The InspecVison Planar 2D inspection machine allows manufacturers to verify product quality by quickly performing 2D inspection and CAD comparisons with minimal operator input.

The unit offers fully automated one-click inspection with 500mm to 3,000mm machine sizes. The machine is scratch resistant, features no moving parts, has simple calibration, and requires minimal maintenance and training.

Physical parts, paper, acetate, or electronic image files can be reverse engineered to create .dxf or .dwg CAD files. The software edits data adding standardized hole sizes and clean edges, eliminating hand measurement and CAD programming.

Reverse engineering in 3D uses optional Opti-Scan 3D non-contact white-light scanning. A light-emitting diode (LED) digital light processing (DLP) projector scans object surfaces, while the camera records the light patterns to create a high-resolution, 3D point cloud which can be used in 3D inspection or reverse engineering software.

SurfScan, a high-resolution projector that mounts onto the Planar vertical column, shines structured light on the part which the camera records to create a 3D scan of a part’s upper surface. The point clouds created can then be loaded into 3D inspection software for comparison against a 3D solid CAD model. SurfScan integrates with Planar 2D software to inspect the part’s 2D shape and 2.5D features with a single click.

Exact Metrology

MS geometry inserts

Expanding the Top Drill Modular X (TDMX) portfolio, three MS geometry inserts broaden the platform’s applications to include inclined entry and exit, stacked plates, and cross-hole drilling in stainless steel, super alloys, steel, and cast-iron.

The drill’s X-shaped pocket and tapered seat provide stability in challenging applications while making it easy to change the insert without disassembling the body from the holder. These key design features reduce unstable cutting conditions experienced with other drills, while enabling higher penetration rates and reducing overall machine setup times and costs.

All three inserts can be reground to extend tool life. TDMX is available in imperial and metric sizes in 1.5xD, 3xD, 5xD, 8xD, and 12xD, and diameter ranges of 16mm to 40mm.

Widia

Vibration control mill holders

An expanded lineup of Smart Damper- equipped, arbor-style face mill holders supports face mills with diameters of 3", 4", 80mm, or 100mm with an arbor pilot diameter of 1" or 27mm.

The Model SDF57 assembly has an outside diameter of 2.83" and allows users of 3" face mills to access up to 19.68" of reach using standard components.

Smart Damper enables quiet, vibration-free milling, even in long-projection assemblies. Its integral design shortens the distance from the damping mechanism to the cutting edge, producing higher damping effects to the tool assembly and minimizing vibration for better surface finishes and improved metal removal rates.

The Smart Damper face mill holder is available for BBT50, BCV50, and HSK-A100 shank styles.

BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc.

Newington, Connecticut-based aerospace mechanical systems provider PCX Aerosystems LLC has acquired Integral Aerospace from an affiliate of Admiralty Partners Inc. Integral, based in Santa Ana, California, specializes in metallic and composite manufacturing for military, commercial aerospace, and space launch applications.

PCX Aerosystems is owned by Greenbriar Equity Group L.P.

Hardinge acquires J.G. Weisser

Global precision, computer-controlled machine tool solutions company Hardinge Inc. is acquiring J.G. Weisser GmbH & Co. KG, a German manufacturer of high-precision, multifunction turning machines and automation solutions.

“This gives us great potential to immediately expand into additional markets,” says Weisser CEO Frank Hornberger.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based United Precision Services (UPS) has been named exclusive distributor of Romi USA’s line of heavy- duty C Series horizontal and VT Series vertical CNC lathes for the U.S. and Canada.

UPS sells turnkey machining solutions through 40 distribution partners and offers contracting machining services through its parent company, Magna Machine Co.

Romi USA GM Rafael Boldorini says, “UPS is much more than a distributor partner. They’re also a customer who uses our machines.”

Okuma America Corp. has promoted Mike Vassil to vice president of operations. Previously, he held the position of director of operations.

Methods Machine Tools Inc. recently hired Steve Nicponski as its senior director of channel sales. Nicponski has more than 30 years of machine tool and dealership network experience.

Starrag USA Inc. has named Carlos Castro head of Starrag Mexico. Castro, with more than 25 years in the industry, has experience in CNC programming, machining, setups, application engineering, cutting tools, sales, and managing direction.

Stefan Steenstrup will become president and CEO of Seco on Oct. 1, 2021, succeeding Fredrik Vejgården who is leaving Seco to start his own business. Steenstrup has been with Sandvik for more than 20 years, most recently serving as president of Dormer Pramet.

Having established its second additive manufacturing (AM) center in Camarillo, California, Burloak Technologies, a division of Samuel, Son, & Co., is positioned as North America’s first multi-site AM service provider, offering full design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) expertise at scale.

