ESA selects Siemens and Sonaca to develop additive manufacturing for aerospace parts
July 3, 2019
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Siemens Digital Industries Software, Plano, Texas, announces that it has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop metal additive manufacturing designs for aerospace structures. The applications will leverage Siemens' end-to-end software solution for industrial additive manufacturing, which combines generative engineering, topology optimization, predictive analytics, process simulation, build preparation, and production execution.
The two-year project, named Design4AM, is based on a strong collaboration between Siemens and the Sonaca Group, a Belgian company that specializes in aerospace structures. The project is to receive financial support from ESA and the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (Belspo).
Design4AM will leverage the Siemens Digital Innovation Platform with the support of Sonaca's experience in space applications, manufacturing features, material and process testing, and numerical methods for the validation of the chain. Siemens' NX software and Simcenter software enable engineers to explore a wide range of design concepts in an automated closed-loop process that takes into consideration engineering performance, manufacturing process, and operation cost requirements.
These tools can account for manufacturing constraints such as thermo-mechanical part distortion, the structural part orientation in the building chamber, and the design of supporting structures. The integrated software environment can shorten the part conceptual design and optimization process, helping enable higher performance structures to be manufactured.
"The Siemens and Sonaca partnership combines the power of a leading additive manufacturing software solution with the expertise from a leading aerospace manufacturer," said Pedro Romero Fernandez, Sonaca General Manager Space BU. "With our deep aerospace knowledge and Siemens' software technologies, engineers will be able to explore hundreds of design options in a fraction of the normal time. Then we will virtually test them against a variety of physical conditions to arrive at the best design to 3D print correctly the first time."
https://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/global/en/our-story/newsroom/
www.sonaca.com
Siemens Digital Industries Software, Plano, Texas, announces that it has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop metal additive manufacturing designs for aerospace structures.
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Sciaky to partner with Albert & Duval and Airbus for 3D printing of titanium aircraft parts
July 2, 2019
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Sciaky Inc., Chicago, announces that it has entered into a research and development initiative to couple high-powered closed-die forging with Sciaky’s electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM) to develop new processes for producing titanium alloy aircraft parts.
Sciaky will partner with Aubert & Duval and Airbus, driven by the Saint Exupéry Institute for Research in Technology (IRT). 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.
In this first phase, the project has a global funding of just under $4.8 million, of which 50% is supported by the French State as part of the “Investing in the Future†program (PIA - Programme Investissement d’Avenir). The other 50% is funded by its industrial partners.
As the most widely scalable metal additive manufacturing solution in the industry (in terms of work envelope), Sciaky’s EBAM systems can produce parts ranging from 8 inches to 19 feet in length. EBAM is also the fastest deposition process in the metal additive manufacturing market, with gross deposition rates up to 25 pounds of metal per hour.
EBAM brings quality and control together with IRISS – the Interlayer Real-time Imaging and Sensing System, which is the only real-time adaptive control system in the metal 3D printing market that can sense and digitally self-adjust metal deposition with precision and repeatability. This innovative closed-loop control is the primary reason that Sciaky’s EBAM 3D printing process delivers consistent part geometry, mechanical properties, microstructure, and metal chemistry, from the first part to the last.
Aubert & Duval, a subsidiary of the Alloys division of the Eramet group, is a metallurgy expert company and one of the world leaders in high-performance steels, superalloys, titanium, and aluminum. Aubert & Duval designs and develops advanced metallurgical solutions in the form of closed-die-forged and forged parts, long products, and metal powders for projects in the most demanding industries: aeronautics, energy, defense, nuclear, and medical.
The Technological Research Institute (IRT) Saint Exupéry, is an accelerator of science, technological research, and tech transfer to the aeronautics, space, and embedded systems industries for the development of innovative solutions that are safe, robust, certifiable, and sustainable.
www.sciaky.com
www.aubertduval.com
Sciaky Inc., Chicago, announces that it has entered into a research and development initiative to couple high-powered closed die forging with Sciaky’s electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM) to develop new processes for manufacturing titanium alloy aircraft parts.
