Manufacturing Spotlight: Machining Complex Parts and Materials for Space Flight and Exploration

February 1, 2025

This is the first article in a new section of Aerospace & Defense Technology called “Manufacturing Spotlight,” where we will cover some of the latest machines, tools and other technologies being used by aerospace and defense industry design and manufacturing engineers. The first topic in this new section is “Machines,” specifically the computer numerical control (CNC) machines being operated by a company that has been expanding its custom manufacturing services for the aerospace and defense industry in recent years, JR Machine.

Who is JR Machine?

JR Machine is a Shawano, Wisconsin-based contract manufacturing company that is leveraging advancements in CNC Machines to keep pace with the growing complexity of parts designed to operate in space.

The company was first established in 1992 and has expanded from its initial focus on bushings and pins to today where they’re machining parts that are featured on some of the most recognizable names in the space industry. Their facility in Shawano has more than 30 total DMG Mori CNC turning and machining centers. Their capabilities include CNC machining of nickel-based superalloys, prototyping, engineering, multi-spindle machining, thread rolling, fabrication, and assembly, among other manufacturing services.

JR Machine has a nearly 40,000 square foot facility in Shawano, WI where it specializes in machining complex parts from nickel-based superalloys. (Image: JR Machine)

In an April 2024 blog article posted to its website, JR Machine describes how they have expanded their Shawano facility with the addition of a new engineering center and tooling storage room. The new engineering center is now separate from their quality lab, which was previously combined into one space. The engineering center is where all of their manufacturing jobs are programmed and designed for manufacturing assessments. It hosts two workstations with a view of most of the DMG Mori machines in their facility and also provides a meeting space with customers to discuss the unique aspects of each contracted job.

JR Machine recently built a state-of-the-art Engineering Room, where it programs all jobs and conducts design for manufacturing assessments. (Image: JR Machine)

The tooling storage room allows machine operators to quickly check out the necessary tooling, while automatically updating inventory records. It holds “the thousands of tooling inserts we need to meet specs and hit our delivery deadlines,” the company’s website notes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, JR Machine shifted its focus to the aerospace and defense market, and has been capturing some of the growth in space launches and operations in recent years as well. The company operates an International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR)-certified shop, that also has ISO 9001:2015- and AS9100D- certifications.

“Around 2020, we started targeting the aerospace market a lot more, and were able to use some of the downtime during COVID to obtain our AS9100 certification. We also hired Strother Communications Group to rebrand the company to give us an aerospace look,” Tim Tumanic, the founder of JR Machine, told A&DT during an interview recorded remotely with other members of the JR Machine leadership team from their facility in Wisconsin.

JR Machine positions its DMG MORI CNC turning centers in a cellular arrangement to make machining complex parts more efficient. (Image: JR Machine)

“Now, here we’re, moving into 2025 and we’re working with six or seven of the top 10 launch companies in the world. Our goal within the next few years is to achieve 50 to 60 percent of our business being attributed to space and defense related work,” Tumanic added.

JR Machine’s All DMG Mori CNC Machine Strategy

Every CNC machine at JR Machine’s facility is from the DMG Mori portfolio of turning and machining centers. DMG Mori is the international Japanese provider of a wide range of CNC machines capable of everything a company like JR Machine needs from universal turning and 5-axis simultaneous machine to ultrasonic machining of advanced materials and metallic 3D printing.

Their machines come with a suite of digital tools that allow technicians to use CAD software to design a part, G-code an instruction set for the toolpath movements required to machine the part and select the appropriate cutting tool, according to an overview provided by DMG Mori. Each machine is also equipped with software that monitors its performance and provides alerts for anticipated or needed repairs.

Tumanic also notes that troubleshooting for their machines can be performed remotely when needed.

“Many years ago we had several different brands and types of machines in our facilities, and we found having that many different brands can prevent continuity,” said Parker Tumanic, President, JR Machine. “Having continuity helps, because you can train one operator and give them the ability to run all our machines rather than training them to run five different types, or only having one operator that can run certain type of machines.”

In 2024, two new machines, DMG MORI NLX 4000 CNC turning centers, were added to their Shawano facility. The additional machines expands JR Machine’s production capability to parts measuring up to 18-inches in diameter. Their previous limit was 10 inches.

DMG Mori describes the NLX 4000 as featuring built-in motor turret technology with improved milling power and the “largest through spindle hole diameter in its class: 5.7 in/7/3 in.”

