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.