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Carpenter to provide soft magnetic alloys for electric aircraft engine demonstrators
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Carpenter Technology, Philadelphia, announced at the Paris Air Show its involvement with multiple OEMs to help with electric aircraft development by providing advanced soft magnetic alloy expertise and ultra-efficient electrical components for R&D and demonstrator motors and engines. The goal is to construct lighter-weight, longer-lasting electric propulsion systems. Along with its partners, Carpenter Technology’s goal is to enable development of the highest power-density motors available.
Carpenter Technology’s portfolio covers a range of solutions from maximizing magnetic performance to optimally balancing yield strength and core loss in rotating components. Already a leading industry producer of soft magnetic materials, Carpenter Technology recently announced a $100 million investment in a precision strip mill to expand its soft magnetic capabilities to serve aerospace and other industries looking to realize the benefits of electric power.
“As the industry leader in electric propulsion material solutions, we are well positioned to support the development of electric systems to power the aircraft of tomorrow,†says Marshall Akins, Carpenter Technology’s Vice President, Aerospace Markets.
Photo shows a Siemens electric aircraft engine from 2016.
www.cartech.com
Carpenter Technology, Philadelphia, announced at the Paris Air Show its involvement with multiple OEMs to help with electric aircraft development by providing advanced soft magnetic alloy expertise and ultra-efficient electrical components for R&D and demonstrator motors and engines.
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Safran, Oerlikon to invest $9 million in R&D lab and tech platform for aerospace coatings
June 21, 2019
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Safran, Oerlikon, Limoges University, and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) announced at the Paris Air Show that they have agreed to form two organizations to develop advanced surface treatments for aerospace applications.
"The planned creation of a joint Safran/Oerlikon/CNRS/University of Limoges research lab specializing in thermal spray coating technologies is the culmination of a long-standing partnership that started over 15 years ago with a number of research contracts and doctoral theses," noted Jean-Luc Moullet, Chief Technology Transfer Officer at the CNRS.
The collaboration will include a joint research laboratory called Protheis, and a technology platform called Safir, and both will be located at Limoges. With an investment of more than $9 million, this platform will be used to translate the joint lab's scientific work into concrete technologies, while also being available to work for other transport, energy, and electronics companies.
These two new entities will help Safran enhance its surface treatment capabilities, to make lighter and longer-lasting products capable of reducing noise and nitrogen oxide emissions. The lab's roadmap also provides for developing the numerical simulation of processes, in line with Safran Factory of the Future initiative, based on capturing, storing, analyzing, and exploiting production data to ensure control over product quality.
Oerlikon expects the collaboration to advance its already-strong support of the aerospace industry along the entire value chain. Oerlikon contributes to the partnership with deep and long-standing expertise in advanced materials, surface engineering, and high-end, industrial equipment to increase competitiveness in the industry.
https://www.safran-group.com/media/
Safran, Oerlikon, Limoges University, and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) announced at the Paris Air Show that they have agreed to form two organizations to develop advanced surface treatments for aerospace applications.
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Norsk Titanium completes Boeing Materials Allowables, 3D prints Questek titanium wire
June 19, 2019
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Norsk Titanium, Norway, announces the successful completion of the latest phase of Boeing’s rigorous Material Allowables Program, which characterizes the titanium alloys manufactured by the AM rapid plasma deposition process. This significant milestone, and the completion of all pre-production requirements, enables Norsk to begin long-term production of select structural titanium parts upon completion of contractual terms.
“We have prepared all necessary production operations facilities, equipment, and personnel to coincide with this Boeing milestone, enabling high-rate production following qualification. Our facility in Plattsburgh, New York, is truly a 21st century advanced additive manufacturing center of excellence, and the work of the Norsk and Boeing teams to prepare for this moment has been outstanding,†said Norsk President and CEO Michael Canario.
