UK-based Orbex has accelerated production of its carbon-fibre Payload Avionic Module ahead of its inaugural rocket launch, cutting part setup time from 5 hours to just 30 minutes a 900% improvement using MSP PerfectPart metrology solutions. The technology ensures right-first-time machining, reduces material waste, and halves overall production time, enabling scalable, high-precision composite manufacturing for critical aerospace components.

The introduction of these CNC metrology solutions has also halved overall production time, simplified fixturing processes and given Orbex the confidence parts will be machined right-first-time. As the company looks to increase production, MSP has been critical in providing Orbex with a repeatable and scalable process which uses its existing equipment. Heavily restricted by traditional alignment methods, Orbex sought out a solution to ensure quick and accurate CNC machining of their Payload Avionic Module (PAM).

Gavin Belton, Orbex CNC Operator Specialist, explains: The PAM is a large, composite thin-walled part, and the layup is delicate in places. The risk of distortion makes it difficult to know exactly where to machine . 

It was taking a minimum of 5 hours to align each part and the inability to account for distortion had caused windows and pockets to be machined to incorrect sizes, leading to issues in assembly and causing rework.

Gavin continues: The parts are worth tens of thousands of pounds and take around 6 weeks to produce so if we lose one it s time, money and material we can t get back . 

Due to the importance for right-first-time machining, MSP PerfectPart was deemed essential. In addition to providing Orbex with a solution for creating accurate alignments, the metrology suite would also ensure any errors within probe setup and calibration and within the CNC machine would be accounted for. 

The error removal routine starts with AutoClock and NC-Checker. Together, the products remove human error from the probe calibration process and NC-Checker then assesses the geometric performance of the CNC machine tool to confirm it is capable of machining a part to within tolerance.

Gavin says: Immediately an issue was flagged in the C and B axis which could have caused holes on the outside diameter to have been misaligned. The 30-minute check helped the machine tool vendor work out what the error was likely to be and rectify this before machining began .

To solve Orbex s part alignment challenges, the next product from MSP s PerfectPart suite, NC-PartLocator was introduced. NC-PartLocator is well-suited to aligning complex, distorted or thin-walled parts. The software measures the part using 5-axis probing and automatically generates a best fit alignment in 6-degrees of freedom. The software compensates for discrepancies between the physical part location and the nominal machining program, for example, when distortion has occurred. The updated alignment is automatically uploaded to the controller, no additional machining program edits necessary, and any misalignment errors are automatically removed.

Gavin advocates: When you press the Go button, you can see the alignment coming through and know you re going to get out exactly what you expect. And the speed with which everything is set up - it s made life easier .

The results are evident of this. Orbex has cut its variable 5-hour part setup time to a stable 30 minutes, making setup 900% faster and overall production time has been halved from 2 days to 1 day. 

Orbex s fixturing routine has also been improved, as Gavin explains: Rather than having to dowel everything down and constrain the part, we ve been able to produce a simpler fixture. We don t have to skim the fixture each time, we can use it as it is, and the MSP Best Fit alignment will come in and work out what it should be. It saves us lots of time and effort .  

The whole package is a no brainer really. The risk reduction when machining such a high value part cannot be understated.

As Orbex s launch date looms, MSP PerfectPart will play a big part in the ramping up of production as Gavin comments: We currently only have one CMS machine, so because we ve essentially increased its capacity, it ll ease any bottlenecks. When we do decide to buy more, the simplicity of the MSP package means we ll be able to drag and drop that process onto another machine so we can transition into production easily, keep quality high, and hit the ground running .

By saving time and ensuring every part is protected from costly errors, Orbex can keep shooting for the stars in their mission to launch and redefining what is possible for UK space manufacturing.