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The work envelope on the LK Altera 15.12.10 is large enough for Vitesse to inspect some of the larger sized components and reflectors. Quality Engineer Sean Martin.

The work envelope on the LK Altera 15.12.10 is large enough for Vitesse to inspect some of the larger sized components and reflectors.
Quality Engineer Sean Martin.

Vitesse Systems is the leading supplier of complex antenna, thermal management, and power distribution solutions critical to the advancement of next-generation Radar, Electronic Warfare and C4I Systems. Vitesse Systems Longmont Colorado location, formerly Custom Microwave, Inc (CMI) focuses on the design, manufacturing and testing of antenna systems and payloads for space, airborne and ground applications spanning both the military and commercial markets. Vitesse’s antenna group traces its history back to the 1960’s; “Our commitment to providing cutting-edge, high-quality antenna systems and microwave devices has earned us a loyal customer base”– Stated Richie Dart, General Manager of Vitesse. 

Vitesse is in a unique position as they have numerous manufacturing methods to meet ever growing customer demand and requirements. Onsite in Longmont, Vitesse has traditional CNC machining, 3D printing and electroforming. Early on CMI garnered recognition via electroforming, a proven additive manufacturing process that has been around for decades. Electroforming/electroplating are electrolytic processes that use current and metals in solution to plate metal onto parts, molds, or mandrels. “The chief way we use it is to make very complicated microwave antenna shapes that are designed by our RF engineers,” stated Keith Ober, Director of Quality. “We plate copper onto these intricate shapes and remove the mold material. It’s the same as any molding process, except we’re doing it using chemistry that is tricky to manage and maintain. That chemistry process is our secret sauce that we’ve been perfecting since the beginning.” Continued Keith Ober. 

Vitesse has 9000+ archive programs in CMM Manager. When selecting LK Metrology’s CMMs software compatibility was a top priority. Lead Inspector David Curran.

Vitesse has 9000+ archive programs in CMM Manager. When selecting LK Metrology’s CMMs software compatibility was a top priority. Lead Inspector David Curran.

Vitesse customers are always trading between performance, weight, physical volume, and costs. The process at Vitesse often begins inhouse with their team of engineers, from RF to mechanical and thermal, to concept new ideas which enable next generation technologies. Their customers are often looking for a single solution option, and Vitesse’s comprehensive capabilities deliver a unique set of solutions. Depending on the need, Vitesse has a few routes to offer their clientele. Electroplating is top tier in terms of RF performance. The copper conducts the microwave energy in the most efficient way for most frequencies, but it isn’t always a necessity. Next in line is direct machining and 3D printing. Vitesse has an extensive machine shop filled with 3/4/5 axis mills, lathes, 3D printers, laser welders, and all the support equipment required for their master machinists to deliver high complexity parts in a variety of metals. “We are not brand loyal when it comes to our machine tools,” tells Keith. “We have a wide mixture of capabilities and name brands, but what we value most is accuracy, compatibility with our software, and the ability to program. Direct machining offers nearly as good performance as an electroformed or electroplated part, but there are some compromises because you have a seam. We machine complicated RF shapes in two halves, like a clam shell, then bolt the two halves together. We have a host of design tricks up our sleeves to optimize the performance, minimize any interruptions in the RF pathways, and keep the mass down. Machining plays a big part in the overall quality and performance. Not only do you need to hold tight tolerances, a lot of times it’s a couple of ten thousandths profile on the wave form shapes, but it must be flat where the two pieces come together. Our flatness callouts are also measured in the 10,000th because there’s no gasket. It’s just metal on metal and it needs to be nearly perfect.”

“The satellite communications industry has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, driven by technological advancements and shifting market dynamics.   

CMI’s master machinists have a variety of machine tools to help deliver high complexity parts. With 3/4/5 axis milling the direct machining process is able in some cases to rival the performance attributes of the higher cost electroplating process.

CMI’s master machinists have a variety of machine tools to help deliver high complexity parts. With 3/4/5 axis milling the direct machining process is able in some cases to rival the performance attributes of the higher cost electroplating process.

