Automation of NIF Target Fabrication

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is on schedule to increase its shot rate after a congressionally mandated efficiency study was enacted to develop strategies for increasing the number of experiments fielded on NIF. The study set an ambitious goal to double the number of shots over a short 2-year period. Through a variety of higher-efficiency means, NIF has geared up and is on track to meet this goal. General Atomics (GA), as a major target and component supplier for NIF, has pursued a number of higher-efficiency studies and enabled higher-throughput systems on its own in order to meet the target requests for the increased shot rate while maintaining the same high-precision level required for every target. Five automation processes have recently been implemented at GA, adding to a large suite of automated metrology, robotics, and laser-machining capabilities.