Tokyo, Japan – Kobe Steel Ltd. has begun supplying titanium alloy forged material for shafts to IHI Corp. certified for use in a large commercial jet engine manufactured by General Electric (GE). IHI is one of the joint development partners of the engine.
Rotating parts such as shafts and disks made of titanium alloy forged material must be of extremely high quality. These are some of the largest components used in aircraft jet engines. Kobe Steel launched development of the forged material three years ago, and has recently received certification from IHI. Kobe Steel has begun mass-producing and supplying the titanium alloy forged material for shafts.
Kobe Steel oversees process design of the forged material for shafts, and its group company, Japan Aeroforge Ltd. (or JForge) does the forging. Kobe Steel is responsible for the other processes as well and quality assurance.
JForge is a joint venture of Kobe Steel, Hitachi Metals, and several other companies established in January 2011. Equipped with a 50,000 metric ton hydraulic forging press, one of the largest in the world, JForge manufactures large forged material used in aircraft, where demand is anticipated to increase worldwide. Kobe steel and JForge will expand the titanium business for aircraft jet engines following the supply order from IHI. Demand is also anticipated to expand in related industries.
Source: Kobe Steel Ltd.