AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS

Pittsburgh Metals Company Acquires Aerospace & Defense Additive Manufacturer

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Rich Harshman, ATI’s chairman, president and CEO

A Pittsburgh-based specialty metals company recently announced that it has acquired a leading pro metal alloy-based additive manufacturer for the aerospace and defense industries, located in New Britain, CT.

Allegheny Technology Incorporated (ATI) purchased Addaero Manufacturing, combining “ATI’s deep knowledge and experience in commercial aerospace and our industry-leading powder metal manufacturing capabilities, including our new aerospace-qualified Bakers Powder Operations, and Addaero’s technical expertise to produce aerospace quality parts using various additive manufacturing technologies,” said Rich Harshman, ATI’s chairman, president and CEO.

Rich Merlino, president, Addaero Manufacturing

“Addaero’s competencies are a natural extension of ATI’s metallic powder expertise and will expand our capabilities to provide comprehensive customer solutions ranging from the design of parts for additive manufacturing to the production of ready-to-install components. The acquisition of Addaero is another building block in our strategy to enhance ATI’s full specialty materials capabilities to provide end customers with finished products,” Harshman added.

“The Addaero team is excited to be a part of ATI. The combination of ATI and Addaero will increase the speed to market of new and innovative additively manufactured powder metal solutions for our aerospace and defense customers and beyond,” said Rich Merlino, president, Addaero Manufacturing.

 

Photo credit: Addaero Manufacturing; photo caption: 1) The Addaero Manufacturing team; 2) The above rocket nozzle was fabricated in Inconel 718 with internal cooling channels to reduce wall temperature.  The engine was hot fired 10 times for up to 30 seconds in duration.

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Niobium C-103 Alloy Developed for Space Exploration

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Judson Humphrey

A global supplier of refractory technology metals and technical ceramics for multiple industries recently launched a unique niobium C-103 alloy for rocket and jet propulsion applications utilized in spacecraft and launch vehicles.

H.C. Starck’s Fabricated Products Division developed the advanced alloy with “resistance to high-frequency vibrations at cryogenic temperatures that occur in satellites and particularly high-performance rocket nozzle applications,” said Judson Humphrey, Market Director for Aerospace, Defense and Government for the Fabricated Products Division.

Andreas Mader

“H.C. Starck‘s niobium C-103 alloy is part of our alloy development program to extend our fabricated products portfolio allowing customers to take advantage of the unique characteristics of our alloyed materials,” said Andreas Mader, CEO of the Fabricated Products Division. “We are working with customers in space exploration to design the highest quality and performance products with the prospects of more advanced space exploration in mind.”

 

 

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

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Vacuum Heat Treat Furnace Manufacturer Breaks Ground on New Facility, Reunites Operations

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Bill Jones, CEO, Solar Manufacturing, Inc.

With the recent groundbreaking at a site in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, a leading vacuum furnace manufacturer launched its plans to reunite its manufacturing operations under one roof in order to combine its staffing and production efforts into an expanded space.

Solar Manufacturing Inc. celebrated this new chapter in its history with a groundbreaking ceremony for a new manufacturing facility at the Sellersville Business Campus in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Due to substantial growth in recent years, Solar Manufacturing has been operating out of two separate manufacturing facilities located a few miles apart. The nearly 60,000 square-foot building will be built on 8.55 acres and is expected to be completed in early 2019.  The new building will contain a two-story office space of nearly 20,000 square feet and 40,000 square feet of crane-served, manufacturing space.

"Solar Manufacturing has been very fortunate to experience steady growth over the past 15 years," said Bill Jones, CEO. "We needed more manufacturing space to expand and grow our business. Bucks County and Sellersville Borough have been very supportive and welcoming. It is an ideal location for us."

Solar Manufacturing is a member of the Solar Atmospheres family of companies, which is based with headquarters in Souderton, Pennsylvania, has four US commercial heat treating facilities with over 60 vacuum furnaces in operation, and services the aerospace, medical, automotive, defense, and other industries with heat treating equipment. This move to the Sellersville location will free up space for Solar Atmospheres' growing operations.

