Bodycote Thermal Processing Solutions for the Aerospace Industry

Bodycote supplies thermal processing services to aerospace manufacturers worldwide.

Thermal processing technologies for aerospace manufacturing and engineering

There are numerous techniques and engineering steps in the manufacturing process that can improve the quality and lifetime of metals, alloys and components, including thermal processing.

Bodycote’s services include:

• Heat treatment
• Metal joining
• Surface technology (coatings solutions)
• Hot isostatic pressing (HIP)

Heat treatments for components

Bodycote can offer vacuum heat treatment of aerospace components such as precision cast turbine blades. The company has experience in a wide range of materials, including single crystal alloys.

The company is able to meet tight temperature uniformity requirements and offer critical cooling and heating rates which allow for high-quality blade performance. This is due to the investments Bodycote has made in the newest furnace and control system technology.

Bodycote offers the tempering and hardening of cases, flight control items, flaptracks and a variety of structural and airframe parts. It can also offer the nitriding of engine parts including gears and engine bolts. Bodycote has created computerised process controls specifically for components in the aerospace industry.

Other services offered by Bodycote include vacuum heat treatments such as:

• Ageing
• Annealing
• Homogenising
• Low Pressure Carburising (LPC)
• Plasma Nitriding
• Single crystal vacuum heat treatment
• Solution treatment

Controlled atmosphere treatment:

• Carbonitriding
• Carburising
• Case hardening
• Corr-I-Dur® (a proprietary form of Ferritic Nitrocarburising)
• Gas nitriding
• Hardening and Tempering
• Nitrocarburising

Metal joining for aerospace applications

Bodycote can offer a range of metal joining processes such as electron beam welding (EBW), honeycomb brazing and vacuum brazing.

Electron beam welding is a cost-effective means of producing complex aerospace engine components with varying section thickness. Components such as engine flame tubes can be processed to have increased joint strength without affecting previous heat treatments or infrastructure details.

Bodycote’s experienced staff carry out honeycomb brazing to join honeycomb seals which allow for the flow of gas through jet engines. The company can also provide braze repair, felt metal brazing and wide gap brazing.

Surface technology (coating solutions)

To protect parts from corrosion and abrasion, Bodycote offers a wide range of specialised coatings. The range of coatings available from Bodycote covers a wide variety of applications, providing solutions for prime aerospace manufacturers and their supply chains.

The thermal spraying of aerospace parts with metals, cermets, carbides or alloys increases the service life and performance of cheaper base materials. Bodycote can provide both plasma and high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying. Plasma coating can be used to improve surfaces in a range of ways including making them biocompatible and resistant to high-temperature oxidation.

HVOF ensures coated surfaces can survive in high-temperatures as it has a high-coefficient of adhesion. The company can also provide ceramic densification, thermochemically formed ceramics and polymer and hybrid coatings.

Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP)

Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) is used to remove voids and closed porosity in engine components, which can be an indicator of part failure. Components used in high-temperature areas of jet engines such as blades are isostatically pressed to prevent residual microporosity.

To ensure the integrity of alloy airframe castings HIP is used in the manufacturing process. Aluminium steward seats can be treated with Bodycote’s Densal® process, to guarantee they can withstand the pressure of take-off and landing.

Also available from Bodycote is the densification of superalloy and titanium castings, diffusion bonding of complex geometries, and HIP brazing and cladding.

The company can also provide Powdermet®, which is the manufacturing of complex net and near-net-shape powder metallurgy components and novel materials.