Industries Served
New River Kinematics’ customers come from a wide variety of industries, but have a few things in common: they use SpatialAnalyzer® (SA) to save time measuring and analyzing, improve quality through increased accuracy, and reduce scrap and lower operational costs. Ultimately, our customers use SA to improve the productivity of their manufacturing processes.Aerospace
Aerospace manufacturing requires highly precise part inspection and adheres to extremely tight tolerances. There can be serious consequences if components are not aligned properly, particularly if they are not aerodynamic enough to fly. As composite parts have become more commonly used throughout the aerospace industry, so has the use of advanced metrology software.
NRK has long standing relationships with major aerospace manufacturing around the world including Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Spirit Aerosystems, and NASA. Not only is SA used extensively throughout this industry, but NRK has developed numerous custom solutions for aerospace manufacturers as well.
Shipbuilding
Portable metrology is an integral component of the entire shipbuilding process, be it nuclear aircraft carriers or submarines. Used to align things like catapults, missile tubes, and navigation systems, and determine neat cuts on super lift units, SA is heavily relied upon to meet schedule and accuracy demands throughout the process.
NRK has extensive experience in the shipbuilding industry, both implementing SA and developing custom solutions for specific projects. Clients include Newport News Shipbuilding, Electric Boat, Bath Iron Works, Huntington Ingalls Industries, and Babcock Marine.
Energy
SA applications in the energy industry include involvement in particle accelerators, windmills, and nuclear power plants. In fact, NRK’s very first project dealt with robotics and addressed the refitting of a part within a nuclear power plant. In the case of particle accelerators, SA is used by many labs including Jefferson Lab, Brookhaven National Lab, and CERN.
Satellite
SA has been extensively used for the construction and installation of satellites, specifically in order to achieve proper alignment of antennas and other sensors. Customers in the satellite industry using SA include Lockheed Martin, Boeing Satellite, NASA, and Orbital Sciences Corporation.
Automotive
In the automotive industry, SA is used to cost-effectively calibrate and compensate industrial robots, thus achieving the repeatability and accuracy necessary for inspection operations. It’s also used to build and inspect tooling fixtures on automotive assembly lines.
Other
SA has been used in industrial applications such as massive tunneling projects in Europe, specifically for the measurement and alignment of the concrete segments that comprise a tunnel. In the healthcare industry, SA has been used to align the synchrotron, switch yard, patient positioning system, and lead wall panels of a proton therapy center. SA is also used in a variety of applications by suppliers of aerospace, marine, wind energy, and transportation industries in order to meet the tolerances and requirements of their customers.
Click here to learn more about SA applications.