Pictured left to right: Jim Nagy, President; Bob Wilson, VP of Engineering; Scott Jacoby, Corporate Controller; Myrtle Jones, Owner; Bill Jones, CEO/Owner; Trevor Jones, CEO; Nick Cordisco, Service Manager; Pete Reh, VP of Sales; Rick Jones, International Sales Manager

 

Main image photo credit: Madeleine Cook, The Morning Call. Caption:  CEO of Solar Manufacturing Inc., Trevor Jones, receives a certificate from his grandfather, owner William Jones, during the groundbreaking ceremony for a new manufacturing facility on June 21, 2018, in Upper Bucks County. 

Read more here: "Construction starts for Bucks County manufacturer’s new $8M HQ" (Lehigh Valley Business); "Upper Bucks' Solar Manufacturing breaks ground on new headquarters at reclaimed brownfield industrial site" (The Morning Call); "Manufacturer breaks ground on new $8.5 million Sellersville plant" (The Intelligencer)

 

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The Search for New Materials, Methods for “Large Landing Gear of the Future”

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A U.K.-based company that designs and manufactures aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) components has been appointed to work on a two-year, $40.5 million (£28m) project titled “Large Landing Gear of the Future.”

Alvant, located in Basingstoke, United Kingdom, is participating in this project at the invitation of project-leader Safran Landing Systems, the international high-technology group and Tier 1 supplier of systems and equipment to the aerospace and defense industries. The project aims to make use of new materials and manufacturing methods to develop and demonstrate technologies that will reduce landing gear weight, fuel burn and noise, at the same time as improving reliability and lowering ownership costs.

Current landing gear systems are typically stronger and heavier than necessary because an outstanding safety record has resulted in proven techniques being perpetuated. However, they account for approximately three per cent of aircraft weight, with a corresponding effect on fuel consumption. Safran believes it is possible to reduce this without diminishing the gear’s capabilities or safety.

Richard Thompson, commercial director of Alvant

Alvant’s work on this project will be funded by a $675,000 (£513,000) grant from Innovate UK. This will enable the design, manufacture and testing of an AMC brake rod, targeting a 30 per cent weight reduction over an equivalent titanium component whilst maintaining the same strength as steel.

AMCs are advanced composite materials in which the aluminum is reinforced with a secondary high-performance material, typically a long fibre, short fibre, or particulates. Compared to unreinforced metals, AMCs have higher strength, greater stiffness, lower weight, superior wear resistance, and lower coefficients of thermal and electrical conductivity. AMCs also offer advantages over polymer fibre reinforced materials, such as carbon composites, including higher transverse strength and stiffness, a higher thermal operating range, better wear resistance, superior damage tolerance, and easier reparability.

“A key objective of the Large Landing Gear project is to test and demonstrate as many technology advances as possible,” said Richard Thompson, commercial director of Alvant. “Alvant’s AMCs are a sustainable solution that enhance product capabilities. This is a very attractive proposition for many industries, in particular, aerospace. Alvant looks forward to demonstrating this while working in conjunction with Safran. This landing gear component is just one of the many ways in which AMCs can help aerospace firms retain strength while reducing weight.”

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Canadian Centers of Excellence Established for Helicopter Airframe, Engine MRO Services

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An independent provider of engine and airframe services recently announced a 12-18 month company restructuring of its primary Canadian MRO facilities to create three different Centers of Excellence (COEs) specifically for supporting Helicopter Airframe/Component MRO services, Helicopter Engine MRO services and Turboprop Engine MRO services at facilities located in Langley, British Columbia; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Summerside, Prince Edward Island.

Russell Ford, CEO of StandardAero

In addition, StandardAero intends to wind down its operations at its Richmond, B.C. facility by June of 2019 as part of the restructuring plans. Helicopter engine MRO services currently performed at Richmond will be relocated to StandardAero’s Winnipeg facility, including all Safran Arriel 1&2, Rolls-Royce M250, GE T700 and Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PT6T helicopter engine MRO services. Winnipeg will serve as the company’s COE for all Helicopter Engine MRO services. Helicopter dynamic components, currently located in Richmond, will be relocated to the company’s Langley facility which will serve as the COE for Helicopter Airframes/Component MRO services moving forward.

In order to accommodate all of the helicopter engine MRO capabilities in Winnipeg, StandardAero is moving its Winnipeg P&WC PW100 MRO engine services and as well as the existing P&WC PT6A work to its facility in Summerside – which will become the company’s COE for Turboprop Engine MRO.

