Essex X-Ray specialises in the custom design and manufacture of HV products to customer requirement. We undertake all levels of work from product design, production tooling to manufacture and final testing. Both one off specials and volume production are undertaken. We are able to draw upon a wide range of products and technical expertise enabling them to offer the customer a full turnkey service.
DESY
More than 100km of Essex X-Ray’s custom design pulse-modulator cable has been installed at DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) XFEL site in Hamburg (Germany). This custom cable is rated for peaks in excess of 400 amps at 12kV and carries a 1.7 millisecond pulse at between 10 and 30 pulses per second. The ambitious European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL) will provide new insight into several key scientific and technical fields. Ultra-short flashes generated at the facility are rated a billion times higher than the best conventional X-Ray radiation sources.
Rutherford Appleton Laboratories
ISIS Neutron & Muon source allows scientists to study materials at an atomic level, using instruments described as ‘super-microscopes’. Essex X-Ray have successfully partnered with the UK Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) on a number of high-energy physics projects, including the manufacture of Neutron Detectors, Neutron Shielding and extended Epoxy Receptacles for use under vacuum on Muon lines. In 2019, 2,400m of custom 20kVDC triaxial cable was manufactured for use on the Synchrotron, designed to carry a pulse of up to 15 kA on the Injection Dipole power supply.
European Spallation Source
When it begins operations in 2023, the European Spallation Source (ESS) will be the most powerful neutron source in the world. Its beams will help scientists to look deep into the fundamental structure of materials, and will be a vital resource for research into health and medicine, cultural heritage, environmental technology and much more. Essex X-Ray will support the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in the UK’s contribution to this historic project and has manufactured HV interconnection for the site since its inception.
ITER
Essex X-Ray manufactured bespoke high voltage interconnect products for the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER) under construction in France. ITER’s First Plasma is scheduled for December 2025, with over ten million parts being assembled at the 42-hectare site. Our cable assemblies and receptacles, designed to eliminate partial discharge feed Gyrotron PSU’s operating at 55kVDC. ITER plans to harness the virtually limitless power of magnetic fusion and prove its capability as a large scale carbon-free energy source, integrating the technology and materials required to deliver commercially viable fusion-based electricity.
Fault Current
SmartGrid technology, supported by the UK’s Department of Energy & Climate Change is actively being developed to reduce the impact of fault currents on transmission lines. This patented low maintenance solution is designed to reliably, safely and efficiently create fault headroom and improve the fault carrying capacity of power distribution grids. Essex X-Ray’s expertise in resin encapsulation helped develop prototype inductor windings, each weighing a quarter of a tonne. 24 units formed part of an 11kV 20MVA magnetic fault current limiter that has undergone successful testing at the KEMA facility.
BAE Systems
The ground-breaking Eurofighter Typhoon is the world’s most advanced air defence and ground attack aircraft. Essex X-Ray co-ordinated the construction and assembly of a lightning strike simulator for the aircraft during its development phase. A large capacitor bank discharged 1MV lightning strikes, designed to simulate the effects of extreme weather conditions. The Eurofighter successfully withstood a series of tests at the Warton Aerodrome facility to ensure all systems remained operational in the event of an electrostatic discharge.
CERN
CERN, the European Council for Nuclear Research is home to complex scientific instruments, including the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator the Hadron Collider. Studies powered by advanced high voltage technology are delivering new insight into the fundamental principles of matter. Essex X-Ray have partnered with CERN to design and manufacture bespoke parts including high voltage adapters for 200kV isolators, featuring an integrated R28 industrial socket to enable compatibility with existing HV interconnection systems.