After introducing our latest piece of new equipment in last month’s column, a CNC Proturn RLX 1630 lathe, I wanted to expand a little on where it’s making a real difference for customers working with satellite technology.
One of the most important components for successful satellite operation are torquer rods, otherwise known as magnetorquers. These are electromagnetic coils and ours are usually produced from Hiperco 50. They help to create a magnetic field around the satellite that interacts with the Earth’s own magnetic field to generate a torque, which is used to control attitude, detumbling, and stabilisation. Our torquer rods don’t require fuel to operate and have a reputation for versatility and reliability. They now also come with one additional advantage.
The new lathe enables us to offer a pre-delivery machining service that saves customers time and unnecessary expense, eliminates the need for outsourced processing and also ensures that machine time of the customer’s own equipment is optimised. This service is especially useful for machining net-shaped solutions for torquer rods. It provides components that are delivered as close as possible to their final form while improving manufacturing efficiency and reducing material waste. So if you’re frustrated by off the peg deliveries that are never completely ready for the job, it’s time for made-to-measure!
With an intensifying focus on all things aerospace, I also wanted to flag our attendance at the rapidly approaching UK Space Conference at Manchester Central on 16 and 17 July. If you intending to be at the event, please do look us up as we’ll be unveiling the framework of our exciting new relationship with Plymouth Electron Microscopy Centre at Plymouth University. We’ve worked together on many projects previously and their ability to investigate material composition and structure under different conditions at high resolution is an area where we continue to add value for our customers. Watch this space for more information!
Wrapping up this update, please get in touch with me directly to discuss the capabilities of our lathe and other workshop facilities, and how pre-delivery machining of torquer rods can help you cut cost, timescales and wastage. Likewise, please call or email with questions about any of our materials and support services, special requirements or order enquiries and I’ll do my best to help.
Finally, please keep your eyes open for any email communication from us this month as you could win one of four £50 Amazon vouchers. To be in with a chance of gabbing a prize, all you need to do is answer a couple of simple questions!
