Technical User Support

The user facilities at BESSY II hold pumping stations, leak detection, a limited selection of vacuum components and assemblies as well as technical gases (He, Nitrogen, Hydrogen) and liquid nitrogen incl. transportation dewars. Storage spaces are available for packaging materials and gases. A mechanical workshop as well as a chemistry and a biological laboratory are available for users. To make use of the chemistry and the biological laboratory you have to register online. Other facilites are available on request.

Prior to the use of these facilities, you must have completed the appropriate online safety training module in GATE.

BESSY II Hallendienst

In order to conduct your experiment HZB provides a comprehensive technical infrastructure which is adapted to your requirements. The HZB department of Technical User Support is responsible for setting up, operating and developing this infrastructure. Since user operation at BESSY II is offered continuously from Tuesday morning to Sunday evening, technical support is also maintained outside regular working hours at nighttime and on weekends. In addition HZB provides continuous support during regular working hours. The 'Hallendienst' is the first point of contact for all your technical problems and consists of technical and scientific HZB employees well versed in user support.

In case of any problem, please call the 'Hallendienst' at 12984. The 'Hallendienst' supports all BESSY II users 24 hours a day and is the first point of contact.

The phone number is also given on the BESSY II on-site information system.

BESSY II supplies available at the experiment

The following infrastructure is available at each individual beamline:

Power supply
3 circuits, each with RCD, 3x Schuko connectors per circuit, 1x IEC 16A connector, and 1x IEC 32A connector.
Common potential equalisation connection and emergency switch.
Maximum total power: 44 kW.

Cooling water
Closed system. Fore run: 10 bar/30°C (a pressure reducer may be used in special cases); return run: 1.8 bar/42° C.
2 hose connection nipples 10 mm Æ NW each.

Please note: Cooling water has VE-quality (10 µS) - therefore stainless steel fittings have to be used.
Q_H2O ~12-15 l/min

Compressed air
4 FESTO couplings with automatically acting shut-off, 8.5 bar, dried.

GHe recycling
One coupling 20 mm Æ NW and associated counter in the supplies frame on the hall.

Exhaust line
20 mm Æ NW hose connection nipples for non-toxic and non-explosive gases, capacity ca. 8-10 m³/h.

Hazardous gases exhaust line
For toxic and explosive gases and gas mixtures, 25 mm Æ NW hose connection nipples, exhaust capacity ca. 11-15 m³ (only available if supplies frame in the hall is equipped with a safety gas cabinet).

Mobile safety gas cabinets
For the use of:

lecture bottles with PxV ³ 20 at the experiment;
steel bottles for technical gases (e.g. 10 l/200 bar).

Two movable GHe counters
In cases where more than one user consuming LHe is connected to one fixed counter.

LN₂35 x 100 l Dewars and 4 x 150 l Dewars, distributed over the hall.

LHe
On demand via LHe-Order@helmholtz-berlin.de

Turbo-Molecular-Drag pumping stations
14 Pfeiffer TSH 064/TSH 071 stations (pumping speed 33 l/s, ultimate pressure 10^-9bar) are available on a short-term loan basis.

Refrigerator and Freezer
In the experimental hall we also provide a refrigerator (10°C/50°F) and a freezer (-22°C/-7.6°F).

Special Applications (on request)
Cleaning facilites for optical components and additional technical gases.

Liquid Gases and Standard Gases

Liquid nitrogen can be obtained in 100l (≈ 26,4 Gallons) and 150l (≈ 39,6 Gallons) dewars.

Liquid helium must be ordered at least one week in advance via LHe-Order@helmholtz-berlin.de.

Available LHe dewars sizes are:

50l (≈ 13,21 Gallons)
100l ( ≈ 26,42 Gallons)
250l (≈ 66,04 Gallons)

We also provide standard gases in 180 bar bottles for your testing time. The standard gases are:

nitrogen
helium
argon

If you require gases, please contact the technical user support or the 'Hallendienst' (user assistance). If you want to use other gases than the ones listed above please contact Francois-Xavier Talon. He will assist you with the procurement.

HZB User Workshop

The HZB User Workshop is located in building 15.8 in room 011. For easy manual work, users and employees are allowed to use the workshop without mechanical training. In compliance with the prescribed occupational safety (personal protective equipment and 2-persons rule) and with registration at the 'Hallendienst' (user assistance) the workshop is available. The workshop is equipped as follows:

Workbench for manual work and assembly
Vise
sandpaper
Screw clamps
open-end wrench
scriber
some manual tools such as files, saws
drill press
Drill Ø1 to 10mm in 0.1mm increments
spot welder

For more complex work in which machine tools must be used, the mechanical workshop of HZB can be addressed. Should further problems or concerns arise, the technical support staff can be contacted at any time.

Please contact Michael Müller for more detailed information about the user workshop.

Mechanical Workshop

The mechanical workshop is located in building 15.8 in room 0117. Only employees with mechanical education are allowed to perform urgently necessary mechanical work. It is essential to pay attention to the occupational safety and the 2-person rule.

Machine inventory:

workbench for manual work and assembly work
various standard tools for manual workpiece machining
drilling machine
small boring mill (suitable for small milling jobs)
lathe with extensive accessories (center height 140mm)
milling machine
In consultation with the workshop, other options such as cold saw, bandsaw and grinding block can be used

Please contact Michael Müller if you want to use the mechanical workshop.

Chemistry Laboratory

The chemistry laboratory is located in the main building 14.51 on ground floor level and comprises

fume hoods
balance
storage containers for hazardous chemicals
explosion-proof refrigerator (3°C / 34.7°F)
selection of glassware
further equipment is available on request

If you want to make use of the chemistry lab please contact An na-Marie Runge prior to your arrival. If you have an HZB ID you may also book it online here. Please have a look at the la b rules before you start working.

Please complete the registration form at least seven days prior to your work in the chemistry lab and provide us with more details on your experiment, your arrival date etc.

Only with your provided information, we are able to arrange an individual lab safety instruction and prepare safety precautions in time. The safety instruction is valid for one year and grants access to the lab. After one year you need to refresh the safety instruction. During normal office hours Anna-Marie Runge will hand out a magnet card. On weekends and at nighttime please contact the 'Hallendienst'.

Biology Laboratory (MX-BioLab)

The MX-BioLab is operated by the M acromolecular Crystallography group. The BioLab is directly accessible from the experimental hall via the cargo port. The laboratory allows open handling of biological material (up to safety level 2) including cultivation of euraryotic cells and genetically modified organisms (safety level S1 only).

Please complete the registration form at least seven days prior to your work in the BioLab.

For more detailed information and access to the BioLab, please visit the BioLab webpage.

Aluminum profile saw for Minitec profiles

The aluminum profile saw is located in Building 15.8 in the corridor under the ramp of the receiving department. After a short instruction employees with mechanical training may receive a key authorization. It is essential to pay attention to the occupational safety. Smaller cut quantities (up to a maximum of 10 cuts) of non-mechanized employees can be provided on request by the user support staff on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Various accessories, screws and connectors are also provided as stock material.

Please contact Dominic Becker if you want to make use of the profile saw.