In April 2015, the NGCF Director and Manager Prof. Christophe Gaudin and A/Prof. Conleth O’Loughlin, along with centrifuge operator Manual Palacios and mechanical engineer Dave Jones visited the Actidyn Factory in Paris, France, to supervise the very first spins of the new 10 m diameter C72 beam centrifuge before it is shipped to Australia, for commissioning in August 2016.

The centrifuge spun very smoothly up to 5g, and the team got a first feeling of the size of the facility and its capability, and how this will complement the two existing facilities.

The NGCF team was  joined by a delegation from the IFSTTAR centrifuge, which welcomed us during the second week of our trip to show us how to operate a large diameter centrifuge.