Project to investigate hybrid approach to titanium manufacturing
Shropshire-based SDE Technology is leading a project to develop a new hybrid superplastic forming process that would enable it to expand into the aerospace market.
Superplastic forming is a near net shape manufacturing method for producing thin-sheet metallic components and can be used to create complex-shaped titanium parts used by the aerospace sector.
The new hybrid technique is estimated to shorten the forming cycle time by over 50 per cent and cut manufacturing costs by as much as 25 per cent compared with traditional superplastic forming. Manufacturing with this new approach uses new tooling that reduces process time.
The project forms part of the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP) and is supported by the Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) within the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) Group. Boeing and Timet UK are supporting the project with technical and business activities.
In a statement, Evgenia Yakushina, forming team lead at AFRC, said: “So far, the research has demonstrated huge potential with important parallels between the new hybrid method and the traditional approach already evident.”
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