Armil CFS Inc. shipped two natural-gas-fired box furnaces with integrated afterburners to a West Coast manufacturer of aerospace components. The furnaces, which have an operating temperature range of 450-1800°F with +/-25°F uniformity in the work zone, will be used to burn out and preheat investment casting molds. The Tru-Heat furnaces have an inside chamber size of 8 feet wide x 7 feet deep  with a working height of 4 feet. For energy savings, they are programmed with weekend mode and automated afterburner idle.

L&L Special Furnace Co. shipped a floor-standing box furnace to an aerospace company in eastern Canada. The furnace will be used for curing and bonding ceramic coatings to various steel bodies primarily deployed in the aerospace industry. This process provides extra strength to aerospace parts that are subject to various temperatures and stresses under normal operating conditions. The furnace has an effective work zone of 22 inches wide x 16 inches high x 20 inches deep. A horizontal door with ceramic hearth and support bricks is included to incorporate the customer’s loading system. Nickel-chrome elements that are resistant to any potential contamination the process may cause are used. Heat shields provide a safe-to-touch case temperature under operating conditions.

SECO/WARWICK will deliver a solution heat treatment line to Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), an Indian manufacturer in the aerospace sector. The order is the largest production line for aircraft skins in the history of both companies. SECO/WARWICK will build a production line for the solution heat treatment of aluminum alloys. It will meet the stringent requirements for AMS 2750F and AMS 2770 standards. The equipment will be used for the production of aircraft skins, empennage and center-wing boxes. The line includes a rapid-quench electric furnace (drop-bottom type), mobile quenching tank, rinsing tank and additional equipment (including a chiller and loading baskets).

 

SECO/VACUUM received an order from a global aerospace manufacturer for a gas-quench vacuum furnace. It is the company’s second order for its U.S. plant in less than one year. The furnace, which meets Class 2 requirements per AMS 2750F, will be installed in the company’s Center of Excellence and will be used to heat treat 3D-printed parts. The Vector 2-bar quenching unit is equipped with a high-vacuum diffusion pump and convection heating for improved performance at low temperatures.

TAV Vacuum Furnaces manufactured a vertical high-vacuum furnace for one of Asia’s leading aerospace companies. The bottom-loading furnace offers an advanced solution for heat-treatment and brazing processes and can process aerospace materials such as titanium alloys and superalloys. It has useful dimensions of 1,500 mm diameter x 2,600 mm high (59 x 102 inches) with a maximum gross charge of 5,510 pounds (2,500 kg) and a maximum operating temperature of 2192°F (1200°C).

The addition of a hydroform deep-draw press from Quintus Technologies brings increased capacity, flexibility and production efficiencies to aerospace parts manufacturer Aeroforma Technologies. Installed at the company’s facility in Cheltenham, United Kingdom, the press uses hydraulic pressure up to 11,600 psi to form parts in a variety of shapes, thicknesses and tough materials. Proprietary flexible-forming technology enables the press to perform four forming operations in a single machine. In addition to block tool forming, cavity tool forming and expansion forming, it is also equipped with a movable punch forming system for deep drawing of intricate shapes.

L&L Special Furnace Co. shipped a front-loading box furnace to an aerospace manufacturer located in the southeastern United States. The state-of-the-art-facility will be opening soon, and it will be a central part of a heat-treating center for aerospace and military components. The highly uniform furnace has working dimensions of 60 inches wide x 60 inches high x 60 inches deep. There are a series of castable piers and an alloy grid that supply a very stable work platform for various part sizes and configurations.

Lockheed Martin Corp. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. for approximately $4.4 billion. With nearly 5,000 employees and 15 primary operations sites across the United States, Aerojet Rocketdyne is a world-recognized aerospace and defense rocket engine manufacturer. The company’s propulsion systems are a key component of Lockheed Martin’s supply chain and several advanced systems across its Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control and Space business areas. The proposed acquisition adds substantial expertise in propulsion to Lockheed Martin’s portfolio.

Quintus Technologies received an order from Piper Aircraft, an aircraft manufacturer, to provide a high-pressure hydroform fluid cell press for its facility in Vero Beach, Fla. The press generates a press force of 35,000 metric tons across the entire forming area of 39 x 118 inches (1,000 x 3,000 mm). It includes user-friendly features such as equipment serviceability, remote system control and a high degree of self-diagnostics. The installation will allow Piper to redirect component production from a 40-year-old ASEA press. The large forming area and advanced controls give the new press the ability to produce up to 1,000,000 formed sheet-metal parts per year.

TAV Vacuum Furnaces of Italy will design, build and ship two horizontal vacuum heat-treatment and brazing furnaces to a manufacturer of aircraft structural components that specializes in spherical bearing solutions. The furnaces have useful dimensions of 600 mm wide x 600 mm high x 900 mm deep (23.5 x 23.5 x 35.5 inches) with a maximum gross charge of 600 kg (1,323 pounds). They have a maximum operating temperature of 2192°F (1200°C). An AMS 2750F-compliant SCADA system provides comprehensive furnace monitoring and control. The configuration of the furnaces enables quick and easy loading of different volumes.