The Bright World of Metals: Four trade fairs in Düsseldorf
June 23, 2015
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"The Bright World of Metals" trade fair quartet in Düsseldorf, Germany, closed to extremely positive results, with 78,000 visitors from more than 120 countries. The trade fairs included GIFA - 13th International Foundry Trade Fair with Technical Forum; METEC - 9th International Metallurgical Trade Fair with Congresses; THERMPROCESS - 11th International Trade Fair and Symposium for Thermal Processing Technology; and NEWCAST - 4th International Trade Fair for Precision Castings.
Attendees were ready to invest, and the 2214 exhibiting companies reported numerous business transactions with customers from all over the world. Especially in the Asian region, there is a great demand for European metallurgy and foundry technology due to current industry requirements regarding energy and resource efficiency. Two-thirds of the visitors are directly involved in investment decisions in the top and middle management of their companies. The majority of the international visitors came from India, Italy, Turkey, France, and China.
Exhibitors reported that they met their specific target groups at the trade shows. At GIFA, these were the experts from the ferrous and non-ferrous metal castings industries, as well as of the engineering sector. At METEC and THERMPROCESS, most of the visitors traditionally come from the iron and steel production, plant engineering and construction, equipment engineering, and tool making industries. At NEWCAST, visitors included experts from automotive and gear manufacturing, as well as the supplier industry.
http://www.mdna.com
“The Bright World of Metals” trade fair quartet in Düsseldorf, Germany, closed to extremely positive results, with 78,000 visitors from more than 120 countries.
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ATI achieves PQ titanium product and process qualification
June 17, 2015
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Allegheny Technologies Inc., Pittsburgh, has achieved qualification for its premium-titanium products for jet engine rotating parts made of premium-quality titanium sponge from ATI's facility in Rowley, Utah. Premium-quality titanium sponge is the critical raw material required to manufacture the most demanding jet engine rotating parts.
"We are pleased to achieve PQ product qualification for the premium-quality titanium sponge produced at our Rowley facility. Our operating team did an excellent job and exceeded the qualification schedule," said Rich Harshman, ATI's Chairman, President, and CEO. "This concludes a multi-year strategic process. The timing of the qualification is well aligned with forecast growth in demand from the aerospace market."
This approval pertains to ATI's premium-grade titanium products produced using ATI PQ titanium sponge and melted at its Plasma Arc Melt facility in Bakers, North Carolina, and its Vacuum Arc Remelt operations in Albany, Oregon.
With this approval, ATI is now integrated for titanium alloys from PQ sponge through melting processes, to mill products, and to parts and components such as fully machined forgings and investment castings, for next-generation and legacy jet engines and airframes.
www.atimetals.com
Allegheny Technologies Inc., Pittsburgh, has achieved qualification for its premium-titanium products for jet engine rotating parts made of premium-quality titanium sponge from ATI’s facility in Rowley, Utah.
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AFC-Holcroft supplies two universal batch quench furnaces to Paulo Products
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AFC-Holcroft, Wixom, Mich., has supplied two new Universal Batch Quench furnaces to Paulo Products Co., a commercial heat treater headquartered in St. Louis, to be installed at its Kansas City Division. The new equipment, standard 36-48-36 sized units with top cool chambers, was customized to integrate with Paulo's existing UBQ batch furnaces already in operation.
Each furnace is equipped with a state-of-the-art furnace controls system which will also integrate with Paulo's existing production and quality control systems. Paulo supports a wide variety of aerospace, automotive, and agricultural customers, many with stringent quality requirements; subsequently the ability to comply with the end user's reporting requirements is of critical importance.
The equipment is being built by AFC-Holcroft's partner MATTSA, and will then be shipped to Paulo's facility in Kansas City for installation. The equipment will be delivered in the second quarter of 2015.
