Solar Atmospheres Souderton, PA incorporated a high-production vacuum furnace with a work zone of 48″x48″x72″ and a weight capacity of up to 7,500 lbs/batch. The furnace doubles the facility’s hydriding and de-hydriding capacity in the reclamation of titanium and tantalum materials.
A global company that produces specialty metals and provides related vacuum heat treating equipment and services recently announced the acquisition of assets of a leading titanium producer based in western Pennsylvania that supplies the aerospace industry.
AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. finalized the acquisition of the assets of International Specialty Alloys (ISA) from Kennametal Inc. through its operating unit AMG Technologies, which, besides its production of titanium aluminides and titanium master alloys, also designs, engineers, and produces advanced vacuum furnace systems and operates vacuum heat treatment facilities under the ALD Vacuum Technologies brand name, primarily for the transportation and energy industries.
ISA, located in New Castle, Pennsylvania, is a leading U.S. producer of titanium master alloys and other binary alloys for the aerospace market.
“The acquisition of ISA provides an excellent opportunity for AMG Titanium Alloys and Coatings to increase its market position in these key products for the aerospace market in North America and Europe,” stated Guido Loeber, President of AMG Technologies.
A manufacturer of aerostructures for both commercial and defense headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, recently announced it is transitioning recent research breakthroughs—a new process that allows for more advanced production of titanium parts—from the laboratory to its factory.
Spirit AeroSystems developed The Joule Form™ process, a new proprietary method for forming titanium raw material at elevated temperatures in the fabrication of aerospace components. This method provides the company with a competitive advantage in the use of titanium, a highly desirable material thanks to its combination of strength and its light weightedness.
John Pilla, Spirit AeroSystems Senior Vice President and Chief Technology and Quality Officer
“We are the first in the aerospace industry to use this high-tech solution,” said Spirit AeroSystems Senior Vice President and Chief Technology and Quality Officer John Pilla. “The implementation of the Joule FormTM process allows for more advanced production of titanium parts, such as those on Spirit’s propulsion, fuselage and wing products. This approach offers a host of benefits that ultimately reduce costs and drive greater efficiencies.”
The Joule FormTM process allows Spirit to form parts out of titanium plates rather than relying on machining large blocks of titanium, significantly reducing waste and decreasing the amount of machining. The process was internally developed as part of one of Spirit’s key research focus areas, the Lean Metallic Structures Distinctive Capability.
Kevin Matthies, Spirit’s senior vice president of Global Fabrication
“This emerging manufacturing improvement can replace more expensive techniques,” said Kevin Matthies, Spirit’s senior vice president of Global Fabrication. “We want to build high-quality products in a cost-effective way. This is a great example of improving a process to better serve our customers.”
Joule Form™ technology can be used on aircraft components that are machined from plates or forgings, specifically on materials that are hard to machine and expensive to procure (like titanium and steel alloys). Spirit operates sites in the U.S., U.K., France and Malaysia. The company’s core products include fuselages, pylons, nacelles and wing components for the world’s premier aircraft.
Building upon their collaboration begun last year, two aerospace titanium and alloy component suppliers recently concluded successful testing for optimizing alloy for performance.
Norsk Titanium (Norsk), which supplies aerospace-grade, additive manufactured, structural titanium components to Tier 1 client such as Boeing, partnered with QuesTek Innovations LLC and printed the additive manufacturer’s custom titanium wire in support of initial material properties testing.
Norsk’s patented Rapid Plasma Deposition™ (RPD™) process, which transforms titanium wire into complex components suitable for structural and safety-critical applications, is used in the aerospace industry. QuesTek, utilizing Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME), has been involved in projects to resolve materials issues across various alloy systems in additive manufacturing (Al, Mg, Cu, Fe, Co, Ni and Ti) to improve component performance by modifying chemical compositions and optimizing the heat treatments, or designing entirely new alloys.
Carl Johnson, Norsk Titanium, Chief Technology Officer
“QuesTek’s high-performance titanium alloy provides an opportunity for Norsk’s customers to optimize components printed with Norsk Titanium’s RPD™ process and opens doors for new applications,” said Norsk Chief Technology Officer Carl Johnson.
