Build-to-spec and ceramic technology is the future, says SM Vaidya, Executive VP and Business Head, Godrej Aerospace
By JAYASHREE MENDES
WHEN INDIA LAUNCHED THE MARS ORBITER spacecraft, Mangalyaan, in the designated Mars orbit last year, it was indeed a proud moment for the country.
A single Rs 4.5 billion ($74 million) rocket catapulted India as the first Asian nation to reach the red planet. This was at the national level. In Mumbai, one of India’s oldest companies felt a quiet pride for having built the mission-critical items for this launch such as the liquid engine used in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), precision components for the orbiter thruster as well as the ground system antenna together
with onboard antenna. The mission-critical items were delivered by none other than Godrej Aerospace.
Bagging such a prestigious contract in the aerospace sector is not everyone’s cup of tea. SM Vaidya, executive vice-president & business head, Godrej Aerospace, says, “We have come a long way. Today, we make three different variants of cryogenic engines and one of the largest boosters for 200 tonnes is being developed by us.”
The engineering and technological prowess that Godrej Aerospace has achieved comes from a small step it took way back in 1970s when it sought to venture into the industrial products division. At that time the machine tools industry was finding it difficult to import the expensive machines from Germany and other places in Europe. So Godrej decided to start making those machines in India. That was the beginning of the company’s venture into the machine tools industry. Another major step, and the harbinger of its entrance into the aerospace industry, was when in 1976 Godrej ventured into process equipment, a division that makes sophisticated equipment such as reactors, high pressure vessels distillation/fractionating columns, reactors and custom built equipment. The idea was to indigenise equipment to curb imports. Others like Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Heavy Plates & Vessels (BHPV), Vijay Tanks & Vessels and Walchandnagar Industries and Godrej Process Equipment, whose core strength was sheet metal, also jumped into the fray. With the Ministry of Petroleum nudging, Godrej & Boyce (the parent company under which fall Precision Engineering, Process Equipment, Precision Systems, Electricals & Electronics, Aerospace, among others) soon bagged orders to work on the tower internals and columns at IPCL Baroda. One thing led to another and Godrej & Boyce found itself getting deeper into making critical machines for the heavy engineering industry.
Capitalising from the process equipment and precision engineering, to aerospace seemed the right step to take. In 1985, the company began importing equipment as the machine tools that would give the required accuracies for the aerospace industry was unavailable in India. Vaidya says, “So we first set up the machine tools factory and some of the machines were brought to India for the first time. We were the first to import (at that time the third generation machines) them into India.” The company also had a major advantage. In those days, the IMTMA was held on the Godrej grounds in Vikhroli, Mumbai. “Every manufacturer would bring in latest machines and since we had access, we would pick them up. So we built our capability with precision equipment,” says Vaidya.
The built-up of such sophisticated machines caught the eye of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) who was seeking to enhance its strength by roping in private players. The suggestion was that Godrej Precision Systems make an assembly for a spacecraft instead of merely supplying parts. Soon, the company began investing money into an automated welding system, surface treatment, nickel and chrome plating, and added specialised furnaces for treatment of the specialised alloys as these materials demonstrate the highest strength with the highest possible strength and the lowest possible weight.
Vaidya says with a hint of pride, “Today we have a fully integrated facility. We are fully-equipped for all aspects of defence and aerospace and can make components from washer to rocket and the complete aircraft to a missile to a satellite or a launch vehicle or any of the defence and aerospace equipment.”
ISRO has a unique model. The organisation prefers to reach out and find companies with specialised capabilities and then commission work to them. It has stringent measures in place to ensure quality and adhere to the benchmark of space projects worldwide.
“The contracts too are different from regular government handouts. ISRO approaches other suppliers only when they are unable to supply a particular
component. Till then we are the primary supplier,” says Vaidya.
Godrej Aerospace also knew that to gather expertise in this arena meant doing everything in-house. And here Vaidya’s metallurgical background came in handy. The company decided not to take the well-travelled road of going to sub-contractors and getting it done. And in-house execution was not economical as it meant huge investments. “Since the facilities we had created didn’t have equal utilisation, we retained about 60-70%. The volumes only began increasing around year 2000. We wanted to make 20 Vikas engines or 10 cryogenic engines a year. But back then from 1987 to 1996, the requirement was to make one Vikas engine and one cryogenic engine and the contract extended for 4-5 years,” adds Vaidya.
To manufacture components or engines for ISRO, there are guidelines the company needs to follow. “Most of the materials deployed for the strategic projects are bought by the government of India and handed to as free issue material, as they are imported. And these materials are strategic in nature — most deals are between the Indian and respective foreign government only. Secrecy is of the highest order in such projects,” adds Vaidya. Assembly or manufacturing of the components is done after translating the coded drawings received from ISRO. “Currently our role is build-to-print. The next level is build-to-specifications that outlines the components (filter or an actuator or a pump) speed, the flow rate and pressure and must adhere to the requirements of weight, size, etc. That requires us to do the detailing and engineering and prove that it meets the specification which will then be subjected to qualification tests,” says Vaidya his eyes lighting up at the prospect of getting deeper into the Indian space programme.
