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The Latest News from Wedge Manufacturing
Wedge Blasts Off:
Produces Part for International Space Station
November 10, 2009 - (Birmingham, AL) - The next time the Space Shuttle Atlantis speeds toward the International Space Station, it will be carrying a part produced by Wedge Manufacturing, Inc. Wedge specializes in producing small, high-precision parts, primarily for the medical and aerospace industries. Engineers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham turned to Wedge to produce a part for the GLACIER cryogenic freezer, which the university is producing under a contract with NASA. With a target temperature of -95 degrees Celsius, the GLACIER freezer transports frozen laboratory samples to and from the International Space Station. Wedge, whose processes are quality assured to ISO: 13485 and ISO: 9001, was commissioned to produce a bearing holder for the freezer. "Because of the extreme temperatures, we had to use an expansive piece of material, and we needed very close tolerances," said Ken Banasiewicz, Senior Research Engineer at UAB's Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering. Torlon, a high-strength thermal plastic, was the material chosen for the 2" x 2" part. Machining the plastic to the precise dimensions needed was a challenge – and that's when the engineers turned to Wedge. "We specialize in very tight, tolerances, and that's exactly what was needed in this case," said Brian Jones, General Manager for Wedge. "It's a thrill to be producing components for the space program, and it's good to know we deliver the same precision to all of our customers." To learn more about the GLACIER project, please visit
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/GLACIER.html.
About Wedge Manufacturing
Machining superior quality, high-precision, small, complex parts, Wedge was established to deliver this expertise to the medical, aerospace and other high-precision industries. Wedge also provides engineering and contract manufacturing services for proprietary parts and assemblies. We offer part inspections, reverse engineering, and prototype development, as well as production services. www.wedgeinc.com
Media Contact
Brian Jones
Phone: 205.414.6520
brianjones@wedgeinc.com
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