AeroFly LLC / Capabilities Engineering Services

NASA-proven engineering, available to your program.

Simulation, CAD, prototyping, vacuum testing and visuals under one roof, delivered by the team behind AeroFly's NASA SBIR programs.

Toolchain DEM · Project Chrono Multiphysics FEA In-house GPU compute Manufacturing CAD Additive manufacturing Point-cloud / as-built High-vacuum test
Services

What we do for outside programs.

  1. Hover to play01
    Simulation & high-fidelity visualization→
  2. Hover to play02
    Computing services→
  3. 03
    Digital twin modeling→
  4. 04
    Prototyping & fabrication→
  5. 05
    Vacuum chamber testing→
  6. 06
    Red-team proposal review→
AeroFly engineers reviewing a simulation on a large screenAeroFly engineering · Brookings, SD
01

Cost effective

The same engineering services larger, established firms offer, without the overhead built into their rates.

02

NASA proven team

Engineers behind several back-to-back NASA Phase I to Phase II SBIR awards.

03

One team, end to end

CAD, simulation, prototyping, vacuum testing and visuals under one roof.

Simulation & High-Fidelity Visualization

Simulate it, then show it.

Advanced hardware is hard to evaluate or explain from CAD screenshots alone. AeroFly pairs DEM modeling of granular-material systems with high-quality Blender and Unreal Engine visualization to help teams assess performance, communicate functionality, and present complex systems with clarity.

DEM module transfer still DEM result: grain speed through a vertical auger column
DEM

DEM simulation & granular-material modeling

Model particle-machine interaction in systems handling regolith, powders, soil, aggregates, and bulk solids, evaluating flow behavior, torque loading, jamming risk, material buildup, throughput, contact forces, and wear-prone regions.

  • Lunar regolith & ISRU handling systems
  • Augers, conveyors, hoppers, and feed systems
  • Excavation and wheel–soil interaction
  • Bulk-solid transport and processing equipment
  • Design trade studies and parameter sweeps
  • Particle velocity, contact force, and wear-depth outputs
Lunar lander and ISRU render Footpad excavation render Rover drivetrain render Spacecraft render with the Moon and sun flare in deep space
VIZ

3D technical visualization & animation

Build high-quality visual assets from CAD models, Blender, Unreal Engine, animation, and simulation-informed scenes to demonstrate system function, interfaces, mission operations, and hardware concepts.

  • Proposal and pitch-deck visuals
  • Blender renders & Unreal Engine mission environments
  • Mechanism operation & integration animations
  • Lander, rover, drone, and ISRU system visualizations
  • Customer, investor, NASA, and DoD briefing graphics
3D visualizationSMA spring tire
Selected applications
Lander, rover, and ISRU interface visualization
Visualization showing how hardware interfaces with a lander, rover, payload, or ISRU system.
Lunar footpad excavation mechanism, render
High-fidelity operational environment used to demonstrate system function, deployment, or mission context.
Rover drivetrain on lunar terrain, render
Renderings, diagrams, and animations to support proposals, technical reviews, and customer briefings.
Why it's different

AeroFly builds visuals from real CAD geometry, simulation outputs, mechanical-design knowledge, and mission context, so every visual is technically grounded and easy for stakeholders to understand.

Typical deliverables
  • DEM simulation results and engineering summaries
  • Force, torque, throughput, contact-load, and wear estimates
  • Particle flow, buildup, and jamming visualizations
  • High-quality renders and technical graphics
  • Mechanism and mission-operation animations
  • Interface and integration visualizations
  • Proposal, pitch, and briefing-ready visual assets
Simulation & visualization

Need to simulate, visualize, or explain a complex hardware system?

We turn complex engineering concepts into clear analysis, high-quality visuals, and decision-ready technical communication.

Discuss a project
Split view: DEM regolith simulation alongside the real Rego-LIFT testbench
As-built Rego-LIFT test rig hardwareRego-LIFT test rig CAD model
Project Chrono Multiphysics FEA CAD
01
Discrete-element modelingRegolith flow · torque · power
The analysis stack

Physics-based models, validated against hardware.

Three disciplines, one accountable team: from granular-flow simulation to manufacturing-ready drawings.

DEM

Discrete-element modeling

We simulate millions of regolith grains in Project Chrono's DEM-Engine to predict flow, torque, and power draw, the models that underpin Rego-LIFT's NASA Phase II.

Project Chrono · DEM-Engine Discuss a DEM study →
FEA

Multiphysics analysis & FEA

A full multiphysics toolset spanning static and transient structural, explicit dynamics, thermal, modal, topology optimization, and DEM–FEA wear coupling, applied across mechanisms, structures, and systems to de-risk designs and strip mass while holding margins under real-world loads.

Multiphysics · FEA · explicit dynamics Request an analysis →
CAD

Manufacturing-ready CAD

Detailed CAD models, assemblies, and drawings with precise GD&T and fit verification. Analysis that lands as hardware you can actually build.

Manufacturing-ready · GD&T Request a quote →
02 · Computing services

In-house HPC.

We run the study from your CAD on our in-house GPU server, so your team doesn't need its own cluster or simulation setup.

