Why We Say Yes
The problem was everywhere. University researchers building cryogenic detectors, quantum computing systems, and space instrumentation kept hitting the same wall: fabricators couldn't—or wouldn't—handle their requirements.
"We don't do non-standard connectors."
"Six-month lead time minimum."
"100-piece order minimum."
Grant cycles don't wait six months. Prototype projects don't need 100 pieces. And when your dilution refrigerator needs a reverse-twist NbTi assembly with SMA connectors, "we don't do that" isn't an answer—it's a roadblock.
Greg Schickling built CryoWeave to remove that roadblock. After two decades fabricating cryogenic assemblies for space missions and research institutions, he saw the pattern: the hardest projects—the ones requiring custom configurations, non-standard components, and university timelines—were getting rejected.
So he built a company that says yes.
Small batch? Yes. Custom alloy? Yes. Reverse twist with integrated thermal stages? Yes. Delivered in 60 days to match your grant deadline? Yes.
CryoWeave doesn't say yes to everything. We say yes to hard problems that require precision, expertise, and space-grade fabrication standards.
Space-Grade, University-Focused
Most fabricators optimize for volume. Large orders, standard configurations, predictable timelines. That model works for commercial manufacturing. It doesn't work for research.
CryoWeave optimizes for complexity. We're NASA, ESA, and CNES qualified because space missions demand the same thing university research demands: custom solutions that work the first time, built to exacting standards, delivered on a deadline.
IPC J-STD-001ES
Space applications electronic hardware requirements. Every solder joint, every connection, built to survive launch and deep space environments.
IPC-A-610 Class 3
High-reliability inspection criteria. Visual inspection standards that catch defects before they become failures in your cryostat.
IPC/WHMA-A-620
Cable and wire harness requirements. The fabrication standard that defines what "done right" means for critical assemblies.
We don't build to space-grade standards because we have to. We build to them because when your dark matter detector needs to operate at 10mK for three years, you can't afford to rebuild the wiring harness.
No Sales Reps, No Middlemen
When you contact CryoWeave, you talk to Greg. The engineer who will read your drawings. The fabricator who will build your assembly. The person who decides whether your timeline is achievable.
No sales rep translating technical requirements into a quote template. No account manager playing telephone between you and the shop floor. No layers that slow decisions and introduce errors.
You explain what you need. Greg tells you if it's possible, how long it will take, and what it will cost. If there's a problem with your design, you hear about it immediately—not three weeks into fabrication.
This model doesn't scale to 10,000 orders a year. It scales to the problems that matter: the physicist at Stanford who needs SMA connectors on a superconducting assembly in 60 days because the experiment goes live in March. The quantum computing lab at MIT that's tried three other fabricators and keeps getting "we can't do that."
Those projects need engineering decisions, not sales quotes. They need someone who understands why reverse twist matters, who knows which alloys superconduct at which temperatures, who's built enough dilution refrigerator assemblies to spot a thermal management problem in your schematic.
That's what you get when you talk directly to the fabricator.
Built on Trust, Not Marketing
CryoWeave doesn't advertise. We don't do trade shows. We don't have a sales team. Researchers find us because someone at NIST recommended us, or because their colleague at Caltech said "call Greg—he'll figure it out." That's how a fabrication shop should grow: one solved problem at a time.
Who We Work With
University Research Labs
Physics departments building cryogenic detectors, quantum computing facilities, astrophysics observatories. Grant-funded projects where timelines matter and standard fabricators say "no."
National Laboratories
NIST, national research facilities, government-funded physics programs. Projects that require space-grade fabrication standards and security-cleared handling.
Space Agencies
NASA, ESA, CNES. Telescope cryostat assemblies, satellite instrumentation, flight-proven components for missions where failure isn't an option.
What Makes CryoWeave Different
We Understand the Research Context
Grant cycles, publication deadlines, experiment timelines. University research doesn't operate on industrial manufacturing schedules. We built our process around your calendar, not ours.
We Welcome Complex Projects
Non-standard connectors, custom alloys, reverse twist configurations, integrated thermal management. The projects other fabricators reject are the ones we're built to handle.
We Deliver on Deadlines
60-day delivery isn't a marketing promise—it's how we schedule every custom order. When your experiment goes live in March, your assemblies will be there in January.
We Build It Right the First Time
Space-grade fabrication standards mean your assembly works at first cooldown. No rework, no troubleshooting thermal leaks, no discovering the solder joints failed at 4K.