Historically, satellite communications relied on large, high-orbit satellites, often launched by government agencies or large corporations. These satellites were expensive to build and launch, and their limited number restricted global coverage. However, the emergence of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations has revolutionized the industry. Companies like SpaceX with their Starlink constellation are deploying thousands of smaller satellites in low Earth orbit and the government is following suit in proliferated networks. 

This shift towards constellations has created new opportunities for innovative antenna systems and microwave devices. As satellites become smaller and more numerous, there is a growing demand for compact, efficient, and reliable components.   

At Vitesse, we are at the forefront of this technological revolution, providing cutting-edge solutions to meet the evolving needs of the satellite industry. Our expertise in designing and manufacturing high-performance antenna systems and enables us to support the deployment of advanced satellite constellations and drive the future of global connectivity across the battlefield.”

The installation of precision calibration equipment inside one of Vitesse’s four test ranges. Every antenna is tested before being shipped to the customer for installation. Integration and Test Manager, Jonathan Scupin.

The installation of precision calibration equipment inside one of Vitesse’s four test ranges. Every antenna is tested before being shipped to the customer for installation. Integration and Test Manager, Jonathan Scupin.

Vitesse’s new quality lab began by claiming a portion of open warehouse and building out a climate-controlled workspace to house the latest LK Altera CMMs. “Our old CMM’s ran CMM manager, so first and foremost new machines also needed to,” details Keith. “We have more than 9000 heritage programs in CMM Manager, and we didn’t want to just shelve that archive. So, right off the bat our search for new CMMs was narrowed down to just a few brands. Software was kind of the first gate, and after that it was accuracy, service, support and the machine itself. LK was the company that came through with the best value proposition. Scott Collier was great to deal with, and I don’t say that about a lot of salespeople. He didn’t talk down about anyone else’s product, only touted what LK could deliver and the cost. LK was the best value in terms of purchase price and then also lifetime costs. By factoring in software and subscriptions, LK was the clear winner. For our inspectors the transition was seamless. They checked their last part before going home on a Friday and came in on Monday to new machines running the software they know backwards and forwards. We purchased two machines, a large LK Altera 15.12.10 model and a smaller, more precise LK Altera 8.7.6.”

Vitesse invested in two different, but similar LK CMMs for a couple of reasons. Most of Vitesse’s parts are easily probed and scanned by LK Metrology’s state of the art and extremely precise Altera 8.7.6. CMM. It features a robust structure that enhances stability and accuracy, supporting a measurement volume of 800 mm in the X-axis, 700 mm in the Y-axis, and 600 mm in the Z-axis. In contrast, the Altera 15.12.10 CMM represents a more expansive solution for Vitesse’s larger components, offering a measurement volume of 1500 mm in the X-axis, 1200 mm in the Y-axis, and 1000 mm in the Z-axis. The integration of a PH10MQ Renishaw probe head on each machine allows for automated and flexible measurement configurations, enhancing the system’s versatility in handling various workpieces. The extensive quiver of probes and scanners can easily be utilized by either machine. Both CMMs are equipped with advanced software for data analysis and reporting, enabling users to perform complex inspections with ease and efficiency. “When you transition from 30-year-old machines to the newest technology it is easy to see big gains in accuracy and speed,” tells Keith. “We knew that would be the case, but the features we were most looking forward to were the scanning and the extra volume. The size of reflectors is limited by different classes of spacecraft, but the one-meter size is fairly standard. We sized 15.12.10 to meet that particular dimension. We never had that kind of volume before. There is a fine line between creative work holding and janky, and we did our best, but before we had our new CMM, sometimes parts had to be sent out for inspection, or we just lacked the data to pass back on to our engineering team. With the new machines we can collect a huge amount data, and we are always on the quest for more.”

Contamination control is paramount, as in this final performance test of a ground-based high powered antenna system.

Contamination control is paramount, as in this final performance test of a ground-based high powered antenna system.

