AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS

State of the Art Furnace Designed, Delivered for Aerospace Supplier

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A global aerospace supplier is the recipient of a newly designed, state of the art furnace—the first of its type in the world—boasting an entire side-on opening, with a door running the full eight-meter width, while maintaining an exceptionally high level of temperature uniformity.

At 1.75m high, the furnace enables two components to be loaded at one time by way of a trolley, with a gap of half a meter between the external tracks and the internal fixturing. This gap was required to enable the doors to close. The trolley then cantilevers across the gap, thanks in part to the unique design of its axels.

An additional challenge was the temperature conformity and accuracy needed by the customer. The maximum temperature difference across the part was specified to be no greater than +/- 2.5°C, to a maximum temperature of 175°C to be maintained for a number of hours to facilitate the heat treatment of highly specialized, CNC-machined aluminum components.

The furnace was designed, delivered and installed by U.K.-based AeroThermal, which designs and manufactures thermal processing equipment for clients in the aerospace, motorsport, military, electronics and tobacco sectors. Accuracy of better than +/- 2°C was achieved by using a multizone heating system on the top and bottom, with four different banks of heater cassettes and four fans, to ensure temperature uniformity. The cassettes were sheathed electrical heaters and produce 240kW.

The furnace is made of a steel structural frame and steel paneling. It is also highly insulated, to the extent that it is possible to touch the vast majority of the oven wall at a temperature marginally above that of ambient whilst the furnace is in operation, minimizing energy usage.

Aerothermal also designed and built in-house a plc control system with two controllers: one for the air temperature, one for the parts’ temperatures. When the manufacturing process is complete, the oven’s temperature is reduced by using a power-assisted ambient cooling system, through external ducts.

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British Firms Explore Heat Treatment Regimens for Alloy in Additive Manufacturing

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Two British firms recently announced a collaboration to establish process parameters for the use of aluminum alloy in additive manufacturing (AM), a project that will include the investigation of heat treatment regimens to deliver optimum properties in AM components for applications in multiple industries, including the aerospace sector.

Mike Bond, Aeromet

Renishaw, a global engineering technologies company based in Gloucestershire providing solutions and products for the aerospace, medical, energy and manufacturing sectors, and Worcestershire’s Aeromet International, a leading supplier of cast metal parts for the global aerospace and defense industries, recently debuted the highly refined alloy at the Paris Air Show in June. The two companies are working together to establish additive manufacturing process parameters and material properties for Aeromet’s A20X® aluminum alloy and to optimise the processing techniques for the alloy on Renishaw metal AM systems.  The results of these developments and the heat treatment research will be made available to Renishaw and Aeromet customers.

A family of high-strength aluminum alloy technologies developed and patented by Aeromet, A20X® includes the Metallic Materials Properties Development and Standardization (MMPDS) approved A205 casting alloy and AM205 powder for additive manufacturing.

Marc Saunders, Renishaw

“A20X is being rapidly adopted for additive manufacture of aero engine, airframe, space, defense and automotive parts.  It’s unique combination of high strength, high ductility and performance at high operating temperatures make it ideal for light-weight, stressed components.  We look forward to making processing techniques for this innovative alloy more widely available to accelerate its adoption,” said Mike Bond, Director of AMT a Division of Aeromet.

“Renishaw’s metal AM systems feature high-power lasers, an inert processing environment, and open parameters,” said Marc Saunders, Director of Global Solutions Centres at Renishaw, “making them ideal for supporting innovative new materials like A20X.  We are working closely with Aeromet to qualify this exciting new alloy on our machines. Through our network of AM Solutions Centres, we can help manufacturers to develop industrial AM processes using A20X.”

The two companies plan to release processing techniques and material properties information in the coming months.

Photo Credit: Aeromet/Monty Rakusen

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Heat Treating Projects Part of Pratt & Whitney Expansion

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Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney Canada is expanding its production at facilities in Québec with two recently announced furnace projects, with equipment supplied by local machining manufacturer Pyradia Belfab. The first is a low-temperature conveyor drying oven for steel parts complying with AMS2750 standards, and the second is a bottom-loading type furnace to be used for the stress relief of combustion chambers of P&W Canada aero engines. The latter unit will be a high temperature (2000 F) retort furnace using argon/nitrogen and hydrogen equipped with state of the art batching monitoring/logging capabilities.