Norsk and QuesTek plan to perform additional testing, while working with aircraft and propulsion manufacturers on the improved business case the new alloy affords.
A leading provider of metal additive manufacturing solutions recently announced that it has entered into an ambitious research and development (R&D) initiative with a metallurgist expert and one of the world leaders in high-performance steels, superalloys, titanium, and aluminum and a multinational aerospace corporation.
Sciaky EBAM®system
The goal of the R&D initiative between Sciaky, Inc., a subsidiary of Phillips Service Industries, Inc.; Aubert & Duval; and Airbus, and piloted by the Saint Exupéry Institute for Research in Technology (IRT) is to couple traditional metallurgy—high-power closed die forging—with emerging wire fed metal 3D printing techniques—in this case, Sciaky’s groundbreaking Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM®) process—to develop new processes for manufacturing titanium alloys aircraft parts.
The Production Engineering laboratory of the National School of Engineering in Tarbes, France, will serve as an academic partner for this project, also known as the Metallic Advanced Materials for Aeronautics (MAMA) project.
Scott Phillips, president and CEO of Sciaky, Inc
In this first phase, the project has global funding just under $4.8M (€ 4,2 M) of which 50% are supported by the French State as part of the “Investing in the Future” program (PIA – Programme Investissement d’Avenir), the other 50% being funded by its industrial partners.
“Sciaky is proud to work with the Saint Exupéry IRT, Aubert & Duval, and Airbus on this exciting project,” said Scott Phillips, president and CEO of Sciaky, Inc. “Industrial metal additive manufacturing technology continues to break new ground every day, and Sciaky is committed to keeping EBAM at the forefront of this movement.”
A Wichita, Kansas-based, manufacturer of fabricated parts for the aerospace industry recently announced its partnership with the world’s pioneering supplier of aerospace-grade, additive-manufactured, structural titanium components to initiate qualification of parts for the Boeing 787.
Spirit AeroSystems and Norsk Titanium US Inc. have reached an agreement to initiate qualification of Spirit’s first additive-manufactured, titanium, structural component for the Boeing aircraft.
Ron Rabe, Spirit AeroSystems Senior Vice President of Fabrication and Supply Chain Management
This qualification will validate NTi’s production and industrialization processes, integrate Spirit’s work scope of machining final parts from additively manufactured near-net shapes, and verify material and final part conformity to requirements.
“Spirit has had a comprehensive and long relationship with Norsk Titanium, and this part will be our first additive structural titanium component incorporated into a commercial airplane program,” said Ron Rabe, Spirit AeroSystems Senior Vice President of Fabrication and Supply Chain Management.
NTi is the world’s first FAA-approved, OEM qualified, supplier of additive-manufactured, structural titanium components. NTi’s proprietary Rapid Plasma Deposition™ (RPD™) process has been in serial production of Boeing 787 titanium components since April 2017.
“I am very proud of the Norsk Titanium team and this accomplishment. It represents years of technology development,” said Mike Canario, CEO of Norsk Titanium. “I also would also like to thank Spirit for this vote of confidence in the Norsk RPD™ process and capability.”
Mike Canario, CEO of Norsk Titanium
NTi’s Plattsburgh, N.Y., facility was recently added to Spirit’s Approved Supplier List (ASL) and Boeing’s Qualified Producer’s List (QPL). Spirit and NTi have had an ongoing technology collaboration for more than nine years. In 2017, both companies signed a Master Procurement Agreement (MPA) for qualification and production activities. The first commercial aircraft part will begin serial production later this year.
If there’s one thing that can be determined by reading through the reasons given for nominations to Heat Treat Today‘s 40 Under 40 feature, it’s this: there are in the industry many young metallurgical and heat treating professionals with drive, intelligence, work ethics, and skill that will land them a multitude of awards, promotions, and public acknowledgements.
But as to whether any of them will match the achievements of “titanium savant” Russell Gordon Sherman remains to be seen.
“Sherman’s claim to fame is his research and development concerning alloys and heat-treating protocols for the titanium industry, expanding upon the usability of the metal during the formative years of the titanium industry.”
Dr. Frauke Hogue, a Fellow of ASM International
Recently, Dr. Sherman, 92, who is a member of ASM International, was announced as the recipient of the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Titanium Association for “his work in developing titanium alloys, pioneering the high-volume production of titanium aerospace fasteners, and designing heat treating protocols for the titanium industry.”
