Innovation in Large Aircraft Lipskin Manufacturing

Manufactured lipskin

Innovation in Large Aircraft Lipskin Manufacturing

Standex Engineering Technologies Group (ETG) takes pride in leveraging decades of experience to solve our customers’ challenges. We do this by providing new innovative metal formed solutions. Today, we are highlighting our lipskin manufacturing efforts.

Unlocking More Fuel Efficient Designs

The commercial aerospace industry is committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by mid-century. With significant research initiatives, the industry is actively developing hydrogen, electric, hybrid and 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) powered aircraft. In the meantime, airframers, nacelle and engine manufacturers are seeking nearer-term paths to reduce their carbon emissions and costs on new and in-development aircraft. One way they can do this is by increasing fuel efficiency through engine and nacelle design. Several aerospace leaders seek to use laminar flow surfaces. Using these will reduce nacelle drag and deliver the desired fuel efficiency gains.

Vertical lipskin aircraft engine component
Manufactured lipskin
Inner Lipskin

To further the research into this field, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aerostructures sought to verify the viability of manufacturing a nacelle inlet lipskin for a large, long-range aircraft that could meet the tolerances needed for laminar flow. The aluminum alloy lipskin demonstrator they designed for this effort measured approximately 15 feet in diameter, nearly 4 feet on its extended outside leg and most importantly was a monolithic construction. This desired part presented a major manufacturing challenge but would offer a large step forward in the company’s knowledge base enabling new and noteworthy technical achievements.

Finding a True Manufacturing Partner

Through collaboration with ETG’s Spincraft business, the aerostructures manufacturer tackled this unique metal forming challenge. The firm recognized Spincraft’s earned pedigree of forming large metallic structures to precise contours and tolerances for leading space and aviation applications. Delivered out of ETG’s Spincraft MA facility in North Billerica, the project required innovative tooling and forming processes to fabricate the demonstrator successfully. Standex ETG engineers devised and developed a new patented process to produce the desired large monolithic lipskin envelope that could be machined to final shape.

Spincraft MA Team with lipskin

As with many experimental efforts, this project was not without challenges – particularly machining the innermost section of the lipskin with available assets and development time constraints. However, upon inspection, the majority of the part achieved required waviness requirements and any deviations were deemed resolvable.

The customer’s project was published in a research paper and presented at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Scitech 2022 Forum. A link to the paper and presentation can be found here.

Your Advanced Metal Formed Solutions Provider

The Standex ETG team is proud of its achievement in delivering this innovative metal forming solution and is keen to continue working at the leading edge of aerospace manufacturing. Reach out to us with your most complex designs to learn how Standex ETG can support you.

Spincraft UK Opens its Doors to Chi Onwurah MP for National Manufacturing Day

Make UK , Spincraft and MP of Newcastle Central

On July 7, 2022, Spincraft UK enjoyed welcoming Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle Central, to its Benwell facility for an in-depth site tour demonstrating our advanced metal forming capabilities. Managing Director Don Murray and staff proudly provided the facility tour. They highlighted many of Spincraft’s core solutions that are critical for the global aerospace, medical, defence and energy sectors.

 

“It was a pleasure to introduce Chi Onwurah to the people and products of Spincraft. Her natural affinity for Engineering and Manufacturing was evident and made our discussions both easy and insightful,” said Don Murray.

 

National Manufacturing Day at Spincraft UK

 

Some of the vital solutions Ms. Onwurah was introduced to by the team included MRI scanner vessel ends, space launch-vehicle hardware and other precision-engineered products. The Spincraft team shared an overview of where these manufactured solutions can be found in new generation space launch vehicles and satellites, medical imaging devices, deepwater rigs and more.

 

In an article posted by The Manufacturer, Chi Onwurah was quoted saying, “I was delighted to visit Spincraft and hear about their plans to grow their crucial, specialist manufacturing business. It was thrilling to learn that components of rockets that go to Jupiter and beyond are being made by the Tyne in Benwell.”

