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Mars Rover

The Problem

French Aerospace Engineers COMAT were tasked with producing the housing for the 2020 Mars Rover’s SUPERCAM. The SUPERCAM is an incredibly powerful tool that will be used to find out more about the surface of the planet Mars. Its key roles will be to research elemental composition and provide high resolution images of the red planet.

With the main body of the instrument being made from aluminium (and then gold plated), tapped holes were very difficult to produce. The customer had always used the traditional tanged inserts in the past. There were no fundamental issues with the function of these components however installation was time consuming because of tang break off and retrieval. This was exacerbaited by the fact many inserts needed to be installed in hard to reach places.

The Solution

Not having to break off the tang like you would with a normal Tanged insert really sped up installation times for COMAT. Tangless® technology also removes the risk of FOD (Foreign Object Debris) meaning there is no chance of loose components being left floating around in space.

The lightweight design our CoilThread inserts offer is also a further benefit for COMAT and Aerospace companies. With weight being such a heavy constraint for designs within this industry, being able to use such a small fastening is a huge benefit.

Product	CoilThread® Inserts
Forming Method	TCR Machine
Location	UK
Customer	COMAT Aerospace
Application	Fastening Solution
Market	Aerospace
Leadtime	Avg for CoilThread products is 8-12 weeks
Purpose	To allow fastening of the SuperCam module to the full Mars Rover Component
Solution	Superior fastening solution
Customers Benefit	Faster and more efficient installation

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Case Studies

Mars Rover

The Problem

The Solution

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