【3D Printing】Bring ATLAS to your Desktop: A 3D Model of the CERN Detector
Imagine holding a piece of cutting-edge physics history in your hands.
Thanks to 3D printing and a dedicated CERN physicist, now you can.
“We joked with colleagues about having a small detector in the office to better explain which part of the detector was being discussed to those unfamiliar with it. This was the beginning of my passion project.” – Jan Brajer, CERN Engineer
What is ATLAS?
The ATLAS detector is a colossal scientific instrument at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
Founded in 1954 and located near Geneva, CERN is home to the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
Here, scientists study the fundamental building blocks of the universe and unravel its deepest mysteries.
Left: Inside ATLAS, from a spatial touring tool from CERN; Right: Calorimeters inserted between the toroidal coils of the ATLAS experiment detector.
ATLAS is the largest particle detector ever built, measuring 46 x 25 x 25 meters and weighing between 7,000 and 9,000 tons.To be precise, ATLAS is as tall as an 8-story building, as long as half a football field, and weighs as much as 1,200 elephants.
It acts like a sophisticated "camera," capturing and analyzing the high-energy particle collisions generated by the Large Hadron Collider.
These collisions recreate conditions similar to those after the Big Bang, offering scientists a unique window into the universe's origins.
The detector records the outcomes of these collisions with incredible detail, helping researchers study phenomena like the Higgs boson (a particle that explains how everything in the universe gets mass) and search for elusive dark matter (an invisible substance believed to make up most of the universe).
From Passion Project to Public Access
What started as a joke between Jan Brajer and his colleagues, members of CERN's ATLAS Detector Operations Group, turned into a passion project.
Word quickly spread, and Jan was formally asked to create one as a retirement gift for an ATLAS coordinator.
He spent six months creating the 3D model, meticulously replicating the ATLAS design. The process was not without its challenges.
"The most difficult thing was probably creating the toroidal structure and trying to balance printability with detail," Jan explained.
Left: 3D model of a single toroidal coil. Right: Complete toroidal structure with muon chambers, from Jan’s assembly guide.
It contained over 200 parts, took five weeks to print and assemble using four 3D printers.
"Assembly was a nightmare, and I noticed many areas for improvement in the model," he said.
"When the model was delivered to the recipient, I felt immensely relieved that I no longer had to think about it."
But the story didn't end there! Multiple departments contacted him, asking if he could share the model for educational and outreach purposes.
As a perfectionist, he was willing to rework and simplify the model before sharing it, spending countless hours perfecting the design.
Jan improved the original version, making assembly more manageable.
He also adjusted features such as the barrel muon chambers to improve their printability, ensuring the model was easier to replicate without losing its intricate details.
However, the project faced a significant setback when Jan suffered a bicycle accident; he lost most of his data saved on a portable drive.
Undeterred, he started over.
"After recovering, I started the journey again, and finally, a year later, I uploaded a model that I was willing to show to the public," he shared.
"Assembly was a nightmare, and I noticed many areas for improvement in the model," he said.
"When the model was delivered to the recipient, I felt immensely relieved that I no longer had to think about it."
But the story didn't end there! Multiple departments contacted him, asking if he could share the model for educational and outreach purposes.
As a perfectionist, he was willing to rework and simplify the model before sharing it, spending countless hours perfecting the design.
Jan improved the original version, making assembly more manageable.
He also adjusted features such as the barrel muon chambers to improve their printability, ensuring the model was easier to replicate without losing its intricate details.
However, the project faced a significant setback when Jan suffered a bicycle accident; he lost most of his data saved on a portable drive.
Undeterred, he started over.
"After recovering, I started the journey again, and finally, a year later, I uploaded a model that I was willing to show to the public," he shared.
Masterpiece Now Accessible to All
Jan's incredible 1:100 ATLAS model is now available on MakerWorld.
It won second place in the physics education competition.
This is truly a masterpiece. It represents months of design, countless iterations, and an extremely high level of dedication.
The ATLAS model is an ambitious printing project, requiring 4 days and 6 hours of printing time, 2 kg of filament, and 644 magnets (plus some glue) for assembly - a rewarding challenge for any maker.
Projects like this are not just fun. They are valuable resources for understanding complex scientific concepts.
And it's not every day you get to see a miniature version of one of the world's most iconic scientific experiments on your own desk!
Thank you, Jan, for sacrificing so many lunch breaks and spare hours to make this model available to all of us.
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