Yorkshire provides cutting edge for aerospace industry

AN INTERNATIONAL research project led in Yorkshire has brought a new manufacturing technique for the aerospace industry to the brink of commercialisation.

Eight academic and industrial partners from four countries collaborated on RAPOLAC (Rapid Production of Large Aerospace Components).

The three-year project has developed the shaped metal deposition (SMD) process from an experimental proof of concept, to an automated manufacturing technology ready for use by a range of companies.

SMD produces components by welding a continuous metal wire into the desired shape. This reduces the wastage involved in machining parts from a larger block, and removes the need for the expensive tooling used in forging.

Using SMD, the time required to design and produce a large aerospace component such as an engine casing can be reduced from nine months to a few weeks.

The SMD technology was initially developed by Rolls-Royce, but the firm licenced the technology to the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing (AMRC), the lead research partner in RAPOLAC, to move SMD towards commercialisation.

Rosemary Gault, RAPOLAC’s project manager, said: “SMD was a very promising technology when it came to us, but companies weren’t interested because it was very labour intensive and we didn’t understand the material properties.

“Thanks to the funding from the EU Framework Programme and the hard work of all our partners, it’s now been fully modelled and automated. It’s ready to go into wider production, and we’re talking to a number of companies from aerospace and other sectors.”

Gustavo Escobar, of the AMRC, said: “We now understand how the key process factors affect the system’s outputs. We are able to predict part geometry and customise the microstructure of parts to achieve the required mechanical properties.

“Industries using SMD will benefit from a well-understood process where parts are produced right first time, to very high standards.”

Footprint Sheffield, the leading industrial partner in RAPOLAC, aims to adopt the technology in its own factory to help the company expand its markets and offer higher-value services.

RAPOLAC is a three-year research and development project aimed to demonstrate that the SMD process is a technically and commercially valid technique for producing large parts for aerospace and other industries.

The project is co-ordinated by the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing (AMRC).

There are a number of partners involved in the scheme from across Europe.