Application of PCB and FDM Technologies to Magnetic Measurement Probe System Development

Rotating coil probes are essential for measuring harmonic multipole fields of accelerator magnets. A fundamental requirement of these probes is their accuracy, which typically implies that the probes need to be very stiff and straight, have highly accurate knowledge of the placement of windings, and an ability to buck the fundamental fields well in order to suppress the effects of vibrations. Ideally, for an R&D test environment, probe fabrication should also be easy and low-cost, so that probe parameters (type, length, number of turns, radius, etc.) can be customized to the magnet requiring test. Such facility allows measurement optimization for magnets of various multipolarity, aperture size, cable twist pitch, etc. The accuracy and construction flexibility aspects of probe development, however, are often at odds with each other. This paper reports on application of printed-circuit board and fused-deposition modeling technologies, and what these offer to the fabrication of magnetic measurement probe systems.