Structural casting for aircraft

Manufacturing Engineering, Jul 2000

In aircraft design, cast aluminum has been limited to noncritical components because of strength problems. Where aluminum is used in structural components, the parts are fabricated from a number of elements, which is often a costly manufacturing process.

The US Navy is working with the National Center for Excellence in Metalworking Technology to develop structural aluminum castings. Researchers are looking at a variety of technologies, including sand and investment casting, microstructure evaluation, and rapid prototyping. If technology allows a move to more load-bearing cast-aluminum aircraft parts, production costs would be significantly reduced. For example, it is estimated that casting aircraft fuselages in one piece would cut costs by about 30%.

Companies involved include Boeing (St. Louis) Howmet Aluminum (Hillsboro, TX and Teledyne Cast Parts (Pomona, CA).

It is hoped that the research will result in parts that can be used on the F/A-18E/F as well as other aircraft. Circle 327.