Paulo offers a wide variety of heat treating, brazing, and metal finishing solutions, as well as a broad range of metallurgical and engineering services. In addition to the Kansas City Division, Paulo operates divisions in St. Louis; Nashville; and Murfreesboro, Tenn.; and Cleveland, Ohio.
www.afc-holcroft.com
AFC-Holcroft, Wixom, Mich., has supplied two new Universal Batch Quench furnaces to Paulo Products Co., a commercial heat treater headquartered in St. Louis, to be installed at its Kansas City Division.
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Carpenter agrees to supply powder metallurgy superalloys to Pratt & Whitney
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Carpenter Technology Corp., Wyomissing, Pa., reports that operations will begin soon at its new superalloy powder facility in Alabama as part of a multi-level agreement with United Technologies Corporation's Pratt & Whitney Division. The facility is technologically advanced with twin atomizing towers, and will be capable of producing 2100 tons of clean, aerospace grade powder per year.
Carpenter's recent investment in the Athens facility has allowed for the fluid movement and expedited production of the materials required for crucial aerospace components. The high-purity ingots arrive from one of Carpenter's legacy operating facilities, and move through conditioning, re-melting, finishing, and testing until they have reached the exact customer specifications.
As part of the agreement, UTC's aerospace business units (Pratt & Whitney, Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp., UTC Aerospace Systems, and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation) have agreed to purchase alloy steel bar/billet, nickel superalloy billet, stainless bar/billet, and strip laminate products from Carpenter for a period of ten years. Carpenter currently supplies UTC's aerospace businesses with a portion of their overall demand for nickel, stainless, and strip laminate products. The agreement was signed in October 2013, and means that Carpenter will supply Pratt & Whitney with superalloy powder for up to 20 years once qualifications are satisfied.
www.cartech.com/aerospace
Carpenter Technology Corp., Wyomissing, Pa., reports that operations will begin soon at its new superalloy powder facility in Alabama as part of a multi-level agreement with United Technologies Corporation’s Pratt & Whitney Division.
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Rocketdyne selects Seco-Warwick box furnace for heat treating and brazing rocket parts
June 9, 2015
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Seco-Warwick, Meadville, Pa., reports that Aerojet Rocketdyne has updated its facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., with the turnkey installation of a Seco-Warwick custom-engineered box furnace for brazing and heat-treating rocket parts and assemblies. The various rocket engines sealed within the retort can weigh up to 5000 pounds per load, including the retort.
This unit replaces an older furnace, improving the overall operation with new technology that makes the furnace easier to control, with more economical operation and improved temperature uniformity.
The new control system was developed with Aerojet Rocketdyne and adjusted in the field to meet not only the customer specifications, but also the operator's needs. Natural gas usage was reduced by utilizing a high-velocity burner system. Although the original specification was to meet +/-20°F, the unit as installed is operating at +/-5°F uniformity.
www.secowarwick.com
Seco-Warwick, Meadville, Pa., reports that Aerojet Rocketdyne has updated its facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., with the turnkey installation of a Seco-Warwick custom-engineered box furnace for brazing and heat-treating rocket parts and assemblies.
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Bodycote opens new heat treatment plant in Poland
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Bodycote, South Windsor, Conn., recently opened a new heat treatment site in Wroclaw, Poland, as part of its expansion strategy in Eastern Europe. Building on this investment, Bodycote announces its intention to open another greenfield heat treatment site in the aviation valley close to Rzeszow, Poland. The new facility will support the manufacturing supply chains in this region and is expected to be operational by the second half of 2016.
Initially, vacuum heat treatment, vacuum brazing, and nitriding will be offered. Other processes will follow as demand for heat treatment services in the region continues to grow. Additional services are likely to include HVOF and plasma coatings, vacuum oil quench, and aluminum heat treatment.
The new facility will hold international quality standards including Nadcap and AS 9100, as well as OEM approvals. First-tier suppliers to United Technologies Corporation (UTC), Rolls-Royce, and Safran, among others, will be supported.
www.bodycote.com
Bodycote, South Windsor, Conn., recently opened a new heat treatment site in Wroclaw, Poland, as part of its expansion strategy in Eastern Europe.
