The outer vactank, an object of 7.6m diameter and 13m length is built up of three cylindrical parts. The central part that is integral part of the central barrel and the the extension on either side each one 4.5m long. These extensions house the shoulders that will support and prestress the CMS Coil. To weld the extensions onto the central part a full penetration weld of 24m length and 45 mm thickness has to be done by hand from inside and outside the vacuum tank and its deformation is controled permanently.

The outer vacuum tank will hold the coil suspension system and transmits the weight of the inner detectors to the central barrel. Its thickness is staggered. In the central part its thickness is 60 mm and then goes down to 30 mm at the extremity.