The scene
A modern high-voltage research institution must serve changing needs. In Switzerland, FKH commissioned a modular HAEFELY impulse generator that could support different testing arrangements. The customer’s own reports record a factory acceptance test in June 2023 and an acceptance on site in September 2023, establishing a much more precise history than a generic equipment listing.
The engineering challenge
The generator’s full system rating is 1.8 MV and 180 kJ. But a later report shows a 12-stage configuration inside the new hall — not the entire nominal stage complement. It is tempting to attach the highest possible number to every photograph. Doing so would confuse the configuration captured on a particular day with the machine’s complete rated capacity. The distinction between how a system is designed and how it is deployed is central to this story.
Why it matters
The broader theme is flexibility. Unlike the giant fixed impulse towers, a modular system can move between different test geometries, and FKH’s records document both delivery and subsequent adaptation. It belongs alongside the older mobile cable testing story as evidence that high-voltage engineering is about moving or reconfiguring equipment to fit a real problem.
Sources, scope and limits.
FKH customer annual reports for 2023 and 2024 distinguish factory, site acceptance and hall configuration.
- FKH 2023 original annual report pp.31-33 new modular 1.8MV 180kJ HaefelyS-E2-002 · corporate_publication · original_annual_report_pdf_pages_31_32_visually_inspected
- FKH 2024 original annual report p.40 indoor 12-stage Haefely generatorS-E2-003 · corporate_publication · original_annual_report_pdf_page_40_visually_inspected
Visual quotations document individual historical points with named sources and creators; they are not a general image-library licence. Equipment claims are intentionally narrower than the surrounding institution’s activities.