There are certain settings where manufacturing quality really, really matters. One of them is at a cruising altitude of 40,000 feet.
With such a low tolerance for error, airplane manufacturers must source parts from trusted, expert suppliers. Many of these companies are headquartered in Connecticut, and one of them boasts a double UConn connection.
Aero Gear, based in Windsor, specializes in the design and manufacture of gears and gearboxes for the aerospace industry. Pat Brueckner has worked at Aero Gear ever since graduating from UConn’s engineering program in 2013, and he’s now the company’s director of engineering.
In 2017, Brueckner got in touch with Jeongho Kim, who was leading the newly established Connecticut Manufacturing Simulation Center (CMSC) in the Innovation Partnership Building at UConn Tech Park — “and the rest,” Brueckner says, “is history.”
The CMSC is a free resource providing technical assistance and manufacturing simulation services to small- to medium-sized companies across Connecticut. Aero Gear was one of the first industry partnerships that the Center forged.