The quality lab at Vitesse isn’t a goalie keeping bad parts out, it is verification of known good parts, and a key element of Vitesse’s design process. “The new LK CMMs play a bigger part than just checking a part for yes or no,” tells Keith. “No one here wants to just know pass or fail. They want to know everything. Give me the details down of the nearest 50 millionths of an inch. Our machinists are operating at a very high level, so if we tell them they are 2/10,000’s off perfect, they’re going to react to that. They will make an adjustment to get it even closer to nominal. They’re not going to be satisfied with “it’s a wide tolerance, so I’ll just kind of give them whatever.”  We all know from experience that the closer you get to nominal, the easier it’s going to be downstream to recover from something unexpected or from a feature that we couldn’t fully model.” Touch triggering a ton of data points has always been part of the process at Vitesse, but the true benefit of the new LK CMMs is the addition of scanning. “By dragging the inspection probe along the part, we are able to build out clouds of data,” explains Keith. “This is extremely important to our teams of RF engineers because they can take this mountain of data and plug it back into their modeling software to figure out the exact performance of a part “as built”. Spec might be +/- X, and the part is within that spec. Engineers are able to see that a feature “as built” on the plus side performs like X, while the negative, within spec performs like this. The RF response can change within the given spec, so it is amazing for the engineers to see so much detail put back into their modeling software. It also allows them the ability to tweak a part, if necessary, based on the performance their modeling is projecting. The other aspect is outputting these data clouds is a matter of waste savings. So much of what we do is prototype that not every design is a complete winner. For example, we have an antenna with a tolerance set at X, but hard as we try, we can’t get it off the machine within what’s called out on the print. We built it the best we can and here’s the “as built” condition. Maybe the RF response is out of tolerance, maybe it’s not. We scan it, they model it, and we know right away if the tolerance being questioned has any effect of the performance of the part. The answer might be yes, and we must figure out a solution. More likely than not there is no impact on the total performance and is fully functional, saving us from scrapping a very expensive part.”

Left - 3D Printing Technician Emma Koyn setting up one of Vitesse’s three metal-alloy printers.Right - Electroplating is a well understood but complex additive manufacturing process that yields Vitesse the best performance attributes. Lead Electroformer Lab Technician Bryan Johnson.

Left – 3D Printing Technician Emma Koyn setting up one of Vitesse’s three metal-alloy printers. Right – Electroplating is a well understood but complex additive manufacturing process that yields Vitesse the best performance attributes. Lead Electroformer Lab Technician Bryan Johnson.

Vitesse has been at it a long time and know their products inside and out, but even the best needs some assistance sometimes. “Service and support from LK were as much of the sale’s package as the price,” explains Keith. “We don’t need training, but we do sometimes want an outside expert to help us find a solution. Recently we were trying a new type of inspection at the request of one of our RF engineers. It wasn’t possible before because we didn’t have the ability to scan a part in such detail. We were trying to align cloud data to create a datum structure. Kind of doing a backwards inspection where we were using the “as built” condition to develop the desired datum structure. We’d never programed that kind of thing before. I sent an email to Scott, our sales rep, and he put me in touch with somebody who spent about an hour on the phone with us. By sharing our screen, he was able to help us develop a good way to structure this particular kind of CMM program.

‘We’ve evolved so much as a company over the decades,” adds Vitesse’s General Manager Richie Dart. “The first phase of the company was completely different than phase two, and I’m enthusiastic about how stage three is progressing.” 

“Dr. Clency Lee-Yow ran the company for nearly 30 years” explains Keith. “Clency did a lot to move the company forward. He owned the company up until a few years ago. He’s a PHD antenna engineer and grew the company from a build to print facility to an amazing design, manufacturing, and testing center in Longmont.” “Three years ago, we joined Vitesse,” continues Richie. “As part of Vitesse, we have added significant capability enhancing not only our inspection capability but across all spectrums of the business in design, manufacturing and testing. Clency stepped into a CTO position about a year and half ago and I took on role as GM. All of our growth has been organic, and we’re uniquely positioned in the marketplace, especially in the space domain. There is a huge driver towards reduced cost and reduced lead times, with the proliferation of satellites. We are finding that customers are coming to us to act as an extension of their engineering team and being a vertically integrated on the manufacturing side we can serve the traditional companies as well as the new space companies. It is an exciting time for us, and our core commitment continues to be with our customers. From day one Vitesse was built on customer service, and it is still the number one thing we instill in our employees, deliver excellent customer service. That model has shaped who we are and will continue well into the future as we expand our reach in the cosmos and here at home.”