 

Chi Onwurah MP Visiting Spincraft UK

 

Newcastle has a significant manufacturing history and Spincraft UK has decades of experience contributing to the North East manufacturing sector. The Benwell and Newburn Spincraft sites are currently in a growth phase as they begin transforming from manufacturing traditional metal spinning products to increasingly higher specification and value complex solutions. The site stands poised to shape the next generation of global space flight, zero-emission aviation and nuclear energy.

 

This visit was in partnership with Make UK’s National Manufacturing Day initiatives. The goal of National Manufacturing Day is for UK manufacturers to showcase uniquely specialized in-house technologies to their local community while raising awareness of the benefits manufacturing provides to various markets that influence our everyday life. Additionally, this event provided exposure to well-paid career opportunities within manufacturing.

 

Sample Metal Forming Solutions

 

Learn more about Spincraft UK’s capabilities and how we can solve your sector’s most challenging forming needs with cost-effective advanced metal forming solutions. Visit our website for more information on our in-house assets and diverse portfolio of solutions, click here.

NOx Recovery Project

Spincraft MA, National Grid and KGC Sheet Metal collaboration

Standex Operational Excellence

The Standex Operational Excellence (OpEx) Council was recently tasked by our CEO, David Dunbar, with developing a method to monitor Spincraft MA‘s carbon footprint and impact on climate change. This work was part of a larger initiative to measure emissions consistently across the global Standex network of businesses to provide input into our overall ESG rating. An ESG rating assesses a corporation’s long-term exposure to environmental, social and governance risks.

The OpEx Council identified four main categories for our environmental key performance indicators (KPIs):

  1. Climate Change – Decreasing carbon emissions and fossil fuel use by improving carbon-intensive practices (carbon footprint).
  2. Natural Resources – Conserving water and other natural resources while sourcing raw materials.
  3. Pollution & Waste – Reducing solid waste, packaging material, toxic emissions and water pollution.
  4. Environmental Opportunities – Implementing green building practices and improving energy efficiency.

NOx Recovery Project Signing Paperwork

The Spincraft MA team launched its green initiatives work earlier this month. One of the largest opportunities identified to reduce carbon emissions was the design, fabrication and installation of a NOx exhaust system on our large spin lathes, the center of our advanced metal-forming solutions. This initiative will enhance factory safety by improving the working environment for employees, as well as lowering the site’s annual usage of natural gas and electricity.

The anticipated annual savings of 139,502 kWh of electricity and 33,178 therms of natural gas driven by this project will result in the equivalency of removing 236.3 metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.

The above number is equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions from:

  • 50.9 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year
  • 45.9 homes’ electricity use for one year
  • 28,707,665 smartphones charged

This project will include collaboration between Spincraft’s leadership including Ryan Farley, Frank Woods and Mike Arsenault; National Grid‘s Daniel Sancomb; and KGC Sheet Metal‘s Ryan Cole. We are excited to work with our partners to implement the NOx recovery system to begin saving energy, creating a safer work environment and reducing Spincraft’s carbon footprint!

Spincraft MA, National Grid and KGC Sheet Metal collaboration

Spincraft Completes Last Dome for Delta IV

97: First Delta IV Rocket Fuel Tank Dome Delivered
2021: Final Delta IV Rocket Fuel Tank Dome and the Spincraft Team
2021: Final Delta IV Dome and the Spincraft Team

October marked a momentous occasion for Standex Engineering Technologies Group (Standex ETG) as our Spincraft Massachusetts facility spun its final fuel tank dome in support of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta IV rocket program after almost 25 years of close partnership.

 

For more than 20 years, our Spincraft MA facility has supplied continuous production on domes for ULA’s Delta IV rockets. Before becoming a part of ULA’s product line in 2006, the Delta IV rocket was designed for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program by Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security division. Delta IV has served a vital role in providing lift capabilities for high priority U.S. Space Force, National Reconnaissance Office and NASA payloads.

