Customer News

We often have customers who need a custom product fast, and at high volume. Here is one of those products. This week we delivered a series of about a 150 radome covers that were custom designed, manufactured, machined, painted and finished within a short turnaround window.  While we can do large, complex structures with all the rigid requirements needed for space applications, we can also handle a fast turnaround, simple programs that can meet baseline technical requirements affordably. 

Rock West worked in close collaboration with this customer, from the initial concept to full production run. We went through multiple design iterations to achieve RF performance and manufacturability. Several prototypes were created and performance tested before the design was finalized. Using in-house machining and painting capability helped to keep schedule short and low risk.

Radomes are an area of specialization for Rock West. You can read more on our Radomes page.

Radome covers, corner view

Subset of the radome covers delivered to our customer

Generally speaking we love the composites business, but we really get excited about programs that test the limits of carbon fiber technology and contribute to scientific discovery.

Last year we told you about this amazing prototype project we were working on with Purdue University for CERN. The prototype was designed and built for the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) detector. We are now hard a work on the final hardware and it’s looking great!  Here are some in process pictures. We look forward to sharing more once it’s finished!

Layup of large, curved, carbon fiber panel with honeycomb core

Large panel with inserts, large tool for assembly, and edge detail

Originally developed in the 1980’s, the HANS device has been one of the most innovative components in racing safety, as it greatly limits the forward head and neck movement of the driver upon impact. HANS devices have been mandated in NASCAR’s top 3 series since 2001 and by Formula 1 since 2003. Many other major auto racing series followed suit and mandated the HANS device in their races after seeing the impressive life-saving results of this safety equipment.

For over 10 years, Rock West Composites has proudly manufactured carbon fiber HANS devices for Simpson Race Products. Rock West began manufacturing the HANS Pro Ultra device in our Salt Lake City facility. The product design required stringent specifications, including the ability to withstand 10G front impact without failure. The retail-quality gloss finish had to withstand a corrosive environment. As the demand for a lighter weight product materialized, we added the HANS Pro Ultra Lite to our manufacturing roster for Simpson. Rock West delivers lightweight yet strong products that continue to meet customer expectations.

In recent years, our customer needed to reduce production costs, as well as increase efficiency and throughput. We worked to adapt a solution specific to their needs with their input. Rock West relocated HANS production to our plant in Mexico, a facility focused on containing costs for production jobs with high touch labor. With an easy to access plant, Simpson was able to monitor the transition. Our team facilitated training and ensured all quality standards are being met. Our Mexico facility is AS9100D certified with a motivated and quality driven team.

HANS Work in Process

This new production modality has been in place for two years and been an ongoing success. With annual orders for over 1,000 units and with a recent order for more tooling expected to last 5+ years, RWC will continue to make these life saving devices for the foreseeable future.

Our Sporting division is executing development and production work for many customers and hope that we can bring our skills to your company to improve product quality and production efficiency. Contact us!

Our new Sporting Division is branching into new industries including innovative composite orthotic inserts used to improve walking biomechanics. Optimizing biomechanics to reduce pain during exercise and maximize sports performance is nothing new, but composites have become increasingly favored to facilitate these improvements.

SubioMed, Inc, a Minnesota medical device startup, has patented and designed various multilayer “suspension biomechanics” products to reduce pain, speed recovery and support health benefits through controlled motion and energy return. They chose composites to optimize flex characteristics, reduce weight, and enhance energy capture and return of their flagship product DSO (Dynamic Suspension Orthotics). Creating independent living hinges to move Ground Reaction Force through the hindfoot, midfoot and forefoot during the “three rockers” of gait was the focus of the design and construction.

RWC worked with SubioMed several years ago on some initial product development. SubioMed reengaged RWC to utilize our experience in design and manufacturing to further enhance their product design and capability. They wanted to reduce costs while increasing efficiency and volume throughput. Our ability to provide composite engineering assistance during multiple phases of manufacturing and competitive production rates with our Mexico facility were instrumental in gaining the production side of the contract.

Our development program was completed in January, and the production program has already initiated. We’ve had great collaboration on design, tooling and flow details between the customer and the RWC team. Brian Bowen SubioMed VP Marketing and Sales shared:

“The SubioMed team has been working on successfully integrating a dynamic suspension into footwear for the last few years. While the patents allow us to develop this revolutionary technology, solving the technical challenges to allow function and durability during millions of cycles of walking required composite expertise. Most recently, the diverse talents of Rock West’s responsive team delivered what we needed prior to execute our initial US launch. The results, data, and patient responses confirm we got it right.”