The 25,000ft² facility bolsters the manufacturing capacity available at the company’s 65,000ft² Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence, in Oakville, Ontario. Between the two facilities, complete AM capabilities and technologies include laser powder bed fusion, electron beam powder bed, metal binder jet and powder, and wire direct energy deposition (DED) technologies. Additional offerings include engineered plastic solutions for Peek, Ultem, Pctg, carbon fiber, and nylon-based materials using selective laser sintering (SLS) and high-speed extrusion technologies.

Burloak and Carpenter Technology have also formed an agreement for future product design and development opportunities, with Carpenter Technology being the preferred powdered metals supplier for certain DfAM projects led by Burloak.

Photo courtesy of Sintavia

Sintavia develops proprietary copper alloy technology

Sintavia has developed proprietary printing technology for GRCop-42, the preferred copper alloy used by NASA and private space flight companies for rocket thrust chamber assemblies. The technology, which combines proprietary parameter set and post-processing heat treatment, was developed on an EOS GmbH M400-4 printer, and results in GRCop-42 components with minimum density of 99.94%, minimum tensile strength of 28.3ksi, minimum ultimate yield strength of 52.7ksi, and minimum elongation of 32.4%. It avoids the use of a hot isostatic press in post-processing steps, reducing the time, complexity, and cost of production.

Pavlo Earle, Sintavia’s vice president of engineering says, “As a company, we are uniquely positioned to unlock the potential of printing difficult materials cost-effectively and with excellent mechanical properties. The fact that we were able to achieve these levels of performance on GRCop-42… further cements Sintavia’s role as the global leader in the application of AM within the aerospace, defense, and space industry.”

Earle adds that Sintavia is currently developing proprietary standards for other materials, including refractory alloys.

To support aerospace, defense, and other manufacturers in highly regulated industries, Markforged is offering Onyx FR-A and Carbon Fiber FR-A, aerospace-ready versions of its materials. The materials are undergoing a qualification program conducted on the X7 industrial 3D printer by the National Center for Advanced Materials Performance (NCAMP), part of the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University. Upon completion, Markforged is expected to have the first continuous fiber-reinforced additive manufacturing (AM) process qualified by NCAMP, one of two bodies authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to qualify materials for flight.

Since Markforged introduced continuous fiber reinforcement seven years ago, millions of parts have been printed using The Digital Forge. Markforged is now advancing its support of end-use parts for the aerospace market so manufacturers can take advantage of high-strength lightweight composites at lower fixed costs, shorter lead times, and reduced investment in labor compared to traditional processing.

Adobe Stock | Steve Mann

Texas A&M University researchers developed a computational study that validates using shape-memory alloys to reduce airplane noise during landing.

“When landing, aircraft engines are throttled way back, and so they’re very quiet. Any other source of noise, like that from the wings, becomes quite noticeable to the people on the ground,” says Dr. Darren Hartl, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. “We want to create structures that won’t change anything about the flight characteristics of the plane and yet dramatically reduce the noise problem.”

During takeoff, engines are the primary source of noise; when landing, airplane engines are mostly idling. The wings are reconfigured to slow the airplane and prepare for touchdown.

The front edge of the wing (the leading-edge slat) moves forward from the main structure, creating a gap where air rushes in, circulates violently, and produces noise. A filler that snaps out autonomously as the slat deploys would provide a smoother aerodynamic profile that reduces flow unsteadiness and resultant airframe noise.

Earlier work from Hartl’s collaborators at NASA showed that fillers used as a membrane in an elongated S-shape within the slat-wing space could circumvent the air circulation and lessen the jarring sound. However, the research lacked a systematic analysis of candidate materials that can spring back after landing.

Hartl’s researchers performed comprehensive simulations to investigate if a membrane made of a shape-memory alloy could assume the desired S-shaped geometry during descent and then recess into the front edge of the wing for landing. Their analysis considered geometry, elastic properties of the shape-memory alloy, and aerodynamic flow of air around the material during descent. As a comparison, researchers also modeled the motion of a membrane made of a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composite under the same airflow conditions.

Hartl’s team had to perform calculations hundreds to thousands of times before the motion of the materials was simulated correctly, proving that the shape-memory alloy and the composite could change their shape to reduce air circulation and thereby reduce noise. However, they also found the composite had a narrower range of designs that would cancel noise.

Hartl and his team plan to validate the results of their simulations with experiments.

“We might be able to create smaller structures that can reduce noise and don’t require the S-shape, which are actually quite large and potentially heavy,” Hartl says.

Texas A&M University College of Engineering

This research is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Royal Academy of Engineering [UK], and the NASA Langley Research Center.

Read the research paper in the Journal of Aircraft: https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/full/10.2514/1.C036070.