For our Capstone Project, we worked to design a new, smaller enclosure for an X-ray Fluorescence recently acquired by the Advanced Physics Lab. Due to the high energy radiation emitted in normal use, the enclosure had to comply with and be approved by the Ontario Ministry of Labour and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission above and beyond the University itself.

The final design used 0.5 cm thick steel to form a box with a front opening for placing samples and an indirect vent at the back to cool the X-ray emitter, It also included a shield for the X-ray source to avoid power-cycling, while maintaining user safety. To further comply with safety standards, an additional electronic interlock was designed to prevent opening the enclosure if the shield is not in place, with a failsafe that interrupts power to the system as a whole.