it quickly lands in the right place in the hot cell from the external system. With this system, eight coins can be transported successively from the external system to the hot cell.”
“This integrated Research hot cell with tongs (HCT) combination contains multiple systems considered in the design phase. It contains manipulators, a Kydex box, ball tongs, a PRP system, a mobile dogging station for waste, a lead channel, and a Hepa filter system. All systems are neatly integrated into the design,” according to Jelmer Tiemessen (Lead Engineer).
During a FAT, customers and Von Gahlen engineers check all aspects of the hot cell to ensure it complies with the functional design specifications and that all functionalities are properly installed and operated according to the customers' requirements. According to Bob and Donald, “A FAT test at the manufacturer's location is worth it. Our first thought was, wow, that's bigger than we expected. We almost said it out loud. Even though the dimensions have been given and are hard facts, seeing the product physically standing there was impressive."
It is very valuable to experience the FAT on location. "The procedures that are followed help us to increase our knowledge. We now understand the product and the application for which it was made even better. We had no idea beforehand how it would all work together. Now, we have seen and touched it and had enough time to try the product. We also see that each application is customer-specific. The guidance during the FAT and the preliminary phase was very pleasant. The employees involved are good at interacting with the customer. All questions were answered very well, and based on theory and their experience.”
Would you like to know more about our products, design phases, or approach? Please contact our sales team at sales@vongahlen.com.
