Machining and Fabrication Shop

The AEI machine shop is comprised of state of the art CNC and manual machining centers.  The machine shop is used to support all of the activities at AEI.  It is located with close proximity to the fabrication area, vehicle engineering area and the test cells.

AEI's machine shop is integrated into the entire facility as part of an ability to generate prototypic hardware from conceptual designs in a minimal timeframe.  The following sequence illustrates an example of the “concept to part” process.  This example is an optical interferometer that will be used in a mobile Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR).  The AEI engineers were required to produce the device in 1 month which included fundamental design, iterative design, drafting, solids modeling through machining and assembly.

Solids Modeling - AEI designers use ProEngineer Jr., ProEngineer and Solid Edge.  This is where sketches are transformed into accurate models that can be seen, rotated and combined as assemblies.

CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing)  - AEI utilizes MasterCAM for VMCs and Lathes.  This software calculates machine code for all of the CNC machines.   The CAM station is located at the machine shop floor.

Direct Machining - Each machine is electronically connected to the CAM design station and code is downloaded directly.  Machining tool paths are verified with the machine computer, ensuring accuracy and minimizing waste.  

The fabrication area is located within isolated ventilation confines and provides aerospace quality welding capability including TIG, square wave TIG and MIG welding for aluminum, titanium, red metals and many steel alloys.  Metal cutting including conventional band saws, plasma cutting and water jet cutting provides rapid fabrication capability to support a myriad of requirements.  AEI can utilize the water jet with nearly any type of material, from plastic to stainless steel.  This extremely powerful water stream is capable of cutting very thin material up through six inch thick steel.

AEI engineers routinely utilize this rapid prototyping capability to support projects ranging from engine development programs to electronics modules.  Utilizing solids modeling and CAM, errors in machining are virtually eliminated. All of the mechanical staff at AEI are familiar with the machines and are capable of basic machining tasks to support their respective work.  Fabrication capabilities facilitate custom vehicle engine and component modifications to achieve installations within very tight space constraints and configurations.