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Spinoff story
Manufacturing Aids
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Contractor's work for Lewis Research Center on thermal barrier coatings designed to improve aircraft engine efficiency resulted in two related but separate spinoffs. The Materials and Manufacturing Technology Center of TRW Inc. invented a robotic system for applying the coating and in the course of that research found it necessary to develop a new extremely accurate type of optical gage that offers multiple improvements in controlling the quality of certain manufactured parts.