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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Control system for the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility

Conference ·
OSTI ID:274129

A new accelerator control system is being implemented as part of the development of the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF), a first generation radioactive ion beam (RIB) facility. The pre- existing accelerator control systems are based on 1970`s technology and addition or alteration of controls is cumbersome and costly. A new, unified control system for the cyclotron and tandem accelerators, the RIB injector, ion sources, and accelerator beam lines is based on a commercial product from Vista Control Systems, Inc. Several other accelerator facilities, as well as numerous industrial sites, are now using this system. The control system is distributed over a number of computers which communicate over Ethernet and is easily extensible. Presently, implementation at the HRIBF is based on VAX/VMS, VAX/ELN, VME, and Allen-Bradley PLC5 programmable logic controller architectures. Expansion to include UNIX platforms and CAMAC hardware support is planned. Operator interface is via X- terminals. The system has proven to be quite powerful, yet is has been easy to implement with a small staff. A Vista users group has resulted in shared software to implement specific controls. This paper details present system features and future implementations at the HRIBF.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
274129
Report Number(s):
CONF-950512--365; ON: DE96010661
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English