The projects figure into an expansion effort by Pratt & Whitney, which includes a recently commissioned new fan blade manufacturing facility at its AutoAir plant in Lansing, Michigan. The new 93,000 square-foot facility adds to an already existing GTF fan blade production line in Lansing and is one of thirty dedicated manufacturing, production or assembly locations across the globe performing work on various parts and components of the GTF engine program.

“We are pleased to be a part of this successful engine program,” said Conor Tracy, general manager, Pratt & Whitney AutoAir. “The expansion of the Lansing plant is an opportunity for our employees to contribute to the future of the company, but it is also an exciting opportunity for Lansing to continue to participate in the advanced manufacturing sector and the economic growth of the region.”

In addition to the manufacturing expansion, Pratt & Whitney has four maintenance and repair operations (MRO) facilities to repair and overhaul GTF engines, and additional facilities will be added moving forward.

 

 

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Mobile Heat Treatment Launch Targets Aerospace, Motorsports Customers

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Ian Perks, Sales Director, Alloy Heat Treatment

Alloy Heat Treatment (AHT), a specialist in the heat treatment of aluminum alloy, has developed and is set to launch an innovative mobile heat treatment service.

The Dudley-based (UK) firm, a member of the manufacturing alliance Made in the Midlands, is targeting the new service in support of the additive layer manufacturing market in the UK and Europe, especially in the aerospace and motorsport (F1 and MotoGP) sectors.

“The proposed service is currently being designed to be transported on the back of a fix-bed lorry,” said sales director Ian Perks. “We aim to fill a gap in the AM market, as we feel that this innovation will provide a great benefit to aerospace, F1 and Moto GP organisations; and with the global AM market predicted to be worth more than $6.6 billion by 2026, we are hopeful that the service will attract plenty of interest.”

AHT would load the service onto a truck and then drive to a customer’s designated location to enable them to offer rapid heat treatment processes within tight schedules.

 

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Precision Tubing Manufacturer Awarded Nadcap Accreditation

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Fine Tubes technical team with 4th Nadcap Certificate: Valerie Hart, Technical Manager; Dr. Abdul Saeid, Process Engineer; Wayne Taylor-Vicary, Deputy Cell Leader; David Killoran, Welding Process Engineer; Rob Eatwell, Quality Manager

A precision tubing manufacturer has been awarded a Nadcap accreditation for chemical processing. This is the fourth Nadcap approval awarded to Fine Tubes; its first accreditation was for heat treating in 2004, followed by nondestructive testing (ultrasonic testing) in 2005 and fusion welding in 2013. In addition, the Plymouth (UK)-based manufacturer anticipates receiving another accreditation for fluid distribution systems shortly.

Nadcap is an internationally recognised accreditation system that covers the key manufacturing and production processes used within the aerospace industry.

Very few companies hold four Nadcap accreditations simultaneously.

Chemical processing is a critical part of the Fine Tubes production process. Tubes must be chemically milled after the cold-working and heat-treating manufacturing processes, by being etched to ensure they meet the customer specification requirements.

“The tubing we manufacture is designed to withstand in-process fatigue loading, and failure is not an option.  When aircraft manufacturers need tubing, they inevitably look for suppliers who can demonstrate the most-stringent quality standards. Nadcap accreditation is widely viewed as confirmation of that, and, so with every Nadcap accreditation that we earn, we further enhance our ability to win new contracts,” comments David Killoran, representing the Fine Tubes’ technical team.

To achieve its latest accreditation, Fine Tubes undertook an intensive on-site inspection and investigation by a Nadcap auditor. This audit covers all aspects of the process – the machinery, consumables, and methods employed, as well as the qualifications and experience of the staff involved in the process.

“The auditor found no failures to comply with the Nadcap criteria, and that is a major credit to the Fine Tubes production team involved in the audit,” said Dr. Abdul Saeid, Process Engineer at Fine Tubes.

Fine Tubes and its US-based sister company, Superior Tube, are units of AMETEK Specialty Metal Products and both have supplied the aerospace industry with high-performance tubes for more than fifty years. Their precision tubes are used in airframes, aircraft engines and aerospace instrumentation, where they are relied upon to withstand the most-critical operating conditions.

 

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Aluminum Aging Oven Shipped to Aerospace Parts Manufacturer

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An aerospace parts manufacturer recently acquired an electrically heated aluminum aging oven as part of an upgrade of its line. The SWH series batch oven was ordered to replace antiquated equipment in order to facilitate compliance with AMS 2750E Class 2 specifications. Wisconsin Ovens, a Thermal Product Solutions (“TPS”) brand, completed the shipment in August 2017.