The Santa Monica Daily Press noted that Sherman made possible the high-volume production of titanium aerospace fasteners during the years when the U.S. and the Soviet Union were vying for aerospace supremacy. Sherman will be presented with the award at the Titanium USA 2018 Conference and Exhibition, October 7-10, 2018, in Las Vegas.
“The entire titanium industry has benefited from his research into developing a higher-strength titanium (the workhorse Ti-6Al-4V alloy) through the heat treatment of solution treating and aging,” wrote Dr. Frauke Hogue, a Fellow of ASM International.
Sherman’s research, presented first in a paper at ASM’s convention in Philadelphia in October 1955, titled, “The Heat Treatability of Ti-6Al-4V”, went on to impact multiple industries but particularly the industrial fastener industry as it intersected with aerospace.
Still providing consulting services in the titanium industry, Sherman, though retired, is not resting on his laurels.
“. . . . If you’re lucky, you might spot the Titanium Man out in Santa Monica, relaxing after a much-accomplished life.”
Annika Roos, head of product area powder at Sandvik Materials Technology
A Swedish engineering group in metal-cutting and materials technology recently announced that it will invest about $24.5 million in a new plant for manufacturing of titanium and nickel fine metal powders near its raw material supply and additive manufacturing center in Sandviken, Sweden.
The group’s investment within Sandvik’s Materials Technology will complement its manufacture of broad stainless steel, nickel-based, and cobalt-chromium alloys in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Sandvik powders reach sectors throughout Europe, North America, and Asia through the Osprey™ brand.
The demand for metal powder for additive manufacturing is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. Titanium and nickel-based alloys are key growth areas in the field of additive manufacturing, accounting for a significant portion of the metal powder market.
“This investment is an enabler for future growth and means that we are expanding our metal powder offering to include virtually all alloy groups of relevance today. In addition, it will also support the overall additive manufacturing business at Sandvik,” said Annika Roos, head of product area powder at Sandvik Materials Technology.
The facility is expected to be operational during 2020.
A Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of specialty materials and complex components predominantly for aerospace & defense industries recently signed two new long-term pricing agreements (LTPAs) with General Dynamics (GD) Land Systems, a supply chain network provider for the U.S. military and its allies, based in Richland, Washington, to be the preferred supplier of titanium plate for the Abrams tank (United States) and the AJAX specialist vehicle (United Kingdom).
Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI) will begin production of titanium products at its melt facility in Richland and will complete it at ATI’s specialty plate facility in Washington, Pennsylvania.
“We are pleased to enter into these agreements with GD Land Systems, marking the beginning of a new relationship with this strategic global customer,” said Rich Harshman, ATI’s chairman, president, and CEO. “ATI is forging a strong technology connection with GD and together we are developing specialty materials and components for improved protection and light-weighting of next-generation military vehicles.”
“Revenue from these LTPAs will total approximately $75 million combined over the contract periods. This marks a significant increase in the Flat-Rolled Products segment’s strategic aerospace and defense market sales, which are an integral part of our ongoing portfolio transformation toward more high-value products,” said Bob Wetherbee, executive vice president, Flat-Rolled Products Group.
Bob Wetherbee, executive vice president, Flat Rolled Products Group
The Abrams LTPA runs through 2019 while the AJAX LTPA runs through 2021.
William Whiteley & Sons, the oldest scissor-makers in the western world, has chosen a UK-based company that specializes in hard coatings, heat treatment, and vacuum brazing, among other services, to provide the Titanium Nitride PVD coating on their new EXO Gold scissor.
The EXO range has been developed with assistance from the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield, using state of the art 3D tooling, surgical grade stainless steel and advanced coating materials, including TiN from Wallwork Cambridge. The scissors can cut through the toughest materials encountered by tailors and haberdashers, crafters and DIYers, boaters and interior designers.
Solar Atmospheres Souderton, PA incorporated a high-production vacuum furnace with a work zone of 48″x48″x72″ and a weight capacity of up to 7,500 lbs/batch. The furnace doubles the facility’s hydriding and de-hydriding capacity in the reclamation of titanium and tantalum materials.
