News: AMRC signs MOU with GKN

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing is to work with GKN Aerospace on developing advanced technologies for the aerospace industry.

With multimillion pound facilities on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the AMRC is a world leading model partnership between industry and academia that focuses on advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors.

Worcestershire-based GKN Aerospace is a leader in the manufacture of highly complex composite and metallic aerostructures and engine products. It is a Tier 1 member at the AMRC and is one of the world's largest independent first tier suppliers to the global aviation industry.

An Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed to progress a series of research themes being developed together at the AMRC's state-of-the-art Factory 2050, the dedicated collaborative research factory home to the Integrated Manufacturing Group on Sheffield Business Park.

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Previous projects involving the AMRC and GKN include work to protect and exploit the UK's collective strengths in aerospace wing manufacture and work to examine automated and robotic techniques to assemble aerospace structures 30% faster than previously possible.

GKN has also worked with the University of Sheffield and other partners on producing airworthy components using a novel additive manufacturing (3D printing) process. It is also an industrial partner in MAPP, the EPSRC Future Manufacturing Hub at the University which focuses on Manufacture using Advanced Powder Processes.

Colin Sirett, chief executive officer at the AMRC (pictured, second right), said: "The purpose of signing the MoU is to recognise the strategic role the AMRC is playing and to drive forward the significant amount of work and technological development we are embarking on with GKN Aerospace.

"What we will be looking at in a package of work with them is future manufacturing systems and digital linkage of those systems with the customer and the development of metallic machining technology.

"The AMRC will also have a core role in developing the Wing of Tomorrow technology with GKN Aerospace. This technology will be large scale assembly, metal materials machining and opportunities for castings.

"The plus point of the MoU for us is it enables us to operate very closely and effectively with companies that view the AMRC as one of their strategic partners."

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As part of the agreement, Robert Sharman, the global head of additive manufacturing at GKN Aerospace, will work with the AMRC's additive manufacturing research team as an associate professor.

Paul Perera, VP global technology at GKN Aerospace (pictured, second left), said: "The Memorandum of Understanding has been created between us to progress a number of joint themes which we have incubated here together.

"These are the application of digital manufacturing, the application of large scale additive manufacturing, and we have also been looking at large scale automation with the "Wing of Tomorrow" project.

"It is a good partnership with true benefits on both sides. We really want to maintain the momentum on this agreement."

AMRC website
GKN website

Images: AMRC / GKN

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News: New research to explore additive repair for aerospace

Additive manufacturing experts at the Nuclear AMRC in Rotherham are leading international research into innovative repair technologies for the aerospace industry.

The Amos project (Additive manufacturing optimisation and simulation platform for repairing and remanufacturing of aerospace components) is a collaboration between researchers and manufacturers in Europe and Canada, led by the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) and a partner in the HVM Catapult (the government's strategic initiative that aims to revitalise the manufacturing industry), the AMRC focuses on advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors. It is a partnership between industry and academia, which has become a model for research centres worldwide.

Amos will investigate a range of direct energy deposition techniques which combine welding tools with automated control to accurately deposit and melt metal powder or wire. Many of these techniques are already used in aerospace and other industries to build new parts to near-net shape.

The project will focus on additive technologies already being used by the partners, including the wire-feed gas tungsten arc process used in the Nuclear AMRC's bulk additive cell. The team may also look at other additive techniques used at the Nuclear AMRC, such as powder diode laser.

The aim is to see if the techniques can be used to repair or remaunufacture components such as turbine blades or aircraft landing gear. This would significantly reduce the time and cost of regular maintenance and repair for the aerospace industry, while reducing material waste and extending the life of expensive components.

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Dr Rosemary Gault, European project coordinator at the University of Sheffield AMRC, said: "There's a host of additive manufacturing technologies available to aerospace manufacturers, but they tend to be focused on new production rather than repairing damaged parts. The Amos project is bringing together some of the world's leading research organisations and companies to identify which additive technologies are best suited for repair and remanufacture, and develop them for commercial use."

Other partners in the project include Ecole Central de Nantes in France; GKN Aerospace Engine Systems, based in Sweden; and DPS, a French SME specialising in process simulation and optimisation.

Canadian partners are McGill University, Montreal; the University of Ottawa; jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada; landing gear supplier Héroux-Devtek; and automated welding specialist Liburdi.

The four-year, €2.6 million project is supported by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 programme and by Canadian funding agencies CARIC and NSERC. It is one of the first European-Canadian projects to be funded under the "Mobility for growth" collaboration in aeronautics R&D.

AMRC website
AMOS Project website

Images: Nuclear AMRC

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News: Metalysis increasing titanium production with GKN

Metalysis, the innovative Rotherham-based company is set to increase the production of its high quality, low-cost titanium powder for use in aerospace additive manufacturing after entering a partnership with GKN Aerospace.

Metalysis is an investor and grant-backed Cambridge University spin out and holds the worldwide exploitation rights to the FCC Cambridge process which sees specialist powder metals created in a simple, cost effective process with significant environmental benefits.