The metallurgical engineer from IIT (Bombay), Vaidya is passionate about the minute details of aerospace engineering and the rigorous testing that goes with it. For instance, an aircraft is subjected to very high gravitational forces when in the air. It sees up to +550 Celsius temperature on the ground and -550 Celsius when 35,000 feet and above. “Executing such design calls for ability. So we conduct simulation tests. And when one goes from build-to-print to build-to-spec, one has to not only design but also create a test facility by which we can prove these requirements are met,” says Vaidya. The company is keen to accomplish this as it plans to make 30 liquid engines with the increasing number of space programmes ready to be launched under the new government.
At ease, after having gone through the rigmarole of numerous procedures, parameters, and inspection techniques, the company has, in turn, selected
100 subcontractors of which 20-25 are part of cluster partners. The cluster partner is roped in when it starts prospecting for a particular project or an order. “With this, we have been able to develop raw materials, special processes, source machining and sheet metal vendors, welding and fabrication vendors, and have also outsourced the test facilities that we used to build ourselves, and they come up with their own innovation
to make things better and faster and cheaper,” says Vaidya.
Just like any manufacturing company that needs to put its supply chain in order, Godrej Aerospace too, has over the years developed its sources for raw materials. It has put in its own money to procure critical composite and specialised rubber items as they are difficult to source. But the processes and the inspections around them, not to forget the involvement of third parties in every operation is large and can deter small players, he adds. Aware that it needs to attract bigger business, the company has directed it gaze to exports for the civil aviation industry as well as into offsets. For many manufacturing primes, the path to excellence increasingly runs through special processes such as heat-treating, coatings, and materials testing. That’s because original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can often trace the cause of a flawed component back to a special process in a supplier’s shop, and restricting that possibility helps with risk management.
In the last few years, new avenues for materials sourcing are also springing up. Beginning with Europe
and US, the company has begun eyeing Korea and Japan. “Here the only stipulations are that one cannot import materials that go above a certain diameter and materials like titanium that are more than 3-inches in diameter. Those resources must be developed within the country,” he mulls. So it has a team to identify the gaps between their standard of manufacturing and the aerospace standard. The gaps are bridged and offered to Boeing or Airbus, GE or Eaton or Snecma and materials are approved. But the government’s recent pro-Indian policies to compel Indian makers of raw materials and components to Make in India could help the Indian players grow by leaps and bounds. Incidentally, Godrej Aerospace has developed around 40 different technologies and with the government’s intervention is seeking to apply for patents. With initiative from the department of science and technology and other industries, the process of gathering the technologies (along with ISRO and DRDO) developed in the last 30-40 years and its usefulness in future should see some progress.
Reminiscing about how Godrej Aerospace delivered it first cryogenic engine, Vaidya says that it was in 2004 that the company delivered the first article for the ground test. Today the company has 2-3 varieties of cryogenic engines partially designed or fully designed in India – one of the C20 or MK-III which will carry about four tonnes of payload and is almost ready. In December 2016 or Q1 2017, the GSLV MK-III will have the indigenously
developed cryogenic engine. What sets Godrej Aerospace apart is that at a time when there are a number of contenders for structures such as fuselage for aircraft or helicopter or launch vehicles, there are few who make moving parts, like filters, actuators and rotating equipment. Moreover, the team has understood ways to achieve tolerances that will withstand high temperatures-high pressures, and low temperatures-low pressures. “We are now focusing on R&D of engines and ceramic is going to be our future. We have also undertaken a huge exercise on ceramic matrix technology,” adds Vaidya. Achieving lightness is the biggest achievement for the aerospace industry. “Lighter than air is the concept that Boeing is working on today. And if we can make something that is 90 or 95% lighter that of air, then propulsion and guidance is not a problem. So how to create that is the biggest challenge,” he says with a smile.
As late as 2008, the management at Godrej Aerospace decided that since this business requires high reliability in terms of achieving tolerance levels, and destructive testing to ensure usability, it would be best to take stock of the extensive infrastructure it had put in place. A way out was to enter into exports, and though competitive, it is sustainable. Citing an example of Rolls Royce’s supply chain, Vaidya says the company ensures that parts are delivered at their plants in the UK or Germany or US on time. And the assurance of continued business is comforting to components suppliers.
Having achieved the global standard required of it, Godrej Aerospace is confident that its quality system is tuned to the requirement of international practices and traceability. “The responsibility is high and the product liability insurance we offered is $100 million and upward. Failure on our part can also incur penalties. That got us into the US, Europe and Israel market,” he says confidently.
Another initiative the company is developing is line replacement for its export business. “Every component and assembly has a life of its own. Unless and until you exhaust that life you don’t need MRO. There are certain routine checks that happen on the tarmac and there are checks that happen in the hangar. But what gets unloaded from the hangar from the aircraft that is where we are going to pitch in. A part that has outlived its lifespan will get replaced. It will be brought into the Godrej premises and fully stripped open and after conducting tests, it will be replaced, put into assemble mode and re-certified for whatever life we can give it,” says Vaidya.
The ambitions driving Godrej Aerospace are due to the fact that aerospace is a blue-eyed business. Right from digitisation of shop floor to the numerous inspections required, the company is all set to become an OEM supplier on a large scale. Having recently installed a highly sophisticated friction welding machine on its premises, the company is future-ready for meet the requirements of any kind of aircraft or spacecraft.