Bodycote expands capacity for treating specialty stainless steels in Ohio
October 6, 2015
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Bodycote, England, announces that it has expanded capacity for specialty stainless steel processes (S3P) at its facility in London, Ohio, and is building a new S3P facility in North Carolina that is to open in 2016. These technologies are dedicated to improving resistance to surface wear such as cavitation erosion, abrasion, and especially galling in stainless steels, nickel-base alloys, and cobalt-chromium alloys, while maintaining corrosion resistance.
Many surface treatments, when applied to stainless steel, negatively affect the metal's inherent corrosion resistance. However, the S3P process imparts increased mechanical and wear properties without adversely affecting corrosion resistance.
Specialty stainless steel processes (S3P) featuring Kolsterising and Nivox technology, offer unique surface hardening solutions for austenitic stainless steel, nickel-base alloys, and cobalt-chromium alloys. Benefits include higher surface hardness to 900-1300 HV0.05, depending on base material and surface conditions. Treated alloys are highly resistant to surface wear environments such as sliding combined with abrasive wear and cavitation erosion. The paramagnetic properties of austenitic materials remain unchanged after treatment.
Bodycote's S3P process presents engineering benefits for industries such as medical/pharmaceutical, automotive, and chemical engineering
www.bodycote.com.
Bodycote, England, announces that it has expanded capacity for specialty stainless steel processes (S3P) at its facility in London, Ohio, and is building a new S3P facility in North Carolina that is to open in 2016.
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Harper’s three-meter PAN oxidation oven provides uniform air velocity
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Harper International, Buffalo, N.Y., announces that initial data on its three-meter wide production-scale oxidation oven for carbon fiber manufacturing shows outstanding performance for key metrics, including air-velocity uniformity and temperature uniformity.
Data was acquired at temperatures up to 280°C and air velocities up to 4 m/s, with uniformity measured at 2.2%. Air velocity uniformity across the entire tow band is essential, as the PAN stabilization phase is an exothermic reaction, and any low-velocity regions can run away, causing deflagration. High-velocity regions can cause damage to the delicate PAN fiber.
Harper's design also demonstrated temperature uniformity of +/-2.5°C throughout the entire heated length. Temperature uniformity is critical in carbon fiber manufacturing because it enables higher and more efficient rates of production.
As greater production rates have led to wider, taller, and longer oxidation ovens, it is a critical challenge to improve velocity and temperature uniformity while simultaneously increasing the oven size.
"Harper's oven design offers our customers enhanced performance and increased confidence in their fiber manufacturing," commented Bill Stry, PhD, and Renee Bagwell, PhD, Senior Process Technology Engineers at Harper. "We took on the task of engineering an oxidation oven that addresses today's and tomorrow's market demands for efficiency and quality, and the data from full scale testing shows our success."
Harper International is a global leader in complete thermal processing solutions and technical services essential for the production of advanced materials.
www.harperintl.com
Harper International, Buffalo, N.Y., announces that initial data on its three-meter wide production-scale oxidation oven for carbon fiber manufacturing shows outstanding performance for key metrics, including air-velocity uniformity and temperature uniformity.
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Boeing opens advanced R&D center for composite and fuselage manufacturing
September 29, 2015
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Boeing, North Charleston, S.C., has opened a 104,000-sq. ft. Research & Technology-South Carolina center, to lead the company's research and development efforts in advanced manufacturing of composite fuselage and propulsion systems. It includes lab spaces where scientists and engineers can research and develop technologies such as advanced production systems; nondestructive evaluation and inspection methods; production analytics and advanced test systems; structural repair technologies; electromagnetic effects; chemical technologies; and composite fabrication processes.
The center includes two autoclaves, for curing parts made from composite materials; a paint booth with automation capabilities; and a clean room to join composite layers.
"This new research center will help us better meet the needs of our customers by enhancing our ability to provide effective, relevant technology in today's competitive marketplace as we enter our second century of business," said John Tracy, Boeing chief technology officer and senior vice president of Engineering, Operations, & Technology.
"Increasing our research and development footprint here demonstrates our continued commitment to the state of South Carolina, and will help Boeing and the region attract, develop, and retain the best talent in the industry," said Beverly Wyse, vice president and general manager of Boeing South Carolina.
"The people and facilities we're introducing today will help us apply new technology and solutions to our products across the entire company, faster and more efficiently than ever before," said Lane Ballard, leader of the Boeing Research & Technology-South Carolina center.
BR&T is the company's advanced research and development organization, providing technologies that enable the development of future aerospace solutions while improving the cycle time, cost, quality, and performance of existing Boeing products and services. BR&T-South Carolina joins the company's ten other research centers around the world in Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Russia, and the United States, including Alabama, California, Missouri, South Carolina and Washington.
http://www.boeing.com
Boeing, North Charleston, S.C., has opened a 104,000-sq. ft. Research & Technology-South Carolina center, to lead the company’s research and development efforts in advanced manufacturing of composite fuselage and propulsion systems.
