Excellence in Engineering, Excellence in Delivery

Each year Hydra-Electric dedicates resources for new R&D programs in conjunction with advancing customer needs. Through technology gap analysis, Hydra-Electric’s engineers target solutions to customers’ existing needs and to their upcoming challenges.

Hydra-Electric’s products are designed and developed by experienced engineers who specialize in Computer Aided Design, hydraulics, materials, finite element analysis, fluid dynamics, and advanced mechanical plus electrical engineering design skills. Using industry-standard aerospace CAD, our engineers meticulously conceive and detail some of the world’s most complex switch and sensor designs.

Engineered designs are challenged by a range of detailed design reviews, manufacturing build studies, and other self-checks to ensure a robust design. 3D renderings are modeled with CAD software and transferred to two dimensions for basic customer drawings.

Hydra-Electric incorporates a very broad-based machine shop including machinery from basic cutting tools to state-of-the-art, multi-axis CNC (computer numerical control) machining centers. We machine 95% of our product components in-house involving aluminum, stainless steel and more exotic metals.

Our machinists are among the best in the aerospace business; many have 20+ years experience in areas of drilling, turning, and milling metal parts, drawn from the rich local pool of the Burbank and Los Angeles aerospace industry. Our expert toolmakers bring strong capabilities for design and manufacturing of complex progressive dies utilizing wire EDM, CNC and conventional machines.

Supporting production, we have complete drilling, turning, boring and milling operations, as well as basic cutting, grinding and deburring. Our multi-axis, multi-spindle double turret CNC machines from Mori Seiki are particularly effective machines.

Hydra-Electric’s Assembly area is state-of-the-art, with many cutting-edge operations. At least 95% of the assembly process takes place in-house, with only a few outside processes, such as surface treatments and fluid charging, taking place outside the factory.

Hydra-Electric employs skilled aerospace labor as much as possible in the assembly area, and any new employees are thoroughly trained on the critical assembly procedures during their first 30-90 days on the job. As with machining, there is a good pool of aerospace assembly talent in the aerospace-rich territory of Burbank and Los Angeles. Some of our more involved processes in assembly include TIG welding, laser welding, electron beam welding, and laser marking.

We employ Lean Manufacturing techniques to get the job done. Using manufacturing work cells, Kanban, Kaizen events, Takt Time studies, quick changeover, level loading, and other “lean” ideals has made our work more efficient and resulted in better pricing for the customers. Principles of 6S and Value Stream Mapping have further enhanced our effectiveness.

Hydra-Electric employs Statistical Process Control (SPC) as an effective method for monitoring assembly processes, through the use of control charts. SPC uses statistical tools to observe the performance of the production process to predict significant deviations that may later result in rejected product.

We have a full quality control (QC) philosophy that encompasses all aspects of the business. All departments must adhere to Quality standards; every department and employee receives quality training and works on QC. We’ve instilled the “do it right the first time” philosophy that is a part of any great manufacturing facility. Hydra-Electric’s overall QA and QC regulates the quality of incoming raw materials, assemblies, products, and components—plus all services related to production—and includes all management, production, and inspection processes.

High-level product design and manufacturing for aerospace demands high-level product testing. Hydra-Electric specializes in product testing and has done so since our company’s early years.

We house a full array of testing equipment, and conduct 100% of our basic product testing in-house, as we strongly believe in taking full control of all our product processing. In addition, we’ve found keeping testing in-house offers great cost and control advantages that are beneficial to the integrity of the end product.

QC and quality engineering are used at Hydra-Electric to develop systems and procedures that ensure products are designed and produced to meet or exceed your requirements. Our product testing is certainly considered part of the overall QC system, as are detailed physical inspections of the products as they flow through the manufacturing system. We employ in-process inspection techniques that require each part to be inspected and signed off before it goes to the next station, greatly reducing re-work. Final inspection is also employed; trained personnel verify all aspects of the previous inspection work and complete the final sign-off process.

One of the largest departments at Hydra-Electric is Quality Inspection. Aerospace QC is arguably the most stringent of any manufacturing industry, and we have always housed a full staff of QC inspectors for both in-process and final inspection work. The majority of our inspectors are specialists who hold certificates of qualification and merit. All of our inspectors are qualified at AS9100 levels and are fully trained on all aspects of the quality systems of our airframe and sub-system customers.

Many of our customers have their own inspectors or field engineers who visit Hydra-Electric to sign off on parts as they complete inspection. Other customers train and designate our inspectors to provide sign-off duties for them. In either situation, our focus on accuracy and dependability never wavers.

Hydra-Electric will perform any type of specialty packaging you request. We can accommodate customer requests for special interior packing, packing boxes, labels, or marking to help you receive and inventory your parts at your facility. We can provide any type of 2D barcode labels or radio-frequency identification (RFID) upon request.

Hydra-Electric adheres to all forms of military spec packaging requirements, often through the use of third-party specialized vendors.

We produce complex commercial and military aerospace parts at Hydra-Electric, and these products are often very important to the security of the U.S. The U.S. government requires that manufacturers carefully control the export and shipment of commercial and military parts. Careful monitoring of the end-use of products is critical, to protect national security and prevent other nations from obtaining sensitive military and technical know-how.

Hydra-Electric is an expert in export license processing and we have a full-time staff that handles all exports of products overseas. Adhering to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and EAR (Export Administration Regulations) is a must-do in the aerospace business with regard to military exports, and we are fully dedicated to adhering to all laws and regulations of the State Department.

Commercial exports are also handled with care, and we follow the laws of the Department of Commerce in this arena.

Hydra-Electric personnel receive annual training in ITAR and commercial export laws and regulations at offsite training programs conducted by private firms and State Department officials. We also conduct in-house training on export control regulations and procedures.