TITANIUM SHEET HOT FORMING IN THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

Abstract

Technologies dedicated to hot forming of titanium sheet are key processes for the manufacturing of structural and engine parts in the aerospace industry. The evolution of these processes in the past years is strategical taking into account the on-going increase of production rate of commercial aircrafts as single aisle and long-range civil aircrafts. Starting from the use of single superplastic forming press, the state-of-the art has evolved to the use of automated forming cells from one side and to the development of the Hot Forming process on the other side. These evolutions are pushed by the aerospace market and its needs of a strong and efficient supply chain. In order to assure production rate, cost saving and part quality to our customer, Aries Alliance offers tailor made solutions adapted to each customer need. From the delivery of fully-automated smart press cell to serial part production Aries Alliance is able to provide smart answer to the challenges brought by end-users. One of the roles of this niche industry is also to promote titanium applications challenged by the market facing strong competition from lightweight alloys like Al‑Li or composite materials especially for aerostructure applications.

Keywords

• titanium
• hot forming
• superplastic forming
• presses
• automated production cell
• aerospace industry