Versatile co-axial joint technology wins extrusion design award

摘要

The Extrusion Technology for Aluminium Profiles Foundation, USA (ET Foundation) has announced the winning entries from the 2005 International Aluminium Extrusion Design Competition at the Aluminium USA show and conference during National Manufacturing Week, March 7 through 10, in Chicago. The design applying Co-Axial Joint (CAJ) technology to antenna backup structures was one of two entries awarded First Place in the Professional Class of the Structural/Consumer Category, earning a 2,000 dollars cash prize. Glenn A. Reynolds of Gossamer Space Frames, Inc. in Long Beach, California, submitted the winning space frame design using 6061-T6 alloy. "This new structural joint design creates a rigid connection with the strength of a welded joint but without welding or bolting," Reynolds noted. V. Gary Curtis and Dean R. Hackbarth of Gossamer Space Frames, Inc. in Long Beach, California, along with Alfonso Feria and Asim Sehic of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, helped Reynolds create with winning design.