Facilities and Manufacturing
We manufacture all Spitz projection domes, architectural domes, and SciDome planetarium systems in our 47,000 square foot facility in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. Our dome factory houses specialty machines for creating spherical aluminum paneling and structural frames. Our capabilities include precision rolling of extruded aluminum sections, and a custom stretch press for accurate die forming of solid or perforated aluminum sheets.
At the heart of Spitz’ state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities is a unique large-bed 5-axis router. This technology allows us to form panels to extremely precise tolerances. Unlike routers found in other shops, our 5-axis machine provides a level of precision and flexibility that’s essential for spherical structures and is utilized during two stages of the dome construction process:
- Dome panels must be formed to extremely precise shapes in three dimensions. We use our router to create dies at the dome’s radius. These dies are used during the stretch-forming of the panels, and to help preserve the correct shapes once they’ve been formed.
- Cutting formed panels to their final shape. Because of their curvature, this operation requires tight, three-dimensional precision, particularly when meeting the exceptionally tight tolerances of the NanoSeam™ process.
With Spitz’s superior technology, the most experienced work force in the industry, and our purpose-built manufacturing facility, it’s easy to see why Spitz makes the World’s Leading Projection Domes.