Arconic to invest $137 million in new horizontal furnace to heat treat large aluminum plate
November 26, 2017 Source: ASM International
Arconic Inc., New York, plans to invest $137 million to install a new horizontal heat treat furnace at its Davenport Works facility in Iowa to heat treat longer and thicker plate than ever before.
Continue readingSupremEX aluminum composite specification approved for aerospace applications
Source: ASM International
Materion Corp., Mayfield Heights, Ohio, announces that the Society of Automotive Engineers – Aerospace Material specification Nonferrous Alloys Committee (SAE-AMS) has approved specification of AMS4368 for Materion’s SupremEX 640XA aluminum composite.
Continue readingTimken Endurance SBQ steels offer ultrahigh strength and toughness for longer gear life
October 27, 2017 Source: ASM International
Timken Steel, Canton, Ohio, introduces Endurance steels, a new family of special bar quality steels comprised of both Timken Steel’s existing high-strength and/or high-toughness grades, and three new ultra-high-strength, high-toughness steels.
Continue readingWallwork Heat Treating awarded Innovate UK funding to harden titanium for implants
September 27, 2017 Source:
Wallwork Cambridge, England, has been awarded funding from Innovate UK, the government-backed sponsor of breakthrough technologies, to research the medical applications of its aircraft titanium bearing hardening technology for human implants. The technology combines its expertise in making landing gear bearings lighter and stronger, with the Agilliant process to contain tissue-damaging ion leakage and provide active protection against post-operative infection.
The company currently applies a duplex process on titanium landing gear bearings for the Airbus 350 and 380 passenger jets.
"The duplex coating process opens the way for a new generation of light, strong, safer, and more durable titanium implants," says Dr. Jonathan Housden. "The program has promise as an enabling technology that may lead to customized implants made by additive manufacturing. These will be more comfortable for the patient with fewer complications caused by post-operative infection and mechanical wear."
Early accelerated life testing to simulate years of use suggest that the joints will, in many cases, outlive the patient. It is hoped that this will lead to a $400 million annual saving for the NHS by allowing more efficient use of orthopedic resources, because rework of failed or compromised treatments will be avoided. The first human trials may be in four years with full clinical adoption in seven to ten years.
Wallwork Cambridge, England, has been awarded funding from Innovate UK, the government-backed sponsor of breakthrough technologies, to research the medical applications of its aircraft titanium bearing hardening technology for human implants.
Continue readingNorthrop Grumman to acquire Orbital ATK to expand capabilities and accelerate innovation
September 19, 2017 Source:
Northrop Grumman Corp., Falls Church, Va., a leading global security company; and Orbital ATK Inc., Dulles, Va., a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Northrop Grumman will acquire Orbital ATK for approximately $7.8 billion in cash, plus the assumption of $1.4 billion in net debt. Orbital ATK shareholders will receive all-cash consideration of $134.50 per share. The agreement has been approved unanimously by the Boards of Directors of both companies. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2018 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and Orbital ATK shareholder approval.
According to Wes Bush, Northrop Grumman chairman, CEO, and president, "Our complementary portfolios and technology-focused cultures will yield significant value creation through revenue synergies associated with new opportunities, cost savings, operational synergies, and enhanced growth."
Orbital ATK president and CEO David Thompson says, "The unique alignment in culture and mission offered by this transaction will allow us to maintain strong operational performance on existing programs while we pursue new opportunities that require the enhanced technical and financial resources of a larger organization"
Upon completion of the acquisition, Northrop Grumman plans to establish Orbital ATK as a new, fourth business sector to ensure a strong focus on operating performance and a smooth transition into Northrop Grumman. On a pro forma 2017 basis, Northrop Grumman expects to have sales in the range of $29.5 to $30 billion based on current guidance. Northrop Grumman expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings per share and free cash flow per share in the first full year after the transaction closes, and to generate estimated annual pre-tax cost savings of $150 million by 2020.
Northrop Grumman Corp., Falls Church, Va., a leading global security company; and Orbital ATK Inc., Dulles, Va., a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Northrop Grumman will acquire Orbital ATK for approximately $7.8 billion in cash, plus the assumption of $1.4 billion in net debt.
Continue readingOutokumpu U.S. stainless steel bar operations receive LCS approval for aerospace
September 6, 2017 Source:
Outokumpu Oy, Finland, has received Pratt & Whitney's LCS (laboratory control at source) approval for its stainless steel bar products manufactured at its Richburg mill in South Carolina. LCS is the system that validates the testing and control of specified materials and processes for Pratt & Whitney's aerospace products.
"We are very pleased that our bar products have been validated by Pratt & Whitney, which demonstrates the quality of both our material and its production processes. This approval opens doors for Outokumpu as a supplier of high-performance stainless steel bar in the demanding and growing aerospace market," says Bob Beatty, head of Outokumpu bar operations in Richburg.
Outokumpu serves the North American market through its key service center partners. The company has a strong reputation in the market as a premium producer of high-performance bars with unique knowhow in stainless steel applications and material performance.
Outokumpu has over a century of experience in creating efficient, long-lasting, and recyclable stainless steels. Its global offerings include quality-critical long products for equipment, buildings, and infrastructure projects. Long Products sites are located in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. They are known for their high quality products, flexibility, and world-class delivery performance.
www.outokumpu.com/longproducts.
Outokumpu Oy, Finland, has received Pratt & Whitney’s LCS (laboratory control at source) approval for its stainless steel bar products manufactured at its Richburg mill in South Carolina.
