Bird's decision was immediately rewarded with
business from the Mars In Situ Propulsion Production (ISPP) team
of engineers at the Space Technologies Lab at the University of
Arizona. The team is creating an ISRU, called OGS for Oxygen Generator
System, to generate oxygen on the Martian surface from the planet's
atmospheric carbon dioxide. The team was required to use only standard
OEM parts for the unit, and found that two of Bird's .0004"
orifices met their needs perfectly. The unit will be travelling
to Mars on the scheduled 2001 landing; the ultimate goal of the
OGS unit is to generate enough oxygen to sustain life ofr scientists
exploring the red planet's surface. The ISPP team chose the ruby orifice not only
for it's size, but also for its composition. Synthetic ruby is almost
completely wear resistant and heat resistant, and the Bird manufacturing
procedure ensures a burr-free hole for extremely regulated and consistent
flow. Bird's orifices are available in sizes ranging from .0004"
to .081" I.D., and offer zero porosity, high temperature tolerance
and wear resistance. These highly accurate, burr-free orifices are
available with filter and in a variety of custom or stock fittings
and connector housings.
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Bird
Precision has just included a .0004" jewel precision orifice
in their standard line of orifice sizes. To the best of our knowledge,
this is the smallest standard size currently on the market. The
hole is so small it is not visible to the naked eye, and must be
machined using a super fine laser beam. Bird has been machining
orifices smaller than .0008" for several years now on a custom
basis; greater precision needs in instrumentation, aerospace, and
medical applications led Bird to recently include sizes to .0004"
in their standard line.