GPU DEMOpenFOAM CFDCoupled DEM–CFDParaViewBlender
From your CADWe set up and run the study, compute included.
Every run loggedInputs, code version and results on record.
Ranked resultsA one-page summary for every run.
aerofly-compute · batch queueExample
rego-lift_60rpmGPU DEM · lunar gQueued
screw-conveyor_60rpmGPU DEM · lunar gQueued
screw-conveyor_120rpmGPU DEM · lunar gQueued
screw-conveyor_180rpmGPU DEM · lunar gQueued
vader_auger-dryerCoupled DEM–CFDQueued
mission-scene_renderBlender · GPUQueued
Multi-GPU server · Slurm batch queue · remote GPU desktopsSee the Rego-LIFT runs →
  1. 01

    Case setup

    Parameterized case files built from CAD geometry

  2. 02

    Preflight checks

    Geometry, units and bounds validated before submit

  3. 03

    Submit and monitor

    Batch jobs with automatic stall and crash detection

  4. 04

    Classify and post-process

    Logs sorted into failure types, plots and PDF summary

  5. 05

    Registry and next run

    Every run audited, next design point recommended

Digital twin modeling

Two domains, one modeling discipline.

Physics-based twins for space hardware, and high-fidelity as-built twins for ground infrastructure.

Infrastructure · Digital twins

As-built digital twins of live industrial facilities.

Working with reality-capture partners who document complex operating facilities in service, AeroFly turns the resulting point-cloud data into survey-grade as-built 3D models, so owners and engineering teams can plan, maintain, and upgrade against the asset exactly as it stands today, not as it was drawn.

Heritage
Multi-year program

An ongoing 3–5 year as-built digital twin program with a reality-capture partner.

Whole sites, not single assets

Entire operating facilities rebuilt as fully attributed CAD assemblies.

Survey-grade QC

Every model checked internally against survey control before delivery.

Field captureBy partners · facility in service
Reality captureBy partners · scan · photogrammetry
As-built CAD modelFully attributed geometry
Internal QCVerified to survey control
Survey-gradeRegistered to control
Fully attributedEvery asset tagged
True as-builtAs it stands today
CAD-readyPlan · maintain · upgrade
04 · Build

From CAD to hardware you can test.

Parts, fixtures, mockups and test articles built in house, so a design moves from CAD to a working prototype without leaving the team that modeled it.

The built AeroFly test cart with two chambers CAD model of the same test cart CADBuilt
Drag to compareCAD 50 · Built 50

Prototyping & fabrication

  • Additive manufacturing for parts, fixtures and test articles
  • Physical models and mockups for design reviews
  • Low-cost iteration from CAD to working prototype
AeroFly team with the Rego-LIFT NASA TechLeap payload
Flight heritage

Designed, built and prepped the Rego-LIFT NASA TechLeap payload for vacuum and lunar-gravity flight testing.

Discuss a build
Vacuum chamber testing

Step inside the chamber.

A high-vacuum environment, pumped to a sub-micron base pressure, for characterizing space mechanisms, fitted with rotary feedthroughs that drive and instrument moving hardware without breaking vacuum.

Tap a marker to explore the chamber setup.

AeroFly high-vacuum chamber interior showing rotary feedthroughs and a Rego-LIFT test fixture
01 / 05

Rotary feedthroughs

Two rotary feedthroughs transmit torque and sensor signals through the chamber wall without breaking vacuum, driving the moving mechanism inside while keeping the seal intact.

FUNCTION · TORQUE + SIGNAL THROUGH-WALL
Book chamber time
Additional views
Vacuum chamber front door, viewport, and toggle latches
Vacuum chamber full system on pallet
Vacuum chamber gauges and plumbing
Vacuum chamber interior with lit viewport
Specimen fixture grid inside the chamber
Twin specimen fixtures mounted inside the lit vacuum chamber
Specimen fixtures viewed through the chamber viewport
Vacuum chamber interior with LED ring lighting and instrumentation
What you can read & do
  • Pump down to a sub-micron base pressure (~1×10⁻⁴ Torr) and hold it
  • Log and export chamber pressure in real time (Inficon gauges, Watlow control)
  • Drive rotary mechanisms under vacuum through two rotary feedthroughs (¾″ shafts, 56 ft-lbf)
  • Measure torque, axial load, and power draw on the test article
  • Monitor visually through three internally lit 5″ Clearview viewports
  • Pass 25 sensor channels through the wall via a Sub-D feedthrough
  • Controlled gas purge and venting between runs
System specs
Chamber24 × 24 × 36 in · AL 6061-T6
Base pressure~1 × 10⁻⁴ Torr (sub-micron)
PumpWelch DuoSeal 1397 · two-stage rotary vane
Feedthroughs2× rotary (SS-750-SLAE · ¾″ shaft · 56 ft-lbf) + 25-pin Sub-D
InstrumentationInficon PCG550 + CVM-201 · logging / export
Viewports3× 5″ Clearview, internally lit
Fixturing34× ¼-20 mounting points
Ports2× QF40 · LF63 · QF25 · 25-pin Sub-D
VentingGas-purge kit · controlled vent manifold
ControlWatlow controller · control box
ConstructionWelded AL 6061-T6 · #4 finish
WeightChamber 435 lb · full system 630 lb
System size37 × 34 × 47 in (W×D×H)
High vacuum only. Thermal-vacuum (TVAC) testing is not offered.
Red-team proposal review

An adversarial read before you submit.

AeroFly red-team proposal review dashboard with mission architecture and readiness scoring Red-team review · technical volume
06 · Review

Red-team proposal review

Independent, adversarial review of your technical proposal before it goes out the door. Our NASA-funded engineers pressure-test the approach, technical volume, and risk posture, the same rigor that won AeroFly's own back-to-back NASA SBIRs.

ScopeApproach · technical volume · risk
FormatRed / gold color-team reviews
OutputScored findings & rewrite guidance
Request a review →
Work with us

Proposal, test campaign, or twin? Put our team on it.

Tell us about your program, proposal or test campaign. Liam Murray, Business Development Lead · liam.murray@aerofly.us · 402-979-8140

Request a quote See Rego-LIFT