CORE BUSINESS
Since more than 50 years of background in developing special purpose equipment in automated electro- mechanical engineering, automation, and dynamic axis control, GRADEL is established in the space market as specialist for complex systems.
GRADEL is specialised in developing, building, and testing of Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE), for which it is able to deliver a complete range of equipment to Manutention, Assembly and Test S/Cs, subsystems of payloads or instrumentation. These Complex Systems are built to painstaking specifications using specialized materials like mechanical precision paired with cleanliness requirements as well as magnetic and thermal compatibility.
A new business field has been established since 2018 by developing and manufacturing sustainable lightweight structures for flight hardware with an own developed Gradel Robotic Additive Manufacturing process (GRAM). This process is an endless fiber winding process for manufacturing complex 3D structures with weight savings up to 70% at equal stiffness or/and strength. GRAM enables hybrid construction by integrating functions by design. GRAM allows the use of different fibers materials (carbon, flax, basalt, glass, rayon etc..). A wide range of products and applications have already been realized for versatile market segments. GRAM has been qualified for Space applications with ESA in 2022.
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
MGSE:
Transport Containers for Satellites, Multipurpose Trolleys for satellites, fully automated with AGV- systems, Hoisting Devices for horizontal and vertical lifting of satellites, Integration Stands, automatized 0g supports for manufacturing, equipment for Antenna Test Facilities.
LIGHTWEIGHT STRUCTURES:
GRADEL Lightweight structures and parts which are predestined to optimize all possible lightweight 3D structural components in the space sector. GRADEL analyses from multi-axial static and / or dynamic load cases are all covered using the GRADEL engineering digital process chain. GRADEL designs & manufactures from simple parts to relatively complex integrated 3D lightweight parts i.e., assembly reduction time and fasteners. GRADEL lightweight technology enables structures sizes of few centimetres up to some meters which may also include additional functions and features in the structures & parts, where weight savings up to 70% have been demonstrated.
TECHNICAL MEANS
- Engineering office with 16 engineers in multiple disciplines
- Software: SOLIDWORKS, FEMAP, NASTRAN, MATHLAB, SIMULINK
- Assembly and test workshop of 800 m² x 10 m height, crane capability: 2 times 10 t
- Production facility for composite structures: 600 m² with clean room, 5x GRAM and 10m rail
- Curing oven of 1 and 12 m3
MAIN CUSTOMERS
Airbus Defence &Space, Ariane Group, ESA, OHB Systems, Thales Alenia Space
MAJOR SPACE PROJECTS
Gradel has or is participating with its space products for different customers in the following programs:
Transport Container for ONESAT AIRBUS
Compact Antenna Test Range OHB
SMART Multipurpose Trolley TAS
Portable Antenna Measurement ESA
Communication
Alphabus, EDRS, Electra, Eurostar Neo, Neosat, SGEO, SES17, Heinrich Hertz, Space Inspire, OneSat
Science
Euclid, ExoMars, JUICE, Solar Orbiter, Proba III, PLATO, Athena
Earth Observation
MTG, Copernicus
Others
Moonmission M4
In orbit manufacturing