Continue readingAmes Lab hot-shot pour tube produces titanium powder ten times more efficiently
Source:
The U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, Iowa, announces that one of its research teams has won an award for the development of a "hot-shot pour tube" technology that can produce titanium powder approximately ten times more efficiently than traditional methods. ASM Fellow Iver Anderson, Senior Metallurgist, and his team have been named winners of a 2017 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award from the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Mid-Continent Region.
Titanium powder produced by the hot-shot pour tube technology is said to have enabled a dramatic shift in manufacturing away from traditional titanium casting/forging methods, to net-shape forming. The technology was the basis for the formation of a multi-award-winning start-up company, Iowa Powder Atomization Technologies, which was purchased in 2014 by Praxair Surface Technologies. In 2015, Praxair began international sales of spherical titanium powder for additive manufacturing and metal injection molding for aerospace, medical, and industrial parts.
In addition to Dr. Anderson, the award is shared by ASM member Dr. Andy Heidloff and Dr. Joel Reiken, formerly of Ames Laboratory and now of Praxair; and Dr. David Byrd, Dr. Ross Anderson, and ASM member Dr. Emma White of Ames Laboratory.
"Our team is very proud to accept this FLC award," declares Dr. Anderson. "It helps us keep pushing Ames Laboratory's processing science forward to these ultimate technology transitions involving our people."
In a letter of support for Ames Lab in the FLC competition, Praxair Vice President Dean Hackett wrote, "Ames Laboratory is uniquely equipped and staffed with talented researchers who work as a team to develop breakthrough technologies in the production of atomized powders. Praxair has chosen to commercialize the titanium atomization technology from Ames, and also to hire two of the three investigators (Dr. Heidloff and Dr. Reiken) who were responsible for this unique titanium atomization process."
In congratulating Dr. Anderson and his team, Ames Lab Director Adam Schwartz said the award demonstrates Ames Lab's commitment to the Department of Energy's mission of transferring technologies to the marketplace for the benefit of the American taxpayer. "We are very proud to join Iver and his team in celebrating this technological success," he added, "and we look forward to many anticipated future successes."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXNqNdrO44A
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, Iowa, announces that one of its research teams has won an award for the development of a “hot-shot pour tube” technology that can produce titanium powder approximately ten times more efficiently than traditional methods.
Continue readingATI to supply isothermal forgings and nickel-base powder alloys to Pratt & Whitney
August 23, 2017 Source:
Allegheny Technologies Inc., Pittsburgh, announces that it has signed a new Long-Term Purchase Agreement (LTPA) with Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corporation company, to supply isothermal forgings and nickel-base powder alloys for next-generation jet engines. The LTPA, which builds upon the Master Terms Agreement that ATI entered into with UTC last year, begins in 2017 and continues for the life of the engine programs. For the period 2017 to 2030, the LTPA is expected to generate revenues in excess of $1 billion.
"We are pleased to enter into this new agreement with Pratt & Whitney," says Rich Harshman, ATI's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Demand for P&W's game-changing PurePower Geared Turbofan engine is scheduled to grow dramatically into the next decade and beyond in support of next-generation narrowbody aircraft build rates. Through this agreement, ATI significantly increases our content on the GTF engine as well as on the P&W F135 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter program."
"Our suppliers are a critical part of our production capacity. Agreements like this secure sources of parts and components for years to come and ensure the capacity investments to support our production ramp," says Sam Abdelmalek, Pratt & Whitney vice president, Global Supply Chain.
Allegheny Technologies Inc., Pittsburgh, announces that it has signed a new Long-Term Purchase Agreement (LTPA) with Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies company, to supply isothermal forgings and nickel-base powder alloys for next-generation jet engines.
Continue readingIpsen USA ships 15 atmosphere and vacuum heat treating furnaces around the world
August 16, 2017 Source:
Ipsen USA, Cherry Valley, Ill., reports that it shipped 15 atmosphere and vacuum furnaces last quarter, all in support of the aerospace, commercial heat treating, and MIM industries around the world. This equipment was sent to 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-inch diameter work zone and 10,000-pound load capacity;
♦ five standard Titan vacuum furnaces, complete with PdMetrics, Ipsen's cloud-based predictive maintenance platform that provides real-time diagnostics, text alerts, and peace of mind;
♦ debind and sinter vacuum furnaces for the MIM industry;
♦ an Atlas integral quench atmosphere furnace, which was delivered six weeks after order placement; and
♦ several sophisticated, custom-built vacuum furnaces that will process parts for the a•erospace industry.
Many customers also took advantage of the ICS (Ipsen Customer Service) Team's aftermarket support offerings, ordering spare parts kits to help keep the furnace running smoothly. Ipsen's global ICS Team provides comprehensive, ongoing support throughout the equipment's life span for any brand of furnace. This includes facilitating system installations, as well as providing startup assistance, expert training, spare parts, and maintenance programs.
Ipsen USA, Cherry Valley, Ill., reports that it shipped 15 atmosphere and vacuum furnaces last quarter, all in support of the aerospace, commercial heat treating, and MIM industries around the world.
Continue readingGet the latest on titanium brazing
August 4, 2017 Source: ASM International
An article by one of the leading authorities on titanium brazing – vetted and accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed ASM Handbook, Volume 6, Welding, Brazing, and Soldering – is now available online in digital form. “Brazing of Conventional Titanium Alloys,” a comprehensive, fact-filled survey by industry expert Alexander E. Shapiro, Ph.D., Titanium Brazing Inc., offers in-depth analysis and practical advice on how to braze commercially pure and alloyed titanium with itself as well as with other materials such as copper, stainless steel, carbon steel, ceramics, graphite, and titanium aluminide.
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