“Over the past several months, our team has been working carefully to drive integration activities and program management to combine our legacy StandardAero and Vector Aerospace facilities,” said Russell Ford, CEO of StandardAero. “A big part of our overall acquisition strategy is to ensure we establish these Centers of Excellence (COEs) and combine or consolidate relevant engine platforms to eliminate duplicate operations, while also freeing up capacity to accommodate our growth programs.”

StandardAero services include engine and airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul, engine component repair, engineering services, interior completions and paint applications to a diverse array of customers in business and general aviation, airline, military, helicopter, components, and energy markets.

 

Photo credit: StandardAero

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Pioneer in Metallic 3D Printing in Aviation Acquires Airbus Spin-Off

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A German tier one supplier of metal components for Airbus aircraft recently acquired a 3D printing specialist which was founded as a spin-off of the Airbus Group.

APWORKS, located near Munich, Germany, was purchased from Airbus by Premium AEROTEC, which is located in Augsburg, Germany. This acquisition will allow APWORKS to focus on its objective to support clients in advancing in additive manufacturing-related areas, including prototyping, development, and distribution of the patented material Scalmalloy®, a high-strength aluminum alloy for additive manufacturing of components, and above all the development of qualified mass production applications.

Premium AEROTEC is a pioneer in the use of metallic 3D printing in aviation. As the first aviation supplier, the company has succeeded in integrating 3D printed titanium components into the aircraft structure.

“With the entry of Premium AEROTEC, we are taking a big step closer to our vision of industrial series production using AM technology,” said Joachim Zettler, managing director of APWORKS. “The goal is to combine APWORKS ‘highly dynamic approach to solving our customers’ AM issues with the decades of premium AEROTEC’s manufacturing experience to deliver the maximum value along the AM value chain to our customers across a broad range of industries.”

“Our investment creates a powerful link between Premium AEROTEC and APWORKS, which opens up all possibilities for additive manufacturing to current and future customers,” said Dr. Ing. Thomas Ehm, Chairman of the Board of Premium AEROTEC. “We want to actively promote APWORKS on its dynamic growth path. With our pioneering experience in metallic 3D printing and proven aerospace quality standards, we are the industrial reference for APWORKS ‘innovative ideas. ”

Through the merger of the two companies Premium AEROTEC and APWORKS, customers have access to currently eleven plants with a wide variety of materials, as well as the entire value-added chain for the reworking of components.

 

Photo Caption: Dr. Ing. Thomas Ehm, Chairman of Premium Aerotec’s Board of Directors, welcomes Joachim Zettler, CEO of APWorks, as a representative of the entire APWorks team. (L to R: Klaus-Peter Willsch MdB, Chairman of the Parliamentary Group Aerospace in the German Bundestag, Dr. Ing. Thomas Ehm, Franz-Josef Pschierer, Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs and Joachim Zettler)

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Aircraft Gearbox Manufacturer Expansion Includes Heat Treatment

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A commercial and military aircraft gearbox manufacturer recently completed a 24,000 sq.ft. expansion at its site in Windsor, Connecticut, including vacuum carburized and hardened heat treatment capabilities, super finishing, balancing, and non-destructive testing.

Aero Gear, a global leader in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of gears and gearbox assemblies for the aerospace industry, specializes in fixed and rotary wing aircraft, utilizing a proprietary Flow Line concept based on providing the best quality, shortest lead time, and reasonable cost by eliminating waste. The majority of the Lean Flow processing is conducted within a modern, climate controlled 69,000 sq.ft. facility; the new space will have a total of 100,000 sq.ft. with 175 employees, plus provide a lobby, conference room, offices, and manufacturing space for several new programs.

Doug Rose, founder of Aero Gear. (Photo Credit: Jim Michaud / Journal Inquirer)

“In trying to meet the increased orders from our customers, it became obvious that additional people and machines were necessary, and the only way to accommodate this was through enlarging our physical space,” said Doug Rose, founder of Aero Gear. “Although we have clients around the world, the expansion demonstrates that we are committed to the long-haul in Connecticut.”

Rose points to the simultaneous growth of the commercial and military defense industries and their need for assembled gearboxes as an impetus for increased production. The power drive gear systems that Aero Gear makes for fixed and rotary wing aircraft require the highest quality precision engineering and manufacturing.

Aero Gear also is creating skilled employees through its training program. The company actively works with state community colleges to customize a curriculum to put graduates in the field immediately after graduation.

