SIMIC has successfully designed and deployed a purpose-built insertion and alignment tool enabling a critical installation at ITER.

Facing a highly constrained scenario where sector modules were installed before their supports, SIMIC developed a custom solution to insert an 11-tonne gravity support. The SIMIC team managed the insertion into a minimal clearance environment with just, as ITER said, “good old-fashioned muscle power”. Philippe Piluso, SIMIC’s construction manager who also oversaw the first installation operation at ITER, claims that: “It was an intense period, but extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary efforts”.

The tool was specifically designed to:

• Operate within extremely tight space limitations
• Guide and position heavy components with high control
• Ensure sub-millimetre accuracy

Developed and manufactured on an accelerated schedule, the system demonstrates SIMIC’s ability to rapidly translate complex requirements into operational solutions. The installation combined advanced metrology, mechanical optimization, and coordinated field operations, led by SIMIC’s engineering teams: Marco Bolla, who led tooling design and fabrication from the back office, and Jacques Silva Ribeiro, who led the engineering for on-site operations and execution.

Final positioning was achieved with a deviation of just 0.25 mm, ensuring correct load transfer for a structure supporting up to 8,500 tonnes.

Beyond a single operation, it reinforces SIMIC’s role as a key partner in complex, high-performance at the ITER site.

Have a look here to find out more: https://www.iter.org/node/20687/purpose-designed-insertion-tool-passes-test