Graham Corp. Purchases Specific Assets, Foil Bearings from Xdot

Graham Corp. recently acquired specified assets from Xdot Bearing Technologies (Xdot), which specializes in the consulting, design, and engineering of foil bearing technology. The patented foil bearing design offers high-end performance while lowering development and production costs. Xdot’s technology enhances capabilities within Barber-Nichols (BN), a Graham subsidiary, and complements its current product portfolio.

“Long-life and reliability are critical to the next generation of high-speed rotating machines, and the acquisition of Xdot’s technology, know-how, and product offerings provides Barber-Nichols with patented technologies to strengthen our ability to serve customers across end markets,” said Michael E. Dixon, Vice President and General Manager of Barber-Nichols. “While Xdot adds additional technology, it also enables us to expand our portfolio of high-speed pumps and compressors into applications where we expect growing demand.”

Xdot’s foil bearing technology will be combined with BN’s turbomachinery expertise, allowing the company to expand its ability to design and deliver high-speed rotating machines for new markets and applications. Its technology will also allow BN to enter high-performance markets with advanced pumps and compressors, such as aerospace and defense, energy transition, and other industrial applications.

Foil bearing | Image Credit: Xdot Bearing Technologies

BN will integrate Xdot into the business, bolstering its position in engineered solutions that support critical missions and the energy transition. BN plans to support Xdot customers with bearing supply under the company’s ISO9001 and AS9100 quality systems. Additionally, Dr. Erik Swanson—Founder, President, and Chief Engineer of Xdot—will join the BN team upon closing. Dr. Swanson is a highly renowned expert in foil bearing analysis, application, ad fabrication.

P3 Technologies

In November 2023, Graham Corp. completed its acquisition of P3 Technologies, adding custom turbomachinery engineering, product development, and manufacturing to its current industry portfolio. P3 Technologies (P3) is based in Jupiter, FL, and produces rotating machinery such as cryogenic pumps, compressors, turbines, and high-speed rotors for the space, energy, and medical markets.

P3 has an intellectual property portfolio that includes the multi-channel diffuser (MCD) and the self-contained actuating magnetic pump (SCAMP). These technologies establish a platform that can be applied across a number of industries. The MCD is a diffuser technology that improves the efficiency of pumps and compressors by increasing pressure recovery up to 20% and increasing operating range. It can be implemented in new designs or retrofit applications and is compatible with any pump or compressor that contains a centrifugal impeller.

The SCAMP is a group of positive displacement pumps for low-flow, high-pressure cryogenic applications adaptable with oxygen, hydrogen, methane, and nitrogen. P3 also developed a range of turbopumps that vary in thrust from 5,000 to 200,000 pounds. These pumps are created with a flow path design enabled by additive manufacturing, which provides higher performance at a relative cost-efficiency.In addition to the production of rotating machinery, P3 offers turbomachinery development tools to enable efficient design iteration cycles—this reduces the lead times of product launches for customers.