standexetg, Author at Standex ETG

Standex ETG Scholarship Recipients Announced

Standex ETG is proud to provide two scholarships for first-year cadets at Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) majoring in Marine Engineering for the academic year 2024-2025. The Standex ETG scholarship fund honors the memory of ETG employees Richard Morganti and William Wellock, both graduates of MMA who were respected technical leaders and mentors in our business.

Rich Morganti

Bill Wellock

We are pleased to announce this year’s recipients.

The Standex ETG Richard Morganti ’82 Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Cadet 4/C David Ingeme of Plymouth, Massachusetts.
The Standex ETG William Wellock ’83 Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Cadet 4/C Colsen Loughren of Cape Coral, Florida.

David Ingeme

David was very thankful saying, “This money will give me one less thing to worry about in the fall as I will face many challenges during the most important semester of my college career. I chose my major [Marine Engineering] because I love the feeling I get when I solve complex problems. My heartfelt thanks for the generous financial assistance.”

Colsen Loughren

Colsen expressed his gratitude for the support this scholarship provides and said, “I chose MMA because of the atmosphere and the style of learning it offers students. MMA goes above and beyond my expectations for college. I’m grateful that I get to be a part of MMA for the next four years. I am also committed to MMA for baseball and looking forward to the opportunity to represent MMA. Go Bucs!”

We wish David and Colsen all the best in their academic pursuits at the Academy!

Spincraft Wins the Aviation Customer Focus Achievement Award

Spincraft Wins the Aviation Customer Focus Achievement Award

Spincraft is thrilled to be recognized for excellence in the United Kingdom and the international aviation industry as the winner of the Aviation Customer Focus Achievement category at the 2024 Aviation Industry Awards UK! We were even a finalist in the Service Provider of the Year category.

On September 17th, Managing Director Don Murray from our Newcastle facility represented us at Awards Night at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Congratulations to all of this year’s award recipients!

Meet the 2024 Winners: Click Here

✈ Our Aviation Expertise: Click Here

Delivering Complex Metal Formed Aviation Solutions through Customer Intimacy

Spincraft prides itself on establishing and maintaining deep organizational relationships with our aviation customers to deliver critical cost-effective solutions. Our team achieves this by leveraging best-in-class metal forming technologies, partnering with industry-leading consortiums and collaborating closely with our customers throughout all steps of the development cycle.

One aviation customer Spincraft has excelled at building a working connection with is Airbus. This connection aided in Airbus selecting Spincraft to support their ZEROe aircraft development by manufacturing prototype domes for the aircraft’s cryogenic storage tank. Spincraft’s extensive experience within the space launch sector has positioned us as true manufacturing partners in the aviation market as companies seek the best way to store hydrogen in future commercial aircraft designs. Our UK-based operation in Newcastle upon Tyne is now producing single-piece spun and machined domes for this initiative.

Spincraft’s history of involvement with Airbus initially stems from our US-based facilities. The Spincraft site in Wisconsin has been providing single-piece lipskins for the inlets on the A320neo family for almost 10 years. With our US-based teammates gaining trust by delivering high-quality lipskin solutions, it was a natural progression for Airbus and our UK-based facility to partner up as they began transcending into the need for domes.

The ZEROe initiative represents Airbus’s commitment to putting into service the world’s first commercial zero-emissions aircraft by 2035. One of the most important and innovative technologies needed to achieve this goal is the in-flight storage of liquid hydrogen fuel. With an incredibly hands-on approach during the design phase, Spincraft manufactured the first tank dome hardware to support Airbus’s development efforts in this area.

The design phase was an extremely collaborative process. The customer trusted and relied heavily on our advanced engineering team to meet the required design criteria of this solution. Although this was new territory for the customer, this is a solution Spincraft has extensive experience producing for the space launch vehicle market. From here, we were able to agree on a commercial agreement, manage the supply chain and execute the first manufactured prototype for the customer. Our involved approach enabled Airbus to navigate and understand all stages of their development cycle for the hydrogen storage system. The way Spincraft utilized conventional and innovative methods across a range of specialty equipment to deliver unmatched, complex solutions was a key contributor to the success of the developmental program.