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Alcoa to separate into Upstream Company and Value-Add Company
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Alcoa, Pittsburgh, announces that it will separate into two companies: the Upstream Company, which will consist of the Bauxite, Alumina, Aluminum, Casting, and Energy businesses; and the Value-Add Company, which will include the current Global Rolled Products, Engineered Products and Solutions, and Transportation and Construction Solutions.
The Upstream Company's asset base will include the world's largest bauxite mining portfolio, with 46 million bone-dry metric tons of production in 2014. It has a low 19th percentile position on the global bauxite cost curve. The company will be the world's fourth largest aluminum producer with a highly competitive second quartile cost curve portfolio. It will have an unrivalled casthouse network in close proximity to customers, and a substantial portfolio of energy assets with power production capacity of approximately 1550 megawatts and operational flexibility to profit from market cycles.
The Value-Add Company will be a premier provider of high-performance multi-material products and solutions with 157 globally diverse operating locations and approximately 43,000 employees. The company will be a differentiated supplier to the high-growth aerospace industry with leading positions on every major aircraft and jet engine platform, underpinned by market leadership in jet engine and industrial gas turbine airfoils and aerospace fasteners. Additionally, the Value-Add Company will be a leader in aluminum commercial truck wheels and will hold the number one market position in North American architectural systems.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016. At that point Alcoa shareholders will own all of the outstanding shares of both the Upstream and Value-Add Companies.
http://www.alcoa.com/two-strong-companies/default.asp
Alcoa, Pittsburgh, announces that it will separate into two companies: the Upstream Company, which will consist of the Bauxite, Alumina, Aluminum, Casting, and Energy businesses; and the Value-Add Company, which will include the current Global Rolled Products, Engineered Products and Solutions, and Transportation and Construction Solutions.
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Atomic structure model enables prediction of metal combinations that can form metallic glasses
September 23, 2015
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Australia's University of New South Wales (UNSW) announces that a research team has developed a method for predicting the combinations of metals that can form metallic glass alloys The method has enabled researchers to successfully predict more than 200 such alloys based on magnesium, silver, copper, zinc, and titanium. The photo shows magnesium-based bulk metallic glass castings.
The team includes Prof. Kevin Laws and Prof. Michael Ferry of the UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering, and ASM Fellow Dr. Daniel Miracle, Chief Scientist in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.
They describe the method in "A Predictive Model for Metallic Glasses," published Sept. 15 in the journal Nature Communications. Here is the abstract:
"Great progress has been made in understanding the atomic structure of metallic glasses, but there is still no clear connection between atomic structure and glass-forming ability. Here we give new insights into perhaps the most important question in the field of amorphous metals: How can glass-forming ability be predicted from atomic structure?
"We give a new approach to modelling metallic glass atomic structures by solving three long-standing problems: we discover a new family of structural defects that discourage glass formation; we impose efficient local packing around all atoms simultaneously; and we enforce structural self-consistency.
"Fewer than a dozen binary structures satisfy these constraints, but extra degrees of freedom in structures with three or more different atom sizes significantly expand the number of relatively stable, ‘bulk' metallic glasses. The present work gives a new approach towards achieving the long-sought goal of a predictive capability for bulk metallic glasses."
The new structural model predicts the most stable binary metallic glass topologies, which allows scientists to predict the metal combinations that will have glass-forming ability.
"We will also be able to engineer these materials on an atomic scale so they have the specific properties we want," says Prof. Laws. "We can start to create many new useful metallic glass types and begin to understand the atomic fundamentals behind their exceptional properties."
https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/futuristic-alloys-three-times-stronger-steel-yet-malleable-chewing-gum
Australia’s University of New South Wales announces that a research team has developed a method for predicting the combinations of metals that will produce metallic glass alloys.
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Solar Atmospheres new Southeast plant receives Nadcap accreditation for heat treating
September 22, 2015
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Solar Atmospheres Southeast, Greenville, S.C., has received Nadcap (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) accreditation for heat treating only three months after opening by demonstrating ongoing commitment to quality. A heat treating company achieves Nadcap accreditation by proving that it effectively meets the most demanding and stringent customer requirements that exist in the aerospace industry.
"Our South Carolina plant just opened in June 2015 and we were extremely motivated to better serve our customers by becoming Nadcap accredited," says President Steve Prout. "In three months we have achieved a goal that typically takes double that amount of time. The quick turnaround in reaching this quality milestone is a testament not only to our corporate commitment, but also to the expertise and dedication of our staff."
"Achieving Nadcap accreditation is not easy. It is one of the ways in which the aerospace industry identifies those who excel at manufacturing quality product through superior special processes. Companies such as Solar Atmospheres work hard to obtain this status and they should be justifiably proud of it," says Joe Pinto, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Performance Review Institute. "PRI is proud to support continual improvement in the aerospace industry by helping companies such as Solar Atmospheres be successful, and we look forward to continuing to assist the industry moving forward."
www.solaratm.com
Solar Atmospheres Southeast, Greenville, S.C.
Has received Nadcap (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) heat treating accreditation only three months after opening by demonstrating its ongoing commitment to quality.
