Article: Two Ventura County, Calif., Companies Supply Parts to NASA.

Byline: Roger Harris

Apr. 4--The ground shakes, the building rattles and ears all but bleed when the mammoth, 50,000-pound hammer drops on the red-hot titanium ring.

A cluster of men decked out in hardhats, insulated gloves and steel-toed boots manipulate the giant steam-driven hammer with finely choreographed movements.

Again and again and again, the hammer rises and drops. With each pounding the titanium ring slowly takes the shape of the dye it rests in.

The forging technology used at Arcturus Manufacturing Corp. in Oxnard has changed little over the past 100 years. Basically, heat metal until it glows like the sun and then smack ...

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