Experiences with the Segment Control System at Wendelstein 7-X Operation

Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is a superconducting stellarator having undergone the first experimental campaign after its construction. It is capable of steady state magnetic field operation. After an upgrade to cope with permanent heat loads of several Megawatts, W7-X will be able to run steady state discharges, too. The W7-X control system demonstrated to support all types of experiments compatible with steady state magnetic field operation, i.e. short plasma discharges and sequences of discharges with arbitrary time intervals. The contribution describes the basic concepts of the W7-X control system. Application examples are presented and discussed. Further planned extensions to the control systems are presented.