INTO SPACE with 5-Axis Machining and Turn & Mill

Ouroboros Space and Defense was founded in 2016 in Lakewood, Colorado. The ten-member team has years of experience in demanding industries such as aerospace, defense, and nuclear. With this expertise, Ouroboros specializes in the high-precision machining of components for rocket engines. Customers include NASA and well-known industry giants such as SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin. To meet the increasing demand for these critical components while maintaining high-quality standards, the company has added three high-end DMG MORI machines – a DMU 95 monoBLOCK, an NTX 2000 and a DMU 50 - to its machine portfolio since 2021.

14% growth in the field of rocket propulsion systems

“We are experiencing rapid growth in the aerospace sector, especially in rocket and hypersonic propulsion applications. Annual growth in the sector is over 14 percent,” says Nathan Bourgeois, Owner of Ouroboros Space and Defense, describing current developments in his market environment. As a result, he says, his team is in greater demand than ever to manufacture innovative technologies that provide sufficient thrust – literally – to forward-looking aerospace projects. “To do this, we first solve the major challenges in manufacturing with our team, and then build the most advanced hardware in the industry.”

Thanks to the 5-axis and Turn & Mill machines from DMG MORI, we have massively reduced lead times on high complexity hardware. We now regularly achieve accuracies in the ten-thousandth range that were previously impossible to manufacture.

Nathan Bourgeois (right) Owner
Constantin Diehl (left), Chief Operations Officer
Ouroboros Space and Defense

DMU 95 monoBLOCK - Workpieces up to ø 1,040 mm with 5 μm

DMU 95 monoBLOCK

THE monoBLOCK SERIES ALWAYS FITS

• DMU 95 monoBLOCK：
  Workpieces up to ø1,040×590 mm and 1,000 kg
• speedMASTER spindle with 20,000 rpm and 130 N・m
• 5 μm positioning accuracy and 30 % higher volumetric accuracy due to VCS Complete
• Over 96 % machine availability and MASTER spindles with 36-month warranty
• Wide range of automation solutions – also retrofittable

5-axis simultaneous machining: faster and more accurate

“Since purchasing the DMU 95 monoBLOCK, we have been able to completely machine even complex components very efficiently,” says Nathan Bourgeois, citing the added value. “The complex and feature dense hardware we regularly work with necessitates highly accurate machine tools and powerful controls to match. When running tests between our HEIDENHAIN control and our previous FANUC based systems, the difference in speed was truly incredible.” On a recently installed DMU 50, Ouroboros is expanding its capabilities in 5-axis simultaneous machining. The more compact model offers travels of 650 × 520 × 475 mm and is designed for components weighing up to 300 kg. Thus, the DMU 95 monoBLOCK can be increasingly utilized with larger components. In its search for more innovative manufacturing technologies, Ouroboros in 2022 went a step further. “We also wanted to implement complete machining for demanding turbomachinery components with turning operations. DMG MORI also had a solution here with the NTX 2000,” Nathan Bourgeois recalls. “Now we can finish-machine components from all six sides without manual reclamping while the compactMASTER spindle offers us high milling performance with over 100 N・m of torque. Also beneficial is the flexibility the large work envelope gives us for workpieces up to ø670 × 1,538 mm.” With a length of just 350 mm, the compactMASTER turn & mill spindle contributes to the size of the work envelope, as does the Y-axis travel of ± 150 mm. The additional lower turret has ± 40 mm of travel in the Y-axis. Nathan Bourgeois is more than satisfied: “The NTX 2000 is extremely versatile and also absolutely convincing in terms of machining quality.”

6-sided complete machining with Turing and Milling

• 100% TURNING:
  Up to ø 1,070 mm turning diameter for machining large workpieces up to 6,000 mm in length
• 100% MILLING
  Up to 660 mm in the Y-axis and an ultra-compact and patented compactMASTER turn-mill spindle up to 20,000 rpm or 220 N・m (NT: turn-mill spindle up to 12,000 rpm or 302 N・m)
• 100% TOOLS:
  Up to 180 tools for maximum flexibility in machining and short setup times
• In-process measuring:
  Multidirectional workpiece measurement as well as tool measurement and breakage control
• Automation:
  Diverse automation solutions - also retrofittable

• Exclusive software & technology cycles:
  e.g. 5-axis simultaneous machining for machining free-form surfaces, grooving, free-form parting, chip removal, threading, etc.

Strong partner for significant growth

“As soon as we bought the DMU 95 monoBLOCK, we realized that DMG MORI provides us with substantial support in producing precision parts with consistent quality,” says Nathan Bourgeois, describing the collaboration with the machine tool manufacturer. This consistency is essential to achieve the planned growth targets. By 2027, Ouroboros plans to continue growing by 100 percent annually. “DMG MORI‘s CNC technology will continue to sustain our development in the coming years.” A new manufacturing site is already being planned, he said. “We will install six to ten more DMG MORI models there.”

Note: Organization names and titles are current as of publication timing.