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Constellium to invest $35 million in Ravensport plant for advanced aluminum alloys
September 15, 2015
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Constellium N.V., Amsterdam, announces that it will invest $35 million at its Ravenswood aluminum plant in West Virginia to improve quality and increase output production across the entire product range. In particular, a new 800 Kt pusher furnace will increase pre-heating capacity, and will be primarily dedicated to the manufacture of advanced aluminum alloys.
"The pusher furnace will be a breakthrough for our plant in terms of homogenization capacity," emphasized Buddy Stemple, CEO of Constellium Rolled Products LLC. "Moreover, it demonstrates the confidence and value we place in the expertise of our employees and the confidence the group has in the Ravenswood plant, which is helping us pave the way for sustainable growth in the future."
Constellium's Ravenswood plant is one of the world's largest facilities for the manufacturing of rolled aluminum products, offering customers the world's most powerful plate stretcher and one of the world's largest cold rolling mills. The plant supplies aluminum to a wide range of international industries, including leading aerospace, marine vessels, and military vehicle manufacturers.
The West Virginia Economic Development Authority has approved financing of $15 million of Constellium's investment. "We are pleased to partner with the WVEDA and the State of West Virginia in this significant investment in Ravenswood," says Mr. Stemple.
www.constellium.com
Constellium N.V., Amsterdam, announces that it will invest $35 million at its Ravenswood aluminum plant in West Virginia to improve quality and increase output production across the entire product range.
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Vac Aero sells vertical vacuum furnace to U.S. aerospace components manufacturer
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Vac Aero, Burlington, Ontario, reports that it has sold a VAV5448 HV-2 vacuum furnace to a major U.S. manufacturer of components for the aerospace industry, thereby increasing heat-treating capacity to meet growing demand. The vertical bottom-loading furnace utilizes 2-bar gas quenching and features a 54-in. diameter x 48-in. high graphite hot zone, with a 2500-lb. load capacity.
This is the facility's first Vac Aero furnace, and it is capable of meeting applicable AMS 2750E requirements. It is equipped with Vac Aero's advanced Honeywell HC900 interactive hybrid control package with SCADA complete network integration capabilities and remote monitoring and control. Decades of experience operating aerospace heat treating facilities allows the company to provide turnkey customer solutions such as training, technology transfer, and hands-on instruction and collaboration.
www.vacaero.com
Vac Aero, Burlington, Ontario, reports that it has sold a VAV5448 HV-2 vacuum furnace to a major U.S. manufacturer of components for the aerospace industry, thereby increasing heat-treating capacity to meet growing demand.
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NASA engineers begin welding Orion spacecraft
September 9, 2015
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The NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans announces that engineers have welded together the first two segments of the Orion crew module that will fly atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket on a mission beyond the far side of the moon. The primary structure of Orion's crew module is made of seven large aluminum segments that must be welded together in a specific order. For example, the first weld connects the tunnel to the forward bulkhead, which is at the top of the spacecraft. Orion's tunnel, with a docking hatch, will allow crews to move between the crew module and other spacecraft.
Through collaborations across design and manufacturing, teams have been able to reduce the number of welds for the crew module by more than half since the first test version of Orion's primary structure was constructed and flown on the Exploration Flight Test-1 last December. The Exploration Mission-1 structure will include just seven main welds, plus several smaller welds for start and stop holes left by welding tools. Fewer welds will result in a lighter spacecraft.
Engineers have undertaken a meticulous process to prepare for welding. They have cleaned the segments, coated them with a protective chemical, and primed them. They then outfitted each element with strain gauges and wiring to monitor the metal during the fabrication process.
Prior to beginning work, technicians practiced their process, refined their techniques, and ensured proper tooling configurations by welding together a pathfinder, a full-scale version of the current spacecraft design. NASA's prime contractor for the spacecraft, Lockheed Martin, is doing the production of the crew module at Michoud.
http://www.nasa.gov/orion
The NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans announces that engineers have welded together the first two segments of the Orion crew module that will fly atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket on a mission beyond the far side of the moon.
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Bodycote expands electron-beam welding capacity at Cambridge facility
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Bodycote, U.K., announces the installation of further electron beam welding (EBW) capacity at its facility in Cambridge. EBW creates high-integrity joints with minimal distortion by using a focused stream of high-energy electrons to apply very localized heating. The new machine, with its larger work chamber, complements the existing EBW capacity and will help service a growing customer base.
The new capacity addition is in response to an increase in demand driven by regional manufacturers and their markets. Customers include scientific, pharmaceutical, and research companies in and around the South East of England.
A long-established center of excellence for metal joining processes, the Cambridge facility has recently secured continued ‘Merit' status following a recent Nadcap audit by PRI. The Nadcap Merit program exists to reward superior performance in Nadcap audits, underlining the high standards of quality achieved at Bodycote Cambridge.
www.bodycote.com.
Bodycote, U.K., announces the installation of further electron beam welding (EBW) capacity at its facility in Cambridge.
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