Nov 14 2006
Alcoa's Howmet Products and Services' Ti-Cast facility in Whitehall, Michigan, has received the 2006 Casting Contest Award - aerospace category - from the Investment Casting Institute. The award recognizes Howmet Products and Services for its outstanding leadership in demonstrating the benefits of the investment casting process.
According to Michael A. Pepper, vice president and general manager, Howmet Products and Services, Howmet's Ti-Cast facility was recognized for producing a complex flight control manifold, manufactured for customer Parker Hannifin. "It is a product that could not be produced by any other process than investment casting," said Pepper. "The manifold has one of the most complex geometries ever manufactured using the investment casting process."
The casting is complex for a number of reasons, including hollow serpentine passageways, compactness, asymmetry and net-shape surface areas. The part is cast from a titanium alloy. The selection of this titanium alloy and the investment casting process gives the flight control manifold the targeted combination of light weight and high strength. "In addition, the investment casting process provides a high ‘buy-to-fly' ratio for the customer's raw material requirements. More than 95 percent of the purchased material is used in the final casting," said Pepper.
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