We are excited to join SubioMed in their mission to restore function and reduce pain to patients who need their technology!

If you are on the hunt for metals, you wouldn’t necessarily expect composites to play a role in the search. But that is precisely what is happening with a customer of ours.

Thousands of people around the word use metal detectors for gold prospecting (or other metals) as their primary occupation. When a metal detector is the tool one uses to provide for their family, a high quality tool can be worth its weight in gold. And when that tool is something you carry all day, a lighter tool is essential. This is where we come in.

Our customer makes metal detectors and needs custom, collapsible, telescoping tubes to comprise the central shaft of the detector. The industry standard material for these shafts is aluminum. The customers wanted a unique product that was more ergonomic. Carbon fiber lightened the load and allowed for organic curves. The tubes are a custom shape that provide smooth nesting for its collapsed state, tight clocking for stability when at full extension, exceptional performance for extreme field conditions, and a lighter swing weight.

These parts also need to have a beautiful finish since they are used for a premium quality product line with a high price point. Using modified closed mold techniques, we are able to provide high gloss surfaces that highlight the beautify of the carbon fiber material. In order to maintain the surface quality, a wipe-on ceramic coating is used to protect the finish.

Carbon fiber in the shop and in the field

Our customer chose us because of our developmental approach to the work and our ability to handle the type of production required for this kind of finished piece. High-speed production lines cannot match the level of surface quality the customer needs. With greater than 250 sets per month and over 3000 units per year, this type of production job is in our sweet spot for exceptional quality and reliable delivery.

We are always excited to tackle a new challenge but it’s even more gratifying when you know you are helping individual people around the world put food on the table.

Our new Sporting Division is branching into new industries, in particular athletic shoe composite orthotic inserts. Optimizing biomechanics to maximize sports performance is nothing new, but composites has become increasingly favored to facilitate these improvements.

This customer designs biomechanical products to reduce pain, speed recovery and support health benefits though controlled motion. They wanted to use composites to enhance this product’s response while reducing the product’s weight. The hindfoot, midfoot and forefoot were the focus of the design and construction.

RWC worked with this customer several years ago on some initial product development. That customer has reengaged RWC to utilize our experience in design and manufacturing to further enhance their product design and capability. They wanted to reduce costs while increasing efficiency and volume throughput. Our ability to provide competitive production rates with our Mexico facility was instrumental in gaining the production side of the contract.

Initial design tests from earlier product development

Our development program was completed in January, and the production program is completing this month. We’ve had great collaboration on design, tooling and flow details between the customer and the RWC team.

We will be excited to join the customer in their formal product launch in the near future!

Georgia Tech students shot for the skies with one of their latest projects with the main goal of designing, building, and then launching a rocket. There are a lot of factors that make rockets difficult to design, including having to account for heat, weight, and durability. Georgia Tech Ramblin’ Rocket Club and Georgia Tech Experimental Rocketry (GTXR) came up with a design for “Mr. Blue Sky” and chose Rock West Composites to provide them with parts needed to make it.

Detail of the Rocket (left) and the Georgia Tech Team (right)

Our engineering group designed custom fiberglass filament wound tubing with high-temperature resin. Using our tubes, Georgia Tech’s teams pushed what is possible with homemade rocketry design and had a successful launch! The team’s goal for Mr. Blue Sky was to achieve speeds past Mach 3 and reach a height over 100,000 ft. While this first launch did not reach ideal results, only hitting speeds of Mach 1 and a height of 19,000 ft., it still remains impressive and provided a lot of valuable information for the team to learn from. A new set of our high temperature tubes—this time made of carbon fiber—were recently delivered, and they are set to fly the Summer of 2023.

“Rock West was the only supplier capable of providing the high temperature composite solution our team needed, with tubes delivered to spec and with a short lead time.” — Joey Gemini, Georgia Tech

Mr. Blue Sky Successfully Launches

Rock West Composites is happy to support teams of any size in their endeavors, always inspiring people to achieve greatness. If you have your own project like Georgia Tech, then check out our student discount page. We provide students and teams in STEM education programs 15% discounts on our stock products. We wish Georgia Tech Ramblin’ Rocket Club and Georgia Tech Experimental Rocketry (GTXR) best of luck in designing future iterations of Mr. Blue Sky!

The Rough Side of Rocketry