“Our goal is to utilize knowledge-based expertise to practical benefit so as masters of our trade, we are able to offer superior product development and support service whether for gearbox assemblies or individual gears,” said Rose. “This is an unprecedented era of growth for our industry and we are incredibly proud to be a key contributor.”

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Materials Testing Lab to Open in Shanghai to Serve Aerospace Industries in China, Asia Pacific

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A world-class materials testing lab based in China will open as a joint venture between a leading advanced composites manufacturer headquartered in Connecticut and a Chinese technology-led aircraft and aerospace engine parts and components integrated manufacturer and service provider.

The Shanghai Future Aerospace Hexcel Commercial Composite Testing enterprise was formed by Hexcel Corporation and Future Aerospace to offer testing services to commercial aerospace industries in China and Asia Pacific.

Thierry Merlot, Hexcel president, Aerospace – Europe, Middle East and Asia

This new facility, located in Lingang, an area of Shanghai, will provide China with an aerospace standard material test laboratory to ease material qualification and support certification for new programs. Expected activities at the site include the testing of composite laminate specimens, material qualifications, and support for customers’ supply chains in China. Future Aerospace brings its expertise in heat treating, metallic manufacturing, composites forming, and surface treatment. Hexcel develops lightweight, high-performance structural materials for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications.

“I am delighted that we are joining with Future Aerospace to establish this world-class composite materials testing facility in China. This investment is in response to local customer demand and demonstrates our commitment to support the commercial aerospace industry’s growing use of composite materials in China,” said Thierry Merlot, Hexcel president, Aerospace – Europe, Middle East and Asia.

“We are pleased to partner with Hexcel. The collaboration enables Future Aerospace and Hexcel to play a key role in supporting the development and implementation of composite material applications in commercial aerospace industries in China for both Chinese and global aerospace customers,” said Han Hua, chairman, Future Aerospace.

Operations at the new site are expected to begin in September 2018 and will include the manufacture of composite coupons for mechanical testing, building on the work that Hexcel already carries out for the aerospace industry at facilities in Europe and the U.S. with expertise in structural composite testing and qualifications.

Photo credit: Stock photo

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Nevada Heat Treater Adds Aerospace Accredited Aluminum Capabilities

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A full-service heat treating company serving a broad range of industries recently announced the capability to offer aerospace accredited aluminum heat treating.

Nevada Heat Treating (NHT), baesd in Carson City, Nevada, added a drop bottom furnace to its thermal processing lines to treat aerospace and commercial jobs to the latest AMS aluminum heat treating specifications. The aluminum drop bottom furnace is certified as a Class 2 furnace, meeting AMS2750 standards, and is equipped with multiple state-of-the-art quenching systems for the needs of a broad range of industries including aerospace, semiconductor, military, nuclear, and machine shops.

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French, Russian Framework Agreement to Re-Engine Fire-Fighting Aircraft

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A French tier 1 aerospace and defense supplier recently signed a framework agreement with a Russian aircraft engine manufacturer to re-engine a groundbreaking, multi-role fire-fighting aircraft, with mission capabilities including maritime surveillance, wildfire-fighting, passenger transport and humanitarian relief.

Safran Aircraft Engines of France and UEC Saturn of Russia signed the agreement concerning a re-engined version of the Beriev Be-200 fire-fighting aircraft using the SaM146 engine. The SaM146 turbofan engine was developed and is produced by the two aero-engine manufacturers through their 50/50 joint company, PowerJet.

The Beriev Be-200 is the first aircraft of this type to be fitted with two jet engines located over the wings to reduce the risks of water projection.

“We are delighted to contribute to this project, clearly reflecting our ongoing commitment to bolstering collaboration with the Russian aviation industry, a collaboration that started some twenty years ago,” said Olivier Andriès, CEO of Safran Aircraft Engines. “Safran Aircraft Engines produces the SaM146 core, and this engine symbolizes the full value of our industrial partnership, one that we are very pleased to further develop with this new agreement on the Beriev Be-200.”

“This partnership is a new opportunity to develop our synergies with Safran Aircraft Engines,” said Alexander Artyukhov, Director General of UEC. “Along with our French partner, we have defined a very clear roadmap, allowing us to start the development of a new version of the SaM146 that will meet the requirements of the Beriev-200.”

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