The Manvers company is in the process of commercialising the technology to produce titanium, tantalum, and related high value alloys. These are used increasingly by major worldwide industries such as aerospace, marine, medical, chemical, automotive and electronics.

Worcestershire-based GKN Aerospace, a leader in the manufacture of highly complex composite and metallic aerostructures and engine products, is leading on a new £3.1m research project, which has recently secured £1.5m from the UK's Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), to support the application of additive layer manufacturing in aerospace.

The use of titanium in the aerospace industry has previously been prohibitively expensive but the creation of cheaper metal powders by Metalysis is expected to enable its wider use and drive forward the adoption of 3D printing in specialist metal products.

The joint industry and ATI funded, collaborative R&D project is backed by the country's innovation agency, Innovate UK and has selected Metalysis as a partner, alongside Phoenix Scientific Industries Ltd and The University of Leeds, to increase the production of high quality low-cost titanium powder for additive layer manufacturing and develop the UK's skills and expertise in the sector.

TiPOW (Titanium Powder for Net-Shape Component Manufacture) will ensure UK competitiveness through developing additive layer manufacturing capabilities and raw material production in the form of low-cost titanium powder. The successful use of additive manufacture in the aerospace supply chain, using Metalysis' low-cost titanium powder, will also enable the expansion of its use in new applications across the medical, automotive, defence and energy sectors.

Today additive manufacturing uses alloys and powders that have not been developed for these processes and so are not optimised for this environment. Together the partners will investigate developing titanium alloys and powders with the characteristics that are specifically suited to additive manufacturing. They will then define the production methods that will produce materials to ensure cost is minimised whilst production quality, quantity and consistency all meet the rigorous standards required by aerospace. The TiPOW programme will also explore effective re-use and recycling of titanium material, and a study of potential applications for the recycled material.

Russ Dunn, senior vice president engineering & technology at GKN, said: "To date research into additive manufacturing has focused largely on evolving the processes we will require to enter full scale production but if these processes are to make a significant breakthrough, the quality, repeatability and cost of the material we use will be critical. Working with our industrial and academic partners in the TiPOW programme and leveraging expertise from across GKN, we will begin the process of addressing this issue."

Dion Vaughan, chief executive of Metalysis, added: "Titanium made by the Metalysis process could replace the current use of aluminium and steel in many products, bringing many performance advantages. This project will demonstrate its potential in the additive layer manufacturing of metal components, bringing down the cost of production, manufacturing and increasing environmental performance of aerospace and beyond."

Working for the first time with a commercial partner is part of Metalysis's expected significant expansion of its production capacity in the UK, in addition to exporting its technology internationally through licensing agreements and joint ventures.

The Metalysis electrochemical reduction process can transform metal oxides, such as ores, directly into metal powders in a single step. Currently focusing on titanium and tantalum, the process uses less energy than traditional processes as it does not require the melting of metals, and the salt used in producing the metals can be recycled.

The process also means that innovative alloys can be tailored to have the desired properties for specific applications – for example by making them lighter - and brings additional cost benefits by reducing the quantity of material required and the level of waste.

Metalysis website
GKN Aerospace website

Images: GKN

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News: Use of AMRC technologies set to take off

Innovative assembly technologies pioneered at The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing in Rotherham are to be used to assemble aerospace structures 30% faster than is possible today.

Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), the AMRC is a world leading model partnership between industry and academia that focuses on advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors. It employs around 200 highly qualified researchers and engineers from around the globe, in two purpose-built centres.

AMRC engineers have been working on a complete assembly tooling and robotic strategy with GKN Aerospace and NIKON Metrology that uses many emerging automated and robotic techniques that, as well as speeding assembly, will provide an extremely consistent end product. It has been designed to be generic and therefore equally applicable to many future aircraft wing and fuselage structures.

Worcestershire-based GKN Aerospace, a leader in the manufacture of highly complex composite and metallic aerostructures and engine products, is now advancing this strategy in a new project that aims to automate the assembly of aircraft structures with the goal of creating consistently high-quality wing structures 30% faster than is possible today.

Backed by government funding as part of the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP), the Structures Technology Maturity (STeM) programme is based around an advanced winglet as the demonstrator component.

Among the novel processes being progressed through the programme are: lightweight fixturing, reconfigurable tooling, automated part positioning, assisted deposition of sealant, metrology assisted robotics, lightweight drilling heads, light-weight fastening heads for single sided fasteners, automated scanning for accurate countersink drilling and automated fastener inspection.

Richard Oldfield, technical director at GKN Aerospace, said: "As an industry we must step up production rates to meet future demand whilst ensuring the structures we design and build meet ever more demanding aircraft performance requirements. This STeM project is enabling GKN Aerospace and our partners to evolve and assess a number of promising assembly technologies and processes that could give us the performance, tolerances, affordability and integrity we will need in the coming decades."

GKN Aerospace website
AMRC website

Images: GKN Aerospace

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