A new update on MPIF Standard 35 was issued in October 2017 by the Metal Powder Industries Federation (MPIF) for aluminum alloys often used in aerospace applications, providing design and materials engineers with performance requirements for specifying aluminum alloys in powder metallurgy. The new standards identify a Rockwell hardness of 75 for the AC-2014-32-T8 and 83 for the AC-2014-38-T8, values which refer to the heat treatment which the alloys undergo.
Kai Soon Fong, Senior Research Engineer, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology
Researchers from the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology and Nanyang Technological University have devised a method that involves heat treatment processes to strengthen magnesium alloy and produce a more workable, ultra-fine crystalline structure suitable for multiple applications, including aerospace, automotive, transportation, medical and technology.
“By optimizing the processing temperature and strain rate, we were able to achieve an ultrafine-grained microstructure, which does not physically change the alloy, but improves its mechanical properties through grain refinement,” reported Kai Soon Fong, Senior Research Engineer at Singapore Institute of Manufacturing. “This processing led to improved mechanical strength and ductility, making it tougher and easier to shape at room temperature.”
A heat-treatable aerospace grade aluminum composite used heavily in applications for national defense, aviation, and space was recently awarded AMS 4368 specification approval from the Society of Automotive Engineers – Aerospace Material specification Nonferrous Alloys Committee (SAE-AMS).
This is Materion Corporation’s second AMS specification for a SupremEX metal matrix composite.
W. Glenn Maxwell, President, Materion Performance Alloys and Composites
SupremEX® 640XA provides improved performance in aero-engine components and aircraft structures because it is 60 percent lighter than steel and 36 percent lighter than titanium, yet offers high strength, stiffness, and fatigue properties that significantly increase a component’s capability and useful life. The high-quality alloy is reinforced with 40 percent silicon carbide particles and is manufactured using a proprietary mechanical alloying process to ensure a homogenous reinforcement distribution. It provides a refined grain structure and enhanced mechanical properties, making it an ideal replacement for aluminum, titanium, steel and other structural alloys and composites.
SupremEX also provides superior damage tolerance and improved wear resistance when compared to conventional alloys. With a low coefficient of thermal expansion, components made of this composite will not deform over the range of temperatures experienced during flight.
“Other Materion aerospace-grade products have earned SAE-AMS specifications, including SupremEX 225XE, so we understand the value of this designation,” said W. Glenn Maxwell, President, Materion Performance Alloys and Composites. “With this specification, it’s much easier and faster for engineers to include the material in their designs and recommend it to new customers. In fact, many engineers will not consider using materials without SAE-AMS specifications.”
SupremEX 640XA is reinforced with 40 percent silicon carbide particles and is manufactured using a proprietary mechanical alloying process to ensure a homogenous reinforcement distribution. It provides a refined grain structure and enhanced mechanical properties, making it an ideal replacement for aluminum, titanium, steel and other structural alloys and composites.
Aleris has signed a new multi-year contract with Embraer to supply aluminum flat-rolled products for use in the production of all of Embraer’s aircraft. The renewed contract agreement includes the supply of technically advanced alloys and extends the reach of products for aerospace and systems applications.
“Our continued investment in growing our technical capabilities has enabled us to further expand our relationship with Embraer, and we look forward to working with them to achieve their aircraft manufacturing and design goals,” said Sean Stack, Aleris chairman and CEO. “With a world-class aerospace aluminum plate facility in Asia Pacific, we are also uniquely positioned to help them meet aerospace demand in the region which is projected to experience the most significant growth.”
The contract includes the supply of material from the company’s facilities in Koblenz, Germany, and Zhenjiang, China.
Memory foam mattresses and pillows ease millions of restless sleepers through rough nights; perhaps tires made from shape-memory alloy will provide NASA’s Curiosity robot an easier ride across the rough terrain of Mars.
After years of research, NASA recently created a tire made of heat-treated nickel-titanium alloy that results in a woven-mesh metal which “remembers” and returns to its shape.
A definitive agreement to form an innovative 50-50 joint venture (JV) was recently reached between the world’s largest stainless steel producer and a global manufacturer of technically advanced specialty materials and complex components, with a target to manufacture and sell 60 inch-wide stainless sheet in North America.
Richard J. Harshman , Chairman, President and CEO of ATI
Allegheny & Tsingshan Stainless is the new entity formed between Allegheny Technologies Incorporated, based in western Pennsylvania, which produces components for the aerospace, defense, oil & gas, electrical energy, medical and automotive sectors, and an affiliate company of Tsingshan Group, a multi-national fully integrated stainless steel producer engaged in nickel ore mining, ferronickel and ferrochrome smelting, stainless steel making, hot rolling, and cold rolling with captive supportive power plants and ports. Formation of the JV is subject to customary regulatory and anti-trust clearances, which are expected by the first quarter 2018; first shipments are expected in early 2018.
