CERN, one of BUMAX’s longest-standing customers, relies on BUMAX premium stainless steel fasteners for some of the most demanding conditions in engineering. This is the story behind that partnership.
At a glance
The challenge
CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the largest and most powerful particle accelerator in the world. It is a 27-kilometre ring of superconducting magnets that accelerate particle beams to energies of up to 14 trillion electron volts. To avoid resistance and energy loss, the magnets run at around −271°C, colder than outer space and less than two degrees above absolute zero.
Few places in engineering are this demanding. A fastener in the collider has to keep its strength at temperatures near absolute zero, then withstand a bake-out at up to 300°C, work in ultra-high vacuum, and stay reliable for decades. It also has to be non-magnetic, so it does not interfere with the particle beam. For its vacuum chambers and bellows modules, CERN specified low magnetic permeability and low cobalt content. A standard fastener cannot do all of this at once.
The solution
After testing, CERN chose BUMAX 109, the strongest A4 stainless steel fastener on the market. It holds its mechanical properties from 1.9 K (−271°C) up through a 300°C bake-out. Being non-magnetic, it does not disturb the particles or the magnetic field, and its low outgassing suits ultra-high-vacuum equipment.
BUMAX supplies around 130,000 of these fasteners a year for the maintenance programme, more than a quarter of a million in total.
A partnership, not just a supply agreement
The partnership went beyond supply. BUMAX and CERN trialled a silver coating to reduce galling, a form of wear caused by adhesion between sliding surfaces. The trial worked, and BUMAX now offers the coating to other customers under the norm CERN 507. A requirement from one exceptional customer became a product the wider market can use.
The value of the partnership
The gains go beyond a single contract. BUMAX fasteners have proven themselves in one of the most extreme environments in engineering, across the accelerator and its vacuum and magnet systems. Meeting CERN’s standards has also sharpened BUMAX’s own testing, traceability and documentation, and that work now benefits every BUMAX customer, particularly those in research and aerospace.
“CERN is one of our most demanding customers, and one of our longest-standing. Meeting their standards pushes us to keep raising our own, and that ultimately benefits every customer we supply.” — Camille Feuillet, Regional Sales Manager – South, BUMAX
Engineered for the most demanding applications
If your application depends on total reliability in extreme conditions, the fasteners trusted inside the Large Hadron Collider are ready for it. Contact BUMAX to discuss your requirements.