Articles Written By: parkergroup-admin

When your fast-growing company designs and manufactures some 2,000 small engines per year, you like to stay abreast of the latest digital-engineering tools. Yet Sean Hilbert, president of Cobra Aero, is also adamant that the final proof of the integrity of every power and propulsion product he creates for his motorcycle and drone customers is always the test bench.

The unveiling of Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 supersonic demonstrator aircraft last fall at the company’s Denver hangar has brought the dream of a return to supersonic air travel closer to reality. While XB-1, as well as the company’s future Overture supersonic airliner, echo the shape of the earlier Concorde (see sidebar), XB-1 presented its creators with an opportunity to explore more advanced designs and manufacturing technologies than were available to Concorde engineers.

Tooling design is challenging work. In the case of jigs and fixtures, the part must be held securely enough that it won’t move during machining, but not so tightly that damage or distortion can occur.

Whether it’s for the portable generator that keeps the refrigerator cold and the light bulbs lit during a power outage, or the hybrid-electric engines that can lift delivery drones high into the sky, the world needs compact and reliable energy sources. Making them smaller, more powerful, and especially more affordable is the vision of Enrique Enriquez, president of KW Micro Power.