Alcoa, Pittsburgh, announces that it is investing $25 million at its Alcoa Power and Propulsion facility in Hampton, Virginia, to scale up its enhanced equiax investment casting technology. Alcoa will add equipment for a new production line and modify existing machinery at the Hampton facility to produce nickel-base superalloy jet-engine blades that weigh 20% less and significantly improve aerodynamic performance.
Alcoa developed this enhanced equiax investment casting following five years of research and development. The technology involves preheating the ceramic molds to a temperature below the metal solidification temperature, so that when the mold is filled the solidification rate can be controlled. Made primarily of nickel-based superalloys, the lighter and more aerodynamically efficient blades can be used to retrofit existing or build next-generation aircraft engines. The casting facility in Hampton is the leading producer of complex investment cast turbine airfoils for the industrial gas turbine industry, as well as large nickel and titanium structural castings for aerospace engines.
The Company will use the latest in advanced manufacturing technology such as robotics and digital x-ray for enhanced product inspection. The expansion will begin this month and is expected to be complete by the fourth quarter of 2015. The Company expects to add at least 75 new, full-time employees over three years.
