The Michigan Ion Beam Laboratory (MIBL) uses accelerators to simulate radiation damage in materials for nuclear applications: improving safety, reliability, and the efficiency of current and future reactors. The acquisition of a 3rd accelerator and an effort to pursue triple beam irradiations created the need for an upgrade to full remote control systems from systems that are 30 years old: analog knobs and buttons directly controlling various devices such as valves, vacuum pumps, power supplies, and ion beam lenses.
The incorporation of a new accelerator has also added a lot of devices, nearly double what was previously present, which also need a new control system. These rack mount cases will be the central control units that will interface with all devices, using some hardware from national instruments, and the modular connector backplane. Each case will control nearly 20 devices, organize approximately 40 cables, and provide the power for all control interfaces and many of the lower power devices used in a neat and organized manner. These boxes will serve as the heart of a complicated control system that will span the whole lab and bring it into the 21st century.
