SAM·BURNSengineer

A passive magnetic bearing for a CubeSat reaction wheel, and the 40-part rig built to test it.

1. 01
   SIZING

   C360 brass flywheel sized from first principles to slew a 3U CubeSat 90° in 10 s: 0.01 N·m·s, matching Rocket Lab's flight RW-0.01.

2. 02
   STRUCTURE

   Nonmagnetic 6061 on a reconfigurable 80/20 frame, with 3D-printed fixtures. The camera tracks the rotor's orbit; a reaction torque sensor reads torque across the bearing.

3. 03
   MODULARITY

   2, 3 and 4 mm air-gap tests by single-part swap: three magnet journals share one rotor shaft, flywheel and housing.

4. 04
   CAD + GD&T

   15-parameter Siemens NX model and 11 ASME Y14.5-2018 drawings, datum frames and position tolerances matched to COTS drawings.

5. 05
   DFM

   Tooling and setup notes worked into the drawings with USC's machinist. All 11 CNC-turned and 4-axis-milled parts made first pass.