Following the successful qualification of the first additive-manufactured structural titanium component certified for commercial use, Norsk has been in continuous production for more than two years. During that time, Norsk and Boeing have continued to work to expand additive manufacturing applications. Furthermore, Norsk successfully qualified its Plattsburgh Development and Qualification Center (PDQC), demonstrating that the same parts could be successfully manufactured on multiple machines in multiple locations.
Norsk also announces that it has successfully printed QuesTek’s custom titanium wire in support of initial material properties testing. QuesTek thoroughly evaluated the microstructure and measured the properties in several heat-treated conditions, including various combinations of stress relief and solution treatment. Superior performance versus Ti-6-4 has been demonstrated.
The highest-performance condition was a basic one-hour solution treatment for which an average ultimate tensile strength of 147 ksi and an average elongation of 18% were measured. This represents an increase in both strength and elongation over standard Ti-6Al-4V, while maintaining fatigue performance.
The typical Ti-6Al-4V microstructure shows an alpha-beta structure consisting of packets of parallel alpha laths, while QuesTek’s titanium alloy is an alpha-prime martensitic structure with a “basket weave†morphology of martensitic-formed alpha-prime plates. The non-parallel and refined nature of the plate martensite structure in QuesTek’s alloy is believed to be responsible for the increased strength and toughness compared to coarser, parallel alpha laths of conventional Ti-6Al-4V. QuesTek’s alloying element contributes an enhanced response to heat treatment, beneficial for both strength and elongation properties.
www.norsktitanium.com
Norsk Titanium, Norway, announces the successful completion of the latest phase of Boeing’s rigorous Material Allowables Program, which characterizes the titanium alloys manufactured by the AM rapid plasma deposition process.
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Carpenter Technology, BMT Aerospace partner to produce additively manufactured parts
June 16, 2019
Source: ASM International
Carpenter Technology Corp., Philadelphia, and Belgium-based BMT Aerospace announce that they are cooperating in the development of an additively manufactured aerospace pinion made of Carpenter’s Custom 465 Stainless.
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Solar Atmospheres 14-foot car-bottom air furnace can treat loads up to 30,000 pounds
June 13, 2019
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Solar Atmospheres of Western PA, Hermitage, recently installed a 14-foot long car bottom air furnace for the tempering of large tool steel components, as well as the age hardening processes of nickel-based alloys and precipitation hardenable stainless steels.
The furnace was surveyed in accordance with AMS2750 Rev E and is uniform within ±10°F (Class 2). With a working zone measuring 60 x 54 x 168 inches, the furnace is capable of handling workloads up to 30,000 pounds and feataures maximum operating temperature of 1400°F.
According to Bob Hill, President of Solar Atmospheres of Western PA, “This new air tempering furnace will be a good complement its larger counterpart, a recently installed 20-foot car bottom furnace. Expanding our large air furnace capability will enhance the turnaround for our ’raw material’ customers, and is more cost-effective than processing in a vacuum environment.â€
www.solaratm.com
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA, Hermitage, recently installed a 14-foot long car bottom air furnace for the tempering of large tool steel components, as well as the age hardening processes of nickel-based alloys and precipitation hardenable stainless steels.
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ITSC 2019 presentation: Solid-State Additive Manufacturing
June 11, 2019
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Inovati, Santa Barbara, Calif., presented a discussion about the application of its impact consolidation Kinetic Metallization (KM) process to an advanced and superior 3D manufacturing technology.
When integrated with CAD/CAM, Inovati characterizes this new technology as Solid-State Additive Manufacturing (SSAM). This innovative spray deposition process provides unique opportunities for development of a 3D fabrication technique with material properties not currently feasible with conventional fusion-based AM processes.
In particular, the low temperature attribute of the process enables fabrication of metallic and composite parts with metallurgically uniform properties, while fusion-based processes tend to be unstable or degrade at high melting temperatures. The SSAM deposition rates associated with Kinetic Metallization permit an order of magnitude faster fabrication rate of parts when compared to many conventional AM methods. The paper presented the developments of the technology to date and the potential applications.
