Aerospace

Multiple machine tool builders offer equipment for machining the helicopter transmission components Northstar Aerospace Inc. produces at its Bedford Park, Ill., facility, but not all are equally efficient in handling the task. The parts weigh up to 350 lbs. (159 kg), have diameter tolerances as tight as 0.0003" (0.0076mm) and are made of aerospace-grade superalloys typically hardened from 50 to 60 HRC, said Brian Cheek, vice president and general manager at Northstar.

Houghton International Inc., Valley Forge, Va., recently announced the appointment of Kevin Smith to the positions of senior vice president of Houghton International and president of the company's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and global automotive and aerospace markets. Effective Feb. 1, Smith is based in the company's Manchester, U.K. office, and reports to Houghton International CEO Mike Shannon. Smith will assume responsibility for the general management of Houghton's EMEA region and the global leadership of Houghton specialty product lines for the major transportation industry segments, including automotive and aerospace. He also becomes a member of Houghton's executive committee.

The Sandvik Coromant Co., Fair Lawn, N.J., named Sean Holt as the company's new president of the Americas market area, according to a Jan. 28 news release. With the promotion, which took effect Jan. 1, Holt is now part of the company's global sales management team. An experienced executive in the manufacturing industry, Holt was a key member of the Americas management team as the vice president of engineering. He joined Sandvik Coromant in 2000 as a sales engineer in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Since then, he has held several positions, including application development specialist and aerospace manager for the Americas market area before taking on the vice president of engineering position in 2014.

Norsk Titanium AS, Oslo, Norway, announced the first shipment of Airbus test parts manufactured by the company's patented Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD) process has been delivered to Premium AEROTEC's plant in Varel, Germany, where it has already undergone finish machining, according to a joint company news release issued Jan. 20.

A PROFIMAT MC 607 5-axis CNC grinding machine manufactured by Blohm Jung GmbH in Germany has been supplied in close cooperation with UK agent, J.R.A. Bennett Ltd, at The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Center (AMRC) with Boeing. It follows a rigorous tender process that involved evaluating hundreds of parameters and included grinding trials at the machine builder's factory in Hamburg.

An aluminum-magnesium-scandium powder for additive manufacturing that exhibits the specific strength of titanium and the positive properties of aluminum.

3D printing, once only in the realm of science fiction, is gaining popularity. In this military video, Staff Sergeant Scott Johnson talks about how Air Force Research Laboratory scientists at Wright-Patterson AFB are using additive manufacturing to provide the military with better equipment.

Small shop becomes a big aerospace manufacturer -- with a little help from its friends.

Mark Larson, a titanium process R&D manager for Makino Inc., answers 10 questions about machining titanium alloys.