Aerospace and Defense

A manufacturer of military aircraft needed a portable air compressor system to power air tools being operated beyond the production line.

 

Southwestern Controls designed and prototyped a skid mounted air compressor system, mounted on rollers, to perform the needed operations. The system consists of dual air compressors that operate alternately, to insure cooler and longer compression service life.

 

Southwestern Controls supplied and assembled the following components:

 

A manufacturer of jet engine turbine blades needed an actuation system to move wax patterns in and out of a ceramic slurry as part of the casting process. The new system had to smoothly reverse the load in mid-cycle to avoid damaging the fragile patterns.

 

Working with the Customer, Southwestern Controls provided a system utilizing a pneumatic motor and irreversible worm gear that met all of the Customer’s requirements. The turbine blade manufacturer significantly reduced losses in production process.

A manufacturer of military aircraft required a portable vacuum system to test fuel tank integrity under high-altitude flight conditions.

 

Southwestern Controls personnel designed a dual vacuum pump/receiver assembly, mounting it on a custom-created portable stand. Engineers also designed a customized control system to sequentially operate the pumps, powered by a 220-volt AC, single-phase source. Multiple units were produced.

Southwestern Controls prepared a proposal for the missile division of a major electronics company. The Customer asked Southwestern Controls to design and prototype a hydraulic subassembly for a ship-launched missile assembly tool. The tool was used to affix the nosecone to the body of the missile, within a range of specified torque values.

 

Southwestern Controls engineers incorporated an electro-hydraulic solution including: a fixed displacement hydraulic pump with four actuators; a four-path rotary swivel and the accompanying valves; an accumulator; a filter; pressure switches; and a ladder logic-based control system.

Our Customer, a servo valve manufacturer, created a system to train NASA’s shuttle astronauts in the operation of the cargo boom. The boom, its hydraulics, and its electrical components had to operate underwater to simulate the weightlessness of space.

 

Southwestern Controls engineers worked with the manufacturer to produce a custom titanium valve body with special waterproof electrical connections.