Precision seals play a critical role in aerospace propulsion, quietly maintaining pressure and minimizing leakage in environments ranging from extreme heat to cryogenic temperatures as low as -400°F. Despite their small size, these components carry enormous responsibility — and enormous price tags, with government contracts sometimes exceeding six figures for just a handful of parts.
Tier 1 aerospace supplier Technetics Group faced a significant manufacturing hurdle when tasked with producing PTFE-coated seals for a rocket engine application. The parts featured an unusually complex crescent-shaped groove within a narrow half-inch inner diameter, and every surface required flawless, uniform coating coverage. Conventional spray and dip-spin methods fell short, unable to reliably reach recessed interior surfaces or maintain the micron-level thickness tolerances the application demanded. Any inconsistency risked coating delamination — potentially catastrophic in service.
To overcome this, Technetics partnered with Orion Industries, an AS9100D-certified coating specialist with over six decades of experience in functional industrial coatings for aerospace applications. Rather than simply applying an existing process, Orion's engineers worked alongside Technetics' quality team from the ground up — studying failed parts, reviewing technical drawings, and running iterative tests to pinpoint where standard methods broke down.
The solution combined custom-designed fixturing to stabilize parts and optimize spray angles, with a precisely formulated coating system tailored to meet both lubricity and adhesion requirements under cryogenic and dynamic operating conditions. The result was a stable, repeatable production process capable of delivering consistent quality across every batch.
The collaboration proved so successful that Technetics subsequently engaged Orion on additional seal programs with similarly demanding geometries. The project stands as a compelling example of how deep technical partnership, engineering discipline, and a problem-solving mindset can turn a complex manufacturing challenge into a scalable, reliable solution.