High School Research at Jefferson Lab

Systems for Monitoring Vacuum in Cryomodule Production

Our project is to set up a PLC that will record data from gauges on the vacuum pumps that produce the ultra-high vacuum in SRF. The PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is a computer that records data and transmits them to an OPC server, which is a type of server that allows a PLC to communicate with a Windows system. Our PLC is a Terminator I/O from Automation Direct with analog voltage and thermocouple input modules. We are using this module because it is an extremely cost effective solution to the need to log data. The data will be transferred to a computer called the data that records all data from SRF's PLCs. The data historian uses software that puts the data into a graph that will be accessible through the web and that can send email alarms when data go out of range.