The fabrication and assembly of the beam source for the SPIDER experiment

The ITER Heating Neutral Beam injector (HNB) will be equipped with a beam source that will provide a negative beam of 40A (H or D). The R&D activities undertaken in Europe to pursue this challenging goal comprise three experiments: -ELISE – the half size ion source experiment operating in IPP Garching -SPIDER – the full size ion source experiment at Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) site in Padua -MITICA - the full size full energy ITER injector prototype being also established at the NBTF The procurement of the beam source for SPIDER started in October 2012, when a contract between Fusion for Energy and Thales, Microwave & Imaging Sub-Systems (as group leader of a Consortium created with CECOM Srl, Galvano-T GmbH and Zanon SpA) was signed. The scope of the contract has been completed in October 2017 with the delivery of the SPIDER beam source at the NBTF site in Padova Italy. A review of the fabrication of the main parts and of the aspects of their assembly is reported in the paper, with a focus on some of the major issue encountered and the achievement of tight alignment tolerances of the accelerator.