Anduril, FlackTek Partner on 'World's Most Advanced Mixing Machine' to Make Rocket Fuel

Nov 04, 2024

LANDRUM, S.C. -- Anduril Industries today announced a new partnership with FlackTek, a manufacturer of advanced industrial mixers, to design and manufacture the "world's most advanced mixing machine," according to the company.

The Mega FlackTek is a bladeless dual asymmetric centrifugal mixer. According to the company, the mixer, the only of its kind in the world, enables mulE-hundred-kilo batch processing in twin drum-style containers comparable to 55-gallon industrial drums. The mixer should have a significant impact on rocket motor production.

Anduril Rocket Motor Systems is building and scaling a more agile production pipeline for Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs). The partnership with FlackTek will help the defense contractor deliver solid rocket motors at improved speed and scale. FlackTek technology has already enabled Anduril RMS to reduce propellant manufacturing time from several hours to several minutes.

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Anduril has been using FlackTek mixers since 2020. The new mixer's size, speed, and efficiency will become the heart of Anduril's rocket propellant production capability, which capitalizes on Anduril's other advancements in rocket motor fabrication—in a fraction of the footprint and labor requirements of more traditional facilities, according to the company.

The Mega FlackTek is expected to power a more than 24x increase in production throughput compared to conventional planetary mixers of a similar size. For example, the new mixer will match the throughput of a traditional 500-gallon bladed mixer and exceed throughput for high-performance formulations that typically take longer to mix. The improved speed and precision will be critical as Anduril accelerates development to meet the Department of Defense's demand for solid rocket motors.

FlackTek says its machinery also provides repeatability, minimizes waste, and ensures safer working environments through enhanced safety features, consistent processing, and minimized exposure to energetic material hazards.

FlackTek serves multiple industries, including 3D printing, cannabis, chemicals, electronics, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and silicones. The company's machines can process batches from less than 1 gram to hundreds of kilograms per batch.

Anduril recently secured $1.5 billion to hyperscale defense manufacturing. The company announced plans for a 5,000,000-square-foot production facility in Everett, Washington, to manufacture thousands of autonomous military systems annually. The factory will reportedly replace Boeing's commercial aircraft factory and will be the second-largest building in the world by square footage, behind Tesla's Gigafactory in Texas.

Anduril also announced a collaboration with Microsoft to advance the U.S. Army's Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) Program. The headsets will significantly enhance soldiers' ability to detect, track and respond to threats in real time.

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