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Outokumpu now categorizes its stainless steels by properties instead of chemistry
June 4, 2015
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Outokumpu Oy, Finland, has developed a new way to categorize its wide range of stainless steel products by arranging them according to strength, hardness, machinability, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance. The new approach will help customers to identify and compare different product options and so find the best product for their specific performance and cost needs.
The new portfolio structure features nine product ranges, which highlight the key properties of their respective products. In the Classic product family, the three ranges – Core, Moda, and Supra – represent the basic, all-round grades.
The Pro product family includes six ranges: Forta for Duplex and other high-strength needs, Ultra for extremely corrosive environments, Dura for high hardness, Therma for high heat-resistance, Prodec for improved machinability, and Deco for special surfaces.
To further facilitate exploration of the portfolio, Outokumpu has introduced a new interactive on-line tool.
Outokumpu has also launched three new alloys: Supra 316plus, which has better strength, corrosion resistance, and formability than austenitic Supra 316L/4404; Core 4622, a ferritic containing no nickel; and high-strength lightweight Forta H-series, for the automotive industry.
www.outokumpu.com
Outokumpu Oy, Finland, has developed a way to categorize its wide range of stainless steel products by arranging them according to strength, hardness, machinability, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance.
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NASA awards Boeing first commercial human spaceflight mission
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NASA, Houston, has issued a task order as part of Boeing's $4.2 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract to include the company's first-ever service flight to the International Space Station. The award marks the first time in human spaceflight history that NASA has contracted with a commercial company for a human mission.
"This occasion will go in the books of Boeing's nearly 100 years of aerospace and more than 50 years of space flight history," said John Elbon, vice president and general manager of Boeing's Space Exploration division. "We look forward to ushering in a new era in human space exploration."
Boeing was selected in September 2014 to build and fly the United States' next passenger spacecraft, the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100. The Commercial Crew Transportation System (CCTS) is being developed in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program which aims to resume U.S.-based flights to space by 2017.
As part of the contract, Boeing is guaranteed at least two and potentially six service flights after completing human certification. The company has successfully demonstrated to NASA that the Commercial Crew Transportation System has reached design maturity appropriate to proceed to assembly, integration and test activities.
"We're on track to fly in 2017, and this critical milestone moves us another step closer in fully maturing the CST-100 design," said John Mulholland, vice president of Commercial Programs. "Our integrated and measured approach to spacecraft design ensures quality performance, technical excellence and early risk mitigation."
The CST-100 can transport up to seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit destinations such as the International Space Station (ISS) and the Bigelow planned station.
www.boeing.com/cst100
NASA, Houston, has issued a task order as part of Boeing’s $4.2 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract to include the company’s first-ever service flight to the International Space Station.
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Conferences convene for successful Mega Show event
May 28, 2015
Source: ASM International
Aerospace and thermal spray professionals gathered for aerospace coating and materials information.
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3D-Printed Habitat Challenge
May 27, 2015
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NASA and the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, known as America Makes, are holding a new $2.25 million competition to design and build a 3D printed habitat for deep space exploration, including the agency's journey to Mars.
The multi-phase 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge, part of NASA's Centennial Challenges program, is designed to advance the additive construction technology needed to create sustainable housing solutions for Earth and beyond.
The first phase of the competition runs through Sept. 27. This phase, a design competition, calls on participants to develop state-of-the-art architectural concepts that take advantage of the unique capabilities 3D printing offers. The top 30 submissions will be judged and a prize purse of $50,000 will be awarded at the 2015 World Maker Faire in New York.
The second phase of the competition is divided into two levels. The Structural Member Competition (Level 1) focuses on the fabrication technologies needed to manufacture structural components from a combination of indigenous materials and recyclables, or indigenous materials alone. The On-Site Habitat Competition (Level 2) challenges competitors to fabricate full-scale habitats using indigenous materials or indigenous materials combined with recyclables. Both levels open for registration Sept. 26, and each carries a $1.1 million prize.
NASA and the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, known as America Makes, are holding a new $2.25 million competition to design and build a 3D printed habitat for deep space exploration.
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