With a global network of engineering collaboration, Spincraft hosted the Airbus ZEROe team at our Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Newcastle locations. These visits were an opportunity to continue cultivating our strong relationship while showcasing our facilities, including our facility that was built for the serial production of Airbus lipskins. Through these onsite, face-to-face opportunities, the customer was able to gain familiarity with the individuals they were working with and allowed them an inside look at the production side of the house. While onsite, the Airbus team witnessed the manufacturing process of some of the first domes that will be used in the hydrogen aviation tank demonstrators. The cross-collaboration continued with our Business Development, Engineering and Production staff visiting Airbus.

Airbus has been very complimentary of the way Spincraft has supported this critical program development. On March 14, 2024, Spincraft was recognized at the Airbus Detail Parts Partner (D2P) Awards in France, scoring among the top suppliers and receiving an award under the “Specialist” category. This recognition solidifies our contributions and superior performance over the last year, specifically noting our great collaboration, delivery and performance by the Spincraft WI team on A320neo lipskins and Spincraft UK’s proactive approach to developing prototype hardware solutions for the ZEROe initiative.

This award is a direct result of Spincraft’s proven track record of sustaining operational reliability, delivering on our commitments, cultivating customer intimacy and supplying cost-effective advanced metal forming solutions.

Some additional positive feedback we received from the customer was,

“Not only today but every week you give me the gift of a [project update], except when you are waiting for late inputs from your tricky customer. I can assure you, regarding this project, it is not a gift we receive commonly. I just wanted to say a personal thanks to the guys over in Newcastle for running a tight ship.”

Focusing on relationships with aviation customers has always been a priority for Spincraft. We are excited to deliver a component that is critical for making the future of hydrogen-powered flight a reality. This work reflects our North East location’s evolution into a leading advanced metal forming solutions provider in the European aerospace and defense markets. This contract marks a key milestone in bringing our space dome heritage to the high-growth aviation market. Spincraft’s leading capabilities in design collaboration and CNC spin-forming have positioned us well to support Airbus development efforts that shape the future of aviation and the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft.

Spincraft Awarded Certificate of Innovation for SM-3 Work

Spincraft accepting a Certificate of Innovation from Raytheon

Spincraft Awarded Certificate of Innovation for SM-3 Work

Spincraft colleagues had the opportunity to attend Raytheon’s SM-3 Quality Day 2024 in Norfolk, Virginia on June 25th and 26th. This two-day event included program updates, workshops and networking opportunities amongst key members of Raytheon’s leadership team and more than 30 SM-3 supply chain partners. Spincraft has worked closely with Raytheon for the past decade on the SM-3 Interceptor program by providing leading-edge product support with high-precision hardware manufactured at our New Berlin, Wisconsin facility.

What is the SM-3?

The Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is a mission critical interceptor utilized by the United States Navy and foreign allies. It is designed, and combat-proven, as an anti-ballistic / anti-satellite missile defense system that collides with its target using only the sheer force of impact. Literally “a bullet hitting a bullet” that can destroy short-to-intermediate-range threats deployed from sea or land.

SM-3 Quality Day

During the day one festivities, Spincraft was honored to receive a Certificate of Innovation at a ceremony hosted by Raytheon leadership. This certificate was presented to Spincraft in recognition of our partnership, innovation and dedication to the SM-3 program.

Spincraft collaborated with Raytheon on product development to identify and meet crucial processes and essential requirement improvements for this defense initiative. We were heavily relied on for our decade of expertise in advanced metal formed solutions. Ultimately, Spincraft used metal spin forming techniques to manufacture a reliable supply of nosecone two-layer shells. Raytheon voiced their appreciation that Spincraft consistently met delivery objectives and has worked directly with their team as product specifications have adapted over the years.

On behalf of Spincraft, the following employees were onsite to accept this award: Michael Coey – Project/Process Engineer, Ken Rayno – Director of Business Development Defense and Matt Smith – Quality Engineer.

