Relativity headquarters is located in Long Beach, CA at a former Boeing C-17 manufacturing plant. Designed in collaboration with Gensler, it is one of the largest headquarters in the private space industry with a capacity for 2,000+ employees, metallurgical laboratory, DMLS printers, mission control center, as well as dozens of the company’s proprietary Stargate 3D printers, the largest metal 3D printers in the world.
Relativity Space develops manufacturing technologies, launch vehicles, and rocket engines for commercial orbital launch services. The company is notable for manufacturing most of their Terran 1 and Terran R rocket parts using 3D printing.
A large Heat Treatment Furnace is used in parts of the manufacturing process. It required the installation of a 60 feet long exhaust system with several offsets 40 feet up under the roof.
The owner was considering using welded steel with field wrapped insulation. But there were several concerns about cost, weight and aesthetics. The engineer was also concerned about possible system pressurization and the 900°F exhaust temperature.
ENERVEX proposed a 38 inch ID, 2” insulated, double-wall, EPS2 Powerstack. It weighed substantially less than insulated 16 GA welded steel pipe and ended up being quite a bit cheaper.
The EPS2 Powerstack was a better solution for the engineer due to its UL listing for temperatures up to 1400°F and 60”WC of positive pressure. The ease of installation was another winning point for the engineer. Due to its lighter weight and the male/female graphite sealed connections it was easier to install at the 40’ elevation.
Installation went smoothly. Due to the size and visibility of the pipe and its shiny exterior, it is eye-catching and has become a wow factor in the clinically clean building. Everyone is pleased with the result.