 

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15 Atmosphere and Vacuum Furnaces Shipped to Aerospace, Commercial, MIM Industry Customers

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Fifteen atmosphere and vacuum furnaces were shipped to customers in aerospace, commercial heat treating and MIM industries around the world during the second quarter of 2017, including China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.

The shipments included:

*   Two large, vertical (bottom-loading) MetalMaster® vacuum furnaces, each with a 120″ (3 m) diameter work zone and 10,000-pound (4,500 kg) load capacity
*   Five standard TITAN® vacuum furnaces complete with PdMetrics®
*   Debind and sinter vacuum furnaces for the MIM industry
*   ATLAS integral quench atmosphere furnace, which was delivered six weeks after order placement

In addition to these transactions, Ipsen USA of Cherry Valley, Illinois, delivered several custom-built vacuum furnaces that will process parts for the aerospace industry.

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Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems Award Heat Treat Contracts Down Under

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Karen Stanton, owner and director of HTA Group, Photo Credit: LinkedIn

Heat Treatment Australia  (HTA), a commercial and aerospace heat treater based in Brisbane, Australia, recently secured industry agreements with two of the world’s largest global defense companies, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems’ Controls and Avionics Solutions.

Lockheed Martin granted the F-35 supplier accreditation of its newly established facility in Sante Fe Springs, California, its first outside Australia, to provide thermal processing services for U.S. heat treat customers and to process stainless steel orders from Australian companies before the raw material leaves U.S. shores.

“We hope this new US facility will provide opportunities for HTA to collaborate with other Australian companies, and that our US-based thermal processing capabilities will be an asset to Australian industry,” said Karen Stanton, owner and director of HTA Group. “HTA’s entry into the US market aligns with the Australian government’s 2016 Defence Industry Policy Statement, and will subsequently boost Australian Global Supply Chain opportunities, creating more jobs and economic benefit to Australia.”

In addition, BAE Systems, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has awarded HTA a contract for the supply of pressure manifolds for commercial aircraft jet engines in the U.S. The pressure manifolds are part of the digital engine controls for the LEAP family of jet engines. The LEAP engines will power some of the biggest fleets of commercial aircraft in the world, including Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo.

HTA will use its recently opened state-of-the-art thermal processing facilities in Brisbane to assemble the manifolds.

Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne, upon congratulating the company for their achievements, said, “This will increase Australian companies’ competitiveness in the U.S. and other global markets and gain access to new global supply chain opportunities.”

HTA is the only aerospace heat treater in Australia with AS9100 and Nadcap accreditations. The company has branches in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and now Los Angeles.

Sources: Defenceconnect.com.au, Australian Government Department of Defence, Australian Defence Business Review, Lockheed Martin

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Using Heat Treatment and Thermal Shape Memory to Tailor Nitinol to Industry Applications

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  Source: AZO Materials

Nitinol’s shape memory and superelastic properties allow it to be used in a wide range of applications in the aerospace, medical, consumer technology, telecommunications, and automotive industries. In particular, heat treatment and thermomechanical processes can change the parent shape of Nitinol wire, making it indispensable for use in medical devices.  Read more: Using Heat Treatment and Thermal Shape Memory to Tailor Nitinol to Your Application by AZO Materials

 

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Aerospace Manufacturer Replaces Batch IQs with Integrated Vacuum System

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A North American based aerospace manufacturer is replacing two integral quench batch furnaces with an integrated vacuum furnace heat treat system. In addition to running low pressure carburizing (LPC), the vacuum heat treat furnace is also capable of austenitizing, brazing, gas quenching, cryogenic treating and tempering. The SyncroTherm(r) system, provided by ALD Vacuum Systems, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V., is believed to be the first of its type to be installed west of the Mississippi. This is the third unit being installed in the aerospace industry capable of performing processes compliant with Nadcap (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program). The vacuum heat treat furnace will have five independently controlled hot zones each rated for load sizes of 24″ x 20″ x 9″ high and up to 110 lbs. The complete systems will be a “lights-out,” fully-automated system with individual part tracking and complete process history retention along with a consistent process cadence.

Aerospace Heat Treating
Photo Credit: www.corelitecomposites.com

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