On the second day, our team was treated to a tour of the U.S. Navy’s USS Mahan, an Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer (DDG 72).

Leading Defense Solutions

Metal formers in the defense sector must achieve complex geometries and tight tolerances with high-strength alloys, delivered with an absolute commitment to quality and customer service. Spincraft leverages decades of experience and technical knowledge to support the industry with a wide variety of spun, formed and fabricated hardware components and assemblies that meet the exacting needs of leading defense contractors and their suppliers. Our solutions can be found across all branches of service and represent some of the most mission critical hardware in missile systems, naval vessels, armored vehicles, aircraft and more.

Spincraft solutions offer cost-effective routes to the highest levels of performance and quality. Our forming processes allow us to achieve near-net forms that drastically reduce metal input weight and machining requirements, creating major cost savings for the customer. At the same time, our proven industry experience allows us to collaborate with customers to find performance enhancements and risk mitigations including part count reduction and the elimination of welds to produce a stronger and more reliable product.

Connect With Us

Standex Engineering Technology Group and its Spincraft businesses are a proud strategic manufacturing partner to many leading defense OEMs and Tier 1s spanning the globe. Reach out to our team to discuss the best methods to tackle your most challenging metal forming designs successfully.

Spincraft Solutions Supporting Starliner

Spincraft MA Laser Scanning an Atlas V Spun Dome

Spincraft Solutions Supporting Starliner

On June 5, 2024, United Launch Alliance (ULA)’s Atlas V rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This launch made history as the first crew flight test carrying NASA astronauts aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. After nearly 27 hours of spaceflight, astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams arrived and docked successfully at the International Space Station (ISS). The crew flight test is a pivotal step that will pave the way for dozens of future astronauts to fly aboard Starliner on missions to orbit. This mission is special to the Spincraft team as we have manufactured a number of the components on both the Atlas V rocket and Starliner spacecraft.

Spincraft, out of its Massachusetts facility has been manufacturing fuel tank domes since the inception of the Atlas V program. Since 2009 the team has spun formed, heat treated, machined, and delivered nearly 400 Atlas V domes. The team recently completed and shipped the last Atlas V fuel tank dome for final assembly this year (2024).

Additionally, Spincraft provided a solution for the Starliner’s crew capsule. In 2009, our Massachusetts site was involved in the developmental phase of the structure and early testing of Starliner components. During this time, Spincraft was contracted to evaluate material properties to ensure the conditions of the formed structure were up to the strict standards needed for the spacecraft.

As a result of this development effort, the team was contracted to provide the spun formed, heat treated and high speed milled critical parts for Starliner’s crew capsule out of large single-piece aluminum plates. The Massachusetts facility manufactured the upper and lower domes of the crew module pressurized structure, where the crew lives and works while traveling from Earth to the ISS. Starliner’s work upon docking is not done, as the capsule is also designed to serve as a lifeboat for up to 6 months for the crew in the event of an emergency.

This collaborative effort with our Boeing and NASA customers to develop the final product requirements enabled Spincraft to get additional spin forming experience for new large and unique contours. We learned additional lessons about the machining/milling and heat treatment processes that ultimately contributed to the successful fabrication of the flight hardware which has been paying dividends as Spincraft forms the future of spaceflight and exploration.

With over a quarter-century of experience in the space sector, Spincraft can be trusted to support next-generation launch and space flight vehicle development as one of the most critical metal forming solutions suppliers. With leading-edge forming processes, Spincraft can facilitate and shape space exploration and commercialization through close collaborations with current and new partners. We invite you to connect and discuss how Spincraft can collaborate with you to solve your critical metal forming challenges with cost-effective solutions that will eliminate welds and reduce input weight.

Spincraft Collaborates on Aviation Manufacturing Alternatives

Spincraft has been a long-time supplier to the European aviation sector by leveraging its in-house spinning, shear forming and machining capabilities out of its Newcastle facilities.