 

Spincraft’s capabilities significantly benefited the Delta IV program by increasing performance while reducing the part count and complexity of the overall vehicle. Previously, the technology initially utilized for making these domes was gore panels. Spincraft’s spinning technology and process expertise allowed Boeing to produce a 5-meter dome out of a single piece of aluminum, eliminating the need for welds, reducing many hours of costly assembly time and reducing the overall weight of the part.

 

97: First Delta IV Rocket Fuel Tank Dome Delivered
1997: First Delta IV Dome Delivered

Spincraft successfully delivered the first Delta IV dome to Boeing in 1997. The first launch occurred in November of 2002. Since then, our team has continued to support ULA’s mission by supplying a total of 415 domes. These domes were an integral part of 41 Delta IV launches to date, including vital military, communications and weather satellites; the Orion Exploration Flight Test; and Parker Space Probe. The last Delta IV flight is scheduled to launch in 2024. 

 

As Delta IV production phases out, Spincraft has already pivoted to supporting early production volumes of Vulcan Centaur, ULA’s next-generation launch vehicle designed for higher performance and greater affordability slated for inaugural flight in 2022.

 

Over the last quarter-century, Spincraft has grown to become one of the most critical solutions suppliers to the space launch vehicle and space exploration markets. Our leading-edge forming processes and capabilities have made us a globally trusted partner for leading public and private companies, providing unsurpassed service and performance. 

Blue Origin: Proud Supplier 

Team Spincraft holding the Blue Origin Proud Supplier Flag

On September 15th, employees of Blue Origin made a site visit to Spincraft’s Massachusetts facility to recognize the team’s successful contributions to New Shepard and the program’s first human flight.

During their visit, Blue Origin shared video footage from their historic July 20 launch — a milestone moment for the future of spaceflight, the Blue Origin team and their first astronaut crew. The first private citizen passenger crew onboard consisted of Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen.

Additional milestones include:

  • Jeff and Mark Bezos: the first siblings to go to space together.
  • Wally Funk: the oldest person to fly in space (age 82).
  • Oliver Daemen: the youngest person to travel to space (age 18) and the first person to purchase a ticket to space commercially.
  • New Shepard: the first commercial vehicle to fly paying customers to and from space.

The Blue Origin team expressed their gratitude for the fuel tank domes that Spincraft provided to make New Shepard’s mission triumphant. Providing these precisely manufactured parts helped ensure confidence among the first human flight travelers as they set foot onboard the rocket to make history. Blue Origin presented Spincraft with a banner to proudly convey our status as a Blue Origin supplier.

Spincraft and Standex Engineering Technologies Group are honored to have collaborated on and delivered yet another successful space systems solution to our customer, and to have been a key manufacturing partner to crewed space flight for more than three decades.

Team Spincraft holding the Blue Origin Proud Supplier Flag

Richard J. Morganti Scholarship Recipient Announced

Christopher Colbert, MMA

Standex ETG is happy to announce this year’s Richard J. Morganti Scholarship recipient, Christopher Colbert of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Christopher is a freshman majoring in Marine Engineering at Rich’s Alma Mater, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA).

Christopher said, “First off, I am very grateful to have received this scholarship. I have always wanted to go to MMA. My father and his brothers all attended, as well as my older sister and brother. I’ve seen what the school can do for a person through seeing what it has done for them. I hope to be able to do something for the school during my time here.”

This scholarship was established in honor of ETG employee and dear friend, Rich Morganti, who graduated with the class of ’82. We are happy to be able to contribute, in Rich’s memory, to a worthy young man that is excited about his pursuits at MMA. Congratulations Christopher! We wish you all the best in your academic pursuits at the Academy!

Martyn Jones to Retire From Spincraft UK

Spincraft UK Team Together for Marty Jones' Retirement

Standex ETG is proud to recognize Martyn Jones in honor of his retirement this month after an amazing 48+ years with our Spincraft UK business. Martyn has played a critical role in keeping facility equipment running to support customer demands and helping the business transition from hydraulic power-assisted to CNC forming technology. He has seen and supported the transformation of the UK facility as it has developed new capabilities and solutions in Aerospace, Defence and beyond.

A luncheon was held in Martyn’s honor to thank him for his commitment and contributions to Spincraft and Standex ETG.

