OPTICAL HOUSING

MIRROR BLANKS

SATELLITE COMPONENTS

CNC JIG BORING

CNC PRECISION MACHINING

HORIZONTAL MACHINING

VERTICAL MACHINING

CUSTOM TOOLING

QUALITY SYSTEMS

HOME

Satellite Components
When COM DEV of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada was awarded the contract to make the antennae assemblies for the IRIDIUM® Satellite, it scoured the North American Continent to find the best manufacturing facilities to furnish precision components.

Optimum Manufacturing was selected as one of these facilities and was awarded the machining contract for the most critical components on the assemblies. Optimum was made a Q2 (ship to stock) supplier.

Optimum is MIL-1-45208A certified and working towards ISO certification.

The Optimum Manufacturing engineering staff worked with COM DEV to optimize the prototype design with the production configuration. Shown on this page are some of the various antennae assemblies. The parabolic flat plate assembly is the heart of the gateway moveable antennae system. These extremely thin components were machined to exacting tolerances. These part were created using a combination of conventional and diamond machining technologies.

	We're out there...   The titanium base forms the foundation of the gateway moveable antennae system. This base required extremely precise CNC jig boring at the locating diameters. The yoke for the crosslink movable antennae supports the actuator which holds the antennae support bracket. This part is machined from a solid block of Titanium. Final machining was accomplished on the CNC jig bore. The structural bracket for the crosslink fixed antennae started as a 120 pound forged block of aluminum. The block had to be roughed out, stress relieved and final machined to achieve the critical angularity and flatness requirement at an ultimate weight of 3 pounds.
The support bracket for the crosslink moveable antennae was also machined from a large slab of aluminum. Machining was done as opposed to casting. Optimum's ability to remove metal efficiently and quickly makes the machining process preferable to casting expensive molds. Optimum Manufacturing has been making custom optical components and precision machine parts for customers across the U.S. and Canada since 1985. To find out more, call Optimum Manufacturing at 1-800-858-2249. ®IRIDIUM is a registered trademark and service mark of Iridium, Inc.
Photo Gallery: Click on image for larger view.