“Our strategy is to first return our flat-rolled products (FRP) business to profitability and then position our FRP segment for sustainable profitability regardless of raw materials costs or trade policy,” said Rich Harshman, ATI’s Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. “Tsingshan’s capabilities to produce stainless steel slabs using its unparalleled vertically integrated mining, refining, and casting assets combined with ATI’s innovative, low-cost hot-rolling and processing facility (HRPF), and the JV’s unique direct roll anneal and pickle (DRAP) facility creates a cost competitive supplier of stainless sheet products for the North American market.
“For ATI, the conversion agreement volume will significantly increase the utilization of our HRPF and will utilize the previously idled DRAP finishing facility in Midland, PA, which will be owned and operated by the joint venture.”
Key points of the joint venture:
Allegheny & Tsingshan Stainless is the joint venture company’s name.
Tsingshan’s operation in Indonesia is vertically integrated from mining raw materials, including ferronickel and ferrochrome, through refining and casting. Tsingshan will supply the JV with redi-to-roll slabs with reduced raw material cost volatility.
The Tsingshan-supplied stainless slabs will be hot-rolled into coils on ATI’s HRPF under a conversion agreement between ATI FRP and the JV. The HRPF provides customers with the market’s most consistent quality and edge-to-edge, tip-to-tail gauge control.
The hot-rolled coils will be finished into stainless sheet using the JV’s DRAP line, which is ATI’s major investment in the joint venture. The Midlandoperations’ assets were impaired in 2015 and the DRAP finishing line was idled in early 2016.
The JV is expected to add approximately 100 manufacturing jobs in western PA.
Lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing firm Arconic Inc. announced last week plans to install a new horizontal heat treat furnace at its Davenport Works facility in Iowa, part of a significant capital investment to extend its processing capacity for aerospace and industrial applications.
Tim Myers, president of Global Rolled Products and Transportation, and Construction Solutions, Arconic, Inc
This new furnace will enable Arconic to heat treat longer and thicker plate, including material for the company’s recently installed thick plate stretcher which meets a global need for thick aluminum plate, particularly as aerospace demand for composite wings, made with monolithic thick-plate wing ribs, increases.
“This investment will help meet both existing and future customer demand,” said Tim Myers, President, Global Rolled Products and Transportation and Construction Solutions. “With this new capability, we will meet increasing demand for plate used for aircraft wing ribs, skins, and other structural components, particularly in single-aisle builds. It also opens the door to growth in other markets, such as semi-conductors for consumer electronics and injection molding for automotive applications.”
Construction on the project is expected to begin late this year with commercial production expected to start in 2019.
Aerospace engineering company Kanfit Ltd announced recently that it has successfully completed its Nadcap audit for composites as well as a renewed certificate for heat treatment.
Shai Fine, Founder and General Manager of Kanfit
Successful accreditations include core processing (CP) and liquid resin processing (LRP). In addition, Kanfit received recertification for prepreg/adhesive bonding/resin film infusion and process control testing. Accreditations for LRP authorizes Kanfit’s resin transfer mold (RTM) process according to the requirements of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
“We are extremely proud of our Composites and QA teams for bringing the company to the next level of Nadcap certification,” said Shai Fine, general manager of Kanfit. “Obtaining such a prestigious certification demonstrates our continued commitment to achieving our goal of providing top quality innovative solutions so that our customers continue to trust and depend on our products and services.”
Additionally, Kanfit reports that the new RTM process and specification for complex aerospace products that it created and developed has been adopted without changes by a prominent aerospace industry leader and has already been incorporated into its process specification library.
The company recently added 3D additive manufacturing to its autoclave manufacturing capabilities, and it is also developing other production technologies, including automated fiber placement (AFP) and robotic filament winding of closed frames.
Kobe Steel, Ltd, will earmark roughly 10 billion yen ($88 million) for capital improvements starting in 2018 aimed at ensuring that its manipulation of product quality data cannot be repeated. The beleaguered Japanese steelmaker, whose facilities were found in October to be falsifying data regarding strength and durability of metals during and after an internal investigation, will put into place automation protocol for the recording of inspection data, and for processes that cannot be automated, multiple employees will record data to ensure accuracy.
The most powerful U.S. rocket engine fired in two decades is also reusable and could become a leading rocket engine for commercial and military launches. It was also launched by an unlikely source, the founder and CEO of a company which is more broadly known for its presence as a major online retailer.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos launched his space tourism and commercial rocket company Blue Origin in September 2000. Roughly 17 years later, the company fired the BE-4 engine. Fueled by a liquid oxygen and liquid methane mix that generates 550,000 pounds of thrust, the BE-4 could be used in multiple rockets, including Blue Origin’s New Glenn orbital rocket.