As part of the continuing initiatives to develop cost-effective manufacturing alternatives, Spincraft has an opportunity to impact an ATI-funded project by collaborating with Rolls-Royce and the Advanced Forming Research Centre. This project will examine the business case and technical considerations for a wider deployment of spun formed parts into aero-engine assemblies. The material utilization and lead time advantages over existing methods are thought to present a compelling case for process change.

Members of Spincraft’s Engineering and Manufacturing departments had the opportunity to visit the Rolls-Royce facility in Derby to discuss part layouts and potential solutions across current engine platforms including different hot section components where a one-piece spun option has the ability to accelerate lead times, improve quality and reduce costs vs alternative manufacturing approaches. Spincraft prides itself on long-term customer collaborations with leading firms like Rolls to identify and implement cost-effective ideas using our advanced metal forming capabilities.

While onsite, our teammates were also treated to a tour of the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Exhibition. The Heritage collection is home to a noteworthy selection of historically significant Rolls-Royce engines. Additionally, the Centre displays a scale model of the Spirit of Innovation, the world’s record-winning fastest electric aircraft that reached a top speed of 555.9 km/h over 3 kilometers in 2021.

Spincraft’s visit was a great reminder of the heritage and evolution of flight hardware development. The visit was productive in identifying new opportunities we can support in future aerospace development suitable for our processes of spinning, shear forming, press forming and flow forming.

Spincraft: Leading Space Supplier with Advanced Forming Capabilities

Spincraft: Leading Space Supplier with Advanced Forming Capabilities

Space Launch Vehicle & Structures

The rapid commercialization of space and recommitment to exploration are fueling innovation across the space launch vehicle and structures sectors. New products and complex designs require clever manufacturing approaches to minimize input weight and provide the most cost-effective solutions. Spincraft’s capabilities and experience offer the perfect combination to support these industry demands and technical requirements.

Our Spincraft facilities operate some of the world’s largest spin forming equipment. This allows us to provide complex geometries in thick-walled cross sections from all formable metallic alloys that are critical to meet aerospace requirements.

Various aerospace applications benefit from Spincraft’s unique forming capabilities. Spincraft has provided the industry with considerable variations and sizes of fan shrouds and tank sumps for over 26 years.

Spincraft’s distinctive abilities allow our customers to design parts with complex features that significantly optimize part mass and aid downstream manufacturing and assemblies. The curved geometry of these parts is readily formable in heavy thick-walled sections giving Spincraft a leading edge in meeting specialized customer demands for high precision and low-mass components. These are essential specifications necessary to deliver crew and cargo to orbit and beyond.

Some examples of Spincraft’s aerospace hardware credentials include:

Precision attachment locations for flow direction vanes
Propellent management devices (PMD) such as anti-vortex baffles and drain ports
Airlocks & Docking Adaptors
Crew habitation module components

Spincraft is a trusted partner in support of next-generation launch and space flight vehicle development with over a quarter-century of experience as one of the most critical solutions suppliers to the space sector. With leading-edge forming processes, Spincraft stands poised to facilitate and shape the next decade of space exploration and commercialization via our close collaborations with current and new partners. We invite you to connect and discuss how Spincraft can collaborate with you to solve your critical metal forming challenges with cost-effective solutions that will eliminate welds and reduce input weight.

EVENT: Space Symposium 2024

Space Foundation's 39th Space Symposium

Spincraft will be exhibiting at Space Foundation’s 39th Space Symposium.

Date: April 8 -11, 2024

Location: The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, CO

Booth: #1251 in North Exhibit Hall

Solving Defense Sector Safety Challenges with Metal Formed Solutions

Solving Defense Sector Safety Challenges with Metal Formed Solutions

Spincraft prides itself on working closely with our customers to solve their most advanced metal forming challenges using our unique capabilities and industry expertise. A prime example of putting our precision engineering experience and expertise to the test is collaborating with customers in the defense sector where quality products are absolute requirements. One such recent customer we seek to highlight, Kongsberg, produces remote weapon systems solutions delivered to nearly 30 countries worldwide.

The Problem Presented

In 2018, this customer was keen on looking into defense manufacturers that could manufacture fabricated turrets for armored fighting vehicles. With Spincraft’s history supporting the defense sector, we were approached about revising a critical part of the vehicle’s design.

