Success Story

ZEISS Precision Supporting NASA

24 October 2022

Andrew Tool & Machining Inc. supports NASA in the Mars rover project and gains further new customers thanks to the precision of ZEISS.

At Andrew Tool & Machining Inc., coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are a key element of the manufacturing process, but they had never faced a project with such intricate measurements, tight tolerances, heat treatments and a very short time frame requirement. Their objective was to land an order for an MSL project (Mars Science Lab). A CMM from Zeiss should make it happen.

ZEISS technology supports Mars rover project

The situation

Zeiss had already demonstrated its capabilities at Superior Tool, a sister company to Andrew Tool. "Our PRISMO CMM at Superior Tool is the backbone of our quality department and my goal was to replicate and build on this capability at Andrew," says President Bruce Hanson. Andrew Tool is a unique machine shop with over 30 years of experience handling everything from very simple to the most complex geometries. The majority of Andrew Tool’s customers are found in the aerospace, defense, medical and microelectronic industries, all having parts that often require extremely tight tolerances.

This new, complex project from MSL required Andrew Tool to manufacture actuators (gearboxes) for the next Mars rover, Curiosity. This new rover will weigh over 10,000 lbs, five times the weight of the current rovers, and carry more than 10 times the weight in scientific instruments compared to the current Spirit or Opportunity rovers

New challenges

There were many parameters that Andrew Tool had to adhere to in order to help NASA make their new actuator design a success. Many of the parts had very deep pockets, small radii added to the challenge, along with extremely tight tolerances, many of which are tied to different gear pitch diameters. Additionally, position tolerances of .0005 millimeters, control of .002 millimeters, and size control within .0025 millimeters, even on relatively large dimensions added to the challenge. All of these factors coupled with a demanding 18-month timeline and AS9100 certification requirements made it critical for Andrew Tool to bolster its CMM capabilities for precision and speed. Andrew Tool decided to purchase the ZEISS ACCURA with the VAST XT gold active scanning sensor.

Long-term benefits

“We couldn’t have been successful without Carl Zeiss,” says Felix. “The benefits Zeiss brings have been enormous and we see positive results every time we use the CMM.” Andrew Tool even acquired a new customer after another NASA supplier saw several of the MSL actuator parts. They were so impressed with the precision and complexity of the parts that they were instantly sold on Andrew Tool’s capabilities. Andrew Tool was ready to accept this new challenge with enhanced confidence in the data from its ZEISS CMM.