Our Work

Astra Rocket 1.0 nosecone

Astra (originally Ventions) was a repeat customer over the years, initially for smaller composite fairings produced in partnership with SSDC, and finally the Rocket 1.0 nose cone produced by Archinautix. It was initially expected that this would be a mock-up, but after reviewing the proposed fabrication process with the composite structures lead, it was determined that the parts would qualify for flight. The nose cone halves were vacuum bagged 2x2 3k carbon twill with aluminum honeycomb core encapsulated in a fiberglass isolation ply. Embedded phenolic hardpoints were coordinated with the engineering team to accommodate internal mounting points and mechanisms. Rocket 1.0 was launched in Kodiak Alaska, April 2018. Tooling design, assembly and part production took 6 months.

Yamaha Motobot body

We were approached (as SSDC) by a customer to develop a composite humanoid cover for a robot driving a Yamaha motorcycle, intended as a promotional effort by Yamaha for the Tokyo motor show. The challenge was the two week delivery deadline while engineering development was on-going. Tolerance requirements were in the single millimeters while the Solidworks assembly model was no longer representative of reality. We came in with a scanner to document the actual conditions and set about finalizing the cover model in CAD from 2D sketches applied over the 3D scan mesh. It quickly became obvious that composite covers were not an option due to schedule, so we coordinated with a 3D printing vendor to print, fill and paint a cover out of ABS. The covers were delivered on schedule and budget.

BEDI/L-3 Mobius camera door

While working for BEDI under a teaming agreement with L-3 Communications, we were tasked with coming up with a mounting solution for an MX-15 EO/IR turret. Compared to the overall Mobius airframe, the turret is massive and would significantly affect the top end performance and endurance of the aircraft. We proposed a retractable solution with a flush door. Working closely with the L-3 chief engineer and BEDI crew, the result was a virtually seamless integration with zero drag penalty when stowed.

Rare Bear induction inlets

The Rare Bear crew was seeking to break its previous piston aircraft world speed record with modifications to its induction system among many other changes. We were (as SSDC) tasked with scanning, tooling, making parts and assisting with installation of the induction inlets in a very tight two week schedule. The initial flight tests exceeded expectations, but other challenges unfortunately grounded the effort.