Parker said the decision to upgrade to the NLX 4000 was driven by several factors.

“Our current NLX 2500 and NLX 4000s are essentially lathes with live tooling, and they’re more geared for parts that are about 80 percent lathe work and 20 percent live tooling. The NTX 2500 is more of a true mill turn machine rather than a lathe with live tooling,” he said. “On the NTX 2500, it’s capable of about 50 percent lathing operations and 50 percent milling operations. We wanted to increase our capabilities to our customer base. We thought this was the right type of machine because that’s what we’re hearing in the industry. We also wanted to stick to the closest commonality available. It’s still a DMG MORI, the software and controls are still the same, and we get added capabilities.”

JR Machine completes inspections on all part dimensions in its Quality Assurance Lab. (Image: JR Machine)

Machining Complex Parts, Materials for the Space Industry

A major portion of the parts and components being developed by JR Machine’s DMG Mori equipment are purchased by companies that perform space flight and exploration. The company also provides parts and components for weapons and defense platforms.

These components include engine and hydraulic components; a variety of flanges for fuel, gas and other fluid delivery and movement; and many other round complex components within space systems.

“Looking at the space market, right now we’re heavily involved in machining components that are necessary for engines, ranging from simple components like flanges up to some of the more complicated ones like valves,” said Michael Ross, Vice President of Business Development and Sales. “As we progress and grow our capabilities, we’re looking at some of the more advanced turbomachinery components. We’ve also done some of the intake and ducting components for engine fuel.”

The company’s shift into machining parts for spacecraft occurred at a great time, as both the commercial and defense segments of the space industry continue to grow. In the U.S. alone, there were 148 licensed commercial space operations in 2024, a new record, according to data published by the Federal Aviation Administration in November 2024.

That was up from 117 in the previous year. SpaceX completed 134 of those launches, and is targeting and increase in launches in 2025.

“The reason why we’re shifting some of our focus to defense and space, is that we have established an expertise in working with the more difficult materials, the various superalloys and the very hard materials that are used in space and defense platforms,” Ross said. “Some of those materials that are difficult to machine include Inconel and Monel.”

According to JR Machine’s website, Inconel is a family of nickel-chromium superalloys that provide resistance to corrosion and oxidation at the extreme temperatures of space. The material is often used in rocket engines, turbine blades and exhaust systems.

Monel, the company explains, is a nickel-copper alloy that also has high resistance to corrosion, including within marine environments. Monel can be found in space applications such as valves, fittings, and electrical connectors.

Hastelloy, a nickel-chromium-ironmolybdenum superalloy known for its high temperature strength, is another material that gets machined in Shawano. JR Machine has machined parts consisting of Hastelloy that are featured in rocket engines, heat exchangers and combustion engines, among other spacecraft applications.

JR Machine installed two DMG MORI NLX 4000 CNC turning centers in the spring of 2024, allowing it to machine parts up to 18-inches in diameter. (Image: JR Machine)

“The space industry has a major need for high strength, high temperature resistant materials, and high corrosion resistant materials as well, because low earth orbit is a very corrosive environment, certainly much more so than any place on our planet. Our ability to build corrosion-resistant, high strength materials has really led our strategy in space, and it is what leads us into some of our work with defense because those materials are used there as well,” Ross said.

While 2024 was another year of growth and expansion for JR Machine, the company plans to continue that expansion well into the future. In May 2024, the company established a new investment partnership with Schneider Resources Holding (SRH), a private investment firm headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Tim Tumanic, the company founder, said that they’re following a strategy that considers upgrading to new generations of CNC machine technology every 10 years. While DMG Mori does currently provide additive manufacturing equipment and tools, CNC machines remain the current focus for JR Machine.

“I think one of the biggest things that our customers are looking at when it comes to additive subtractive, and subtractive machining is that when you add a feature to an existing part like a billet, and print a feature on it, you must ensure that the integrity of the metal that you’re printing is the same as the billet material. No one is quite convinced, yet that additive manufacturing can achieve that,” Tumanic said. “This really applies to high temperature, nickel-based materials which are mission critical and cannot have failure points. Nobody’s really willing to take that risk quite yet. I think as the technology evolves, there will eventually be a place for us in additive. However, as of right now, we haven’t been able to convince customers of that.”

This article was written by Woodrow Bellamy III, Senior Editor, SAE Media Group (New York, NY).