We wish him the best of luck and a happy retirement!

 

Spincraft UK Team Together for Marty Jones' Retirement

Standex International Announces Divestiture of Enginetics Corporation

–Transaction Consistent with Long-Term Growth Strategy–

 

NEWS PROVIDED BY
Standex International Corporation

SALEM, N.H., March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Standex International Corporation (“Standex”) (NYSE: SXI) today announced that it has divested Enginetics Corporation, its jet engine components business, to Enjet Aero, LLC, a privately-held aerospace engine component manufacturing company, for approximately $11.5 million in cash.  Enginetics generated approximately $9 million in revenue in the first nine months of fiscal 2021.

Standex expects to incur non-cash charges associated with the divestiture including goodwill charges in the fiscal third quarter of 2021. Standex expects that the pre-tax charge including transaction costs will range from $14.5 million to $15.5 million with approximately $13 million attributable to goodwill and other intangible assets.

“Today’s sale of Enginetics enables our Engineering Technologies Group to focus on the higher growth and margin opportunities of its core spin forming solutions business that serves the space, commercial aviation and defense end markets. In addition, our significant financial flexibility and strong balance sheet continue to position us very well to pursue an active pipeline of organic and inorganic opportunities and further drive profitable growth.  The transaction will also be immediately accretive to our operating margin,” commented President and Chief Executive Officer David Dunbar.

“We believe Enjet’s stewardship and complementary business will be beneficial to both customers and employees of Enginetics.  I want to thank the employees of Enginetics for their dedication and contributions to Standex,” concluded Dunbar.

Seale & Associates acted as exclusive financial advisor to Standex on the transaction.

About Standex

Standex International Corporation is a multi-industry manufacturer in five broad business segments: Electronics, Engraving, Scientific, Engineering Technologies, and Specialty Solutions with operations in the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa, India and China.  For additional information, visit the Company’s website at http://standex.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this Press Release that are not based on historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “should,” “could,” “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “continue,” or similar terms or variations of those terms or the negative of those terms. There are many factors that affect the Company’s business and the results of its operations and that may cause the actual results of operations in future periods to differ materially from those currently expected or anticipated. These factors include, but are not limited to: the impact of pandemics such as the current coronavirus on employees, our supply chain, and the demand for our products and services around the world; materially adverse or unanticipated legal judgments, fines, penalties or settlements; conditions in the financial and banking markets, including fluctuations in exchange rates and the inability to repatriate foreign cash; domestic and international economic conditions, including the impact, length and degree of economic downturns on the customers and markets we serve and more specifically conditions in the automotive, construction, aerospace, transportation, food service equipment, consumer appliance, energy, oil and gas and general industrial markets; lower-cost competition; the relative mix of products which impact margins and operating efficiencies in certain of our businesses; the impact of higher raw material and component costs, particularly steel, certain materials used in electronics parts, petroleum based products, and refrigeration components; an inability to realize the expected cost savings from restructuring activities including effective completion of plant consolidations, cost reduction efforts including procurement savings and productivity enhancements, capital management improvements, strategic capital expenditures, and the implementation of lean enterprise manufacturing techniques; the potential for losses associated with the exit from or divestiture of businesses that are no longer strategic or no longer meet our growth and return expectations; the inability to achieve the savings expected from global sourcing of raw materials and diversification efforts in emerging markets; the impact on cost structure and on economic conditions as a result of actual and threatened increases in trade tariffs; the inability to attain expected benefits from acquisitions and the inability to effectively consummate and integrate such acquisitions and achieve synergies envisioned by the Company; market acceptance of our products; our ability to design, introduce and sell new products and related product components; the ability to redesign certain of our products to continue meeting evolving regulatory requirements; the impact of delays initiated by our customers; and our ability to increase manufacturing production to meet demand; and potential changes to future pension funding requirements. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates only as of the day made and should not be relied upon as representing management’s estimates as of any subsequent date. While the Company may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company and management specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if management’s estimates change.

SOURCE Standex International Corporation