Addition of Wear Material in Wear Groove of Atomizer Lid
RPM Solutions added a carbide wear material with the laser welding process owned
and operated by our sister company RPM and Associates. The lid in this wheel
design is a structural and a wear component. Thermal spray process would only
produce a mechanical bond with the base material which may crack or flake during
operation. The previous thermal spray coating can be seen toward the inside
diameter of the lid. Some of the thermal spray material is cracked and some has
flaked off. The remaining thermal sprayed material was left in place, and the
laser added material was applied right up to the existing thermal sprayed
material. The laser welding is a metallurgical bond with the base material which
made laser welding a perfect fit for this application. The dilution into the base
material is minor and distortion is very minimal.
Key Points of this project
- Previous wear material was applied via a spray process.
- Spray processes are mechanically bonded to the base material.
- Spray materials have a tendency to crack and flake during operation.
- Laser applied material is metallurgically bonded to the base material.
- Material dilution into the base material was consistent, controlled, and minimal.
- Laser applied material created minimal distortion to the component.
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Atomizer Lid
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Atomizer Lid
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Atomizer Lid
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Atomizer Drive Plate with Titanium Deposited Hubs
The material for an atomizer drive plate was created by implementing Laser
Freeform Manufacturing Technology (LFMT), a process performed by our sister
company RPM and Associates. The typical material to be purchased would be
a 13-1/4” diameter by 3-1/4” thick titanium plate. In this instance, a
13-1/4” diameter by 1-1/4” thick titanium plate and then hubs of the drive
plate were deposited to near-net-shape. The laser deposited material is
nearly 100% dense with mechanical properties comparable to wrought materials.
The savings was not only 43.5 lbs of wrought titanium, but the many hours of
additional machine time and the tooling required to remove the unutilized
titanium.
RPM Solutions utilizes other engineering techniques to manufacture other drive plates. These techniques
can be viewed in the Engineering section of this website.
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1/4'' thick plate with machined areas ready to accept laser welded hubs
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Key Points of this project
- Savings of 43.5 lbs of titanium.
- Savings of many hours of additional machine time.
- Savings of the potential tooling consumed.
- Hubs were laser deposited to near net shape.
- Laser deposited material nearly 100% dense.
- Laser deposited material mechanical properties comparable to wrought materials.
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Laser welded hubs on both sides
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Laser welded hub
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Final Machined Drive Plate - Top Side
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Final Machined Drive Plate - Bottom Side
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Close-up of Final Machined Hub - Top Side
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Close-up of Final Machined Hub - Bottom Side
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Repair of Titanium Forging
After the machining process of these titanium forging began, it
was apparent that there was not enough material to finish the
drive plate per print. Rather than discarding the forging and
the machine time already spent, RPM Solutions had a few ounces
of strategically laser welded titanium added to the forging to
achieve a properly tolerance part. RPM and Associates, our
sister company that owns and operates a couple of state-of-the-art
laser welding machines, utilized this technology to correct this
titanium forging. RPM and Associates has been laser welding
titanium for many years. Some of their customers include the
top aerospace companies in the world. This process has been
proven time and time again and has become a standard process
in the aerospace industry. It is critical that weld to be of
the highest quality, since the atomizer drive plate rotates
above 13,000 RPM.
Key Points of this project
- Savings of many pounds of a possible scrap titanium forging
- Savings of the energy utilized to create a replacement forging
- Savings of many hours of already spent machine time
- Required only a few ounces of laser added material
- Laser deposited material nearly 100% dense.
- Laser deposited is 100% metallurgical bonded.
- Laser deposited material mechanical properties comparable to wrought materials.
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Forging As Received
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Forging During Deposition
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Forging After Deposit
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Forging After Final Machining
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Repair of Titanium Atomizer Case
After thousands of hours of service, this atomizer case was
thought to be permanently retired from service. During operation
the atomizer case was subjected to some unusual wear. This wear
jeopardized the support for the o-ring. Those responsible did not
want the wear to progress any further in fear of failure during
operation. RPM and Associates, our sister company that owns and
operates a couple of state-of-the-art laser welding machines,
utilized this technology to fix this titanium atomizer case. The
atomizer case was laser repaired, machined, returned to service,
and continues to operate to this date.
Key Points of this project
- Prevention of scrapping atomizer case.
- Cost of repairs were minimal compared to cost of new titanium atomizer case.
- Required only a few grams of laser added material.
- Laser deposited material nearly 100% dense.
- Laser deposited is 100% metallurgical bonded.
- Laser process created unnoticed distortion to titanium atomizer case.
- Laser deposited material mechanical properties comparable to wrought materials.
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Case After Deposit
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Case After Final Machining
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Contact Us about the details of your project.