When looking at an armored fighting vehicle, a turret with its weapons system and munitions storage sits on top, and typically, crew members operate from within this turret. Our design was focused on a new way of thinking that would provide a much higher level of protection for the crew by enabling them to remain completely within the hull of the vehicle using a remote weapons system and keeping them away from the munitions storage. A critical part of the crew protection system is the armored bulkhead which is the barrier between the crew and ballistic or explosive threats acting on the turret.

A typical conventionally fabricated armored turret bulkhead will need to allow full articulation of any weapons systems in the turret including large angles of elevation. This causes a significant loss of crew space beneath the turret or requires a higher vehicle silhouette, neither of which are good solutions. By collaborating with the customer, Spincraft was able to provide design for manufacture guidelines to develop a high integrity, geometrically optimal bulkhead. This meant that full weapon system functionality could be accomplished without the need to compromise on crew safety, crew compartment space or vehicle silhouette.

The main weapon system elevation requirement encroaches into the crew area in the vehicle hull.

New spun formed solution allows full elevation, maintains low vehicle silhouette and maintains the crew’s safety.

The Spincraft Solution

Spincraft delivered a first-of-its-kind solution as the only company in the world that has spun formed armor plate offering the following combined value proposition:

Greatly reduced product cost with a near-net offering
Uncompromised part strength with a single-piece construction that eliminated welds and potential failure points of a fabricated approach
A complete ‘assembly ready’ solution with a slew-ring mounted armor hatch, latching system, locks and handles, painting to NATO specifications and all markings and labels added for vehicle fitment readiness
Spinning to a complex contour that enabled greater headspace inside the armored vehicle and permitted the crew to maneuver the remote weapons system to reach a broader range of angles

We connected with Swedish Steel, a supplier of our leading Oil & Gas spun solutions, as they make a wide variety of armored plates. They were able to supply trial material for Spincraft to perform a formability assessment. These sub-scale parts were supplied for careful evaluation using industry-standard ballistic testing methods and test criteria. After successful outcomes from both forming trials and ballistic assessment, our engineers discussed outcomes with Kongsberg and were able to recommend design edits that ensured we could meet their design briefing most cost-effectively.

With a few modifications to meet the outcomes of trials, Spincraft first manufactured a stainless steel demonstrator and then an armored plate demonstrator unit that successfully met our customer’s requirements and solved their challenges.

Contact Us

Standex Engineering Technology Group and its Spincraft businesses are a proud strategic manufacturing partner to leading defense OEMs and Tier 1s across the world. To tackle your most challenging metal forming designs in the most cost-effective manner, reach out to our expert metal forming colleagues today.

Manufacturing Solutions for Medical Technology

Manufacturing Solutions for Medical Technology

Manufacturing Cryogenic Pressure Vessel Heads for MRI Scanners

Standex Engineering Technologies Group and its Spincraft UK business, a leading metal forming solutions provider in Newcastle in the North East of the United Kingdom, has manufactured thousands of cryogenic pressure vessel heads for MRI scanners used in the medical imaging industry. Spincraft is the leading supplier of these components that are critical to the function of MRI scanners like the Siemens Magnetom, an industry leader in accuracy and resolution with over 30 thousand units shipped over the last three decades.

The Origins of our Involvement

Spincraft has been involved with the system manufacturer since the early days of widespread MRI use in clinical environments. We have collaborated closely with our customer’s design team to understand their technical needs and concerns. Decades of building a relationship and prioritizing customer intimacy allowed Spincraft to design our forming solutions with the flexibility to respond to and accommodate substantial design changes as scanner technology has advanced while keeping costs within the customer’s budget.

Over the years, Spincraft has developed new forming methods and processes to meet the increasingly demanding tolerance requirements that MRI scanner pressure vessels require. The design of these structures has changed to be lighter and more cost-efficient, with more power and better imaging that drives thinner but stiffer vessel construction. As these designs have evolved, the need for component repeatability and maintaining cost efficiency has not wavered.