Dr. Ralph Tapphorn , Mr. Howard Gabel , Mr. Travis Crowe , Inovati, Santa Barbara, California
www.inovati.com
Inovati, Santa Barbara, Calif., presented a discussion about the application of its impact consolidation Kinetic Metallization (KM) process to an advanced and superior 3D manufacturing technology.
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Sintavia opens additive manufacturing facility for large-scale aerospace production
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Sintavia LLC, Hollywood, Fla., has opened the doors to its new 55,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility, which is said to be the first of its kind in North America to offer large-scale AM production coupled with a robust aerospace quality management system.
The facility houses over $25 million of advanced manufacturing equipment, including medium and large scale metal printers, EDMs, post-processing machines, wet-booths, and multiple furnaces. Some of the industrial engineering improvements of the building include separate manufacturing rooms segregated by alloy, a large-scale powder management system, an uninterruptable power supply, an inert gas farm, and a final production acceptance quality-control room.
The new facility is capable of producing tens of thousands of parts representing in excess of $100mm of AM revenue annually. The expansion is anticipated to bring more than 130 new jobs for skilled employees and support staff to South Florida.
“As we grow, it will serve as a template for future vertically aligned advanced manufacturing facilities around the United Staets and the world,†said Brian Neff, Sintavia’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
The grand opening was attended by over 150 customers and industry partners, including Sumitomo Corporation, a growth equity investment partner of Sintavia and one of the largest international trading companies in the world. “Sintavia has again proven itself as a leader in the industrialization of AM production,†said Mr. Masaki Nakajima, CEO and President of Sumitomo Corporation of Americas.
www.Sintavia.com
Sintavia LLC, Hollywood, Fla., has opened the doors to its new 55,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility, which is said to be the first of its kind in North America to offer large-scale AM production coupled with a robust aerospace quality management system.
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Russian scientists dope aluminum with nickel and lanthanum to raise strength and ductility
June 7, 2019
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Scientists from the National University of Science and Technology (MISIS), Russia, report that they have found a simple and efficient way of strengthening aluminum-based composite materials. Doping aluminum melt with nickel and lanthanum, scientists managed to create a material combining benefits of both composite materials and standard alloys: flexibility, strength, and lightness.
Scientists from NUST MISIS scientific school "Phase Transitions and Development of Non-Ferrous Alloys" created a new strong Al-Ni-La composite for aircraft and automobile industry. Doping elements were added to the aluminum melt, forming special chemical compounds that further formed strong reinforcing structure.
"Our research group, led by Professor Nikolai Belov, has worked on the creation of aluminum-based composites for many years,†says Torgom Akopyan, a researcher at NUST MISIS Department of Metal Forming. “The aluminum-based composite material contains more than 15% by volume of doping elements. A feature of the new development is the high reinforcing ability of the chemical compounds with ultrafine structure: the diameter of the reinforcing elements does not exceed several tens of nanometers.â€
This development solves the problem of non-uniform reinforcement and low density of "powder" composites: if a melting technique is used, after Al-Ni-La crystallization the diameter of doping particles does not exceed 30-70 nanometers. Thanks to "natural" crystallization, particles are distributed uniformly, forming a reinforcing structure. Hence, the composite becomes stronger and more flexible than its powder analogues.
Due to the peculiarities of the structure formation, the proposed material can be used for the manufacture of complex parts via 3-D printing. In addition, new developments may be of strategic importance from an economic point of view. At the moment, the main share of profit in the aluminum industry in Russia is the export of primary aluminum. The creation of new high-tech developments with increased added value will increase profits by expanding domestic and foreign markets for aluminum consumption.
An article on the research was published in Materials Letters. T.K. Akopyan et al, “New in-situ Al matrix composites based on Al-Ni-La eutectic,†Materials Letters (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2019.02.112
https://en.misis.ru/university/news/
Scientists from the National University of Science and Technology (MISIS), Russia, report that they have found a simple and efficient way of strengthening aluminum-based composite materials.
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