Lifting the Lid on the MRI Scanner’s Internal Construction

Most people only see the outside plastic covers on an MRI scanner. Underneath this is the main pressure vessel assembly known as the Cryostat. The Cryostat has three layers with formed metal components made by Spincraft.

The outer layer is known as the Outer Vacuum Chamber (OVC). This stainless steel OVC keeps the contents of the Cryostat under a vacuum to help with conductive insulation, much like a thermos flask keeping heat out of the contents rather than keeping heat in.

The next layer is a Thermal Shield made from aluminium. It has a highly reflective surface that helps provide a barrier to heat transmission by radiation.

Inside the Shield is the Helium Vessel (HeV) that contains the liquid Helium and a selection of electromagnets.

Why is this needed?

At the core of the MRI scanner are a number of extremely powerful electromagnets that have many thousands of times the power of the Earth’s magnetic field. These magnets align protons to create the images needed for clinical examination. These magnets are cooled by the liquid helium until they superconduct — requiring significantly less electrical power.

The Cryostat must maintain these cryogenic temperatures and vacuum pressures to keep the magnets superconducting. Vessel heads made by Spincraft are an essential part of cryostat performance. When the vacuum is applied, the Spincraft heads are subjected to an atmospheric force of about 35 tonnes (77,000 lbs) and maintain the critical alignment between the outer vessel shells and inner bore tubes without fail.

Our customer has continually relied on Spincraft to deliver thousands of parts that consistently meet the most stringent quality requirements needed for accurate medical diagnosis and advanced neurological research.

The Manufacturing Process

The experienced Spincraft team has undertaken years of methodical improvement to streamline and optimize the manufacturing process. Our current process looks like this:

1. An operator moves the material to the plasma profiling machine where a unique serial number is assigned for part traceability in the entire manufacturing sequence.

2. A square plate is cut into a circle for the spin forming process. The surfaces and edges are cleaned for safety and quality.

3. The inside diameter of the part has a weld prep machined in place.

4. The parts are spun formed using a multi-stage CNC process with multiple tools to ensure all requirements are met.

5. After forming, the part is fully inspected and validated against the customer’s requirements.

6. Once confirmed correct, the part is prepared and packed for shipment.

Contact Us

The Spincraft team has a proven track record as an innovative solutions provider in the medical technology sector, as well as other industries including Aerospace and Defence. We encourage you to contact a Spincraft representative to discuss how we can collaborate and support your most advanced metal forming needs.

EVENT: DPRTE 2024

EVENT: DPRTE 2024

Defence - Procurement - Research - Technology - Exportability

Spincraft will be exhibiting at DPRTE 2024 on the Make UK stand.

Date: Wednesday 27 March 2024

Time: 9AM – 4PM

Location: Farnborough International | Exhibition & Conference Centre

Booth: MU7

Author: standexetg

Standex ETG Scholarship Recipients Announced

Rich Morganti

Bill Wellock

David Ingeme

Colsen Loughren

Spincraft Wins the Aviation Customer Focus Achievement Award

Delivering Complex Metal Formed Aviation Solutions through Customer Intimacy

Spincraft Awarded Certificate of Innovation for SM-3 Work

What is the SM-3?

SM-3 Quality Day

Leading Defense Solutions

Connect With Us

Spincraft Solutions Supporting Starliner

Spincraft Collaborates on Aviation Manufacturing Alternatives

Spincraft: Leading Space Supplier with Advanced Forming Capabilities

Space Launch Vehicle & Structures

Space Foundation's 39th Space Symposium

Solving Defense Sector Safety Challenges with Metal Formed Solutions

The Problem Presented

The Spincraft Solution

Contact Us

Manufacturing Solutions for Medical Technology

Manufacturing Cryogenic Pressure Vessel Heads for MRI Scanners

The Origins of our Involvement

Lifting the Lid on the MRI Scanner’s Internal Construction

Why is this needed?

The Manufacturing Process

Contact Us

EVENT: DPRTE 2024

Defence - Procurement - Research - Technology - Exportability