After extensive construction work, a new low-pressure casting plant from Fill has been in operation at the Access TechCenter since February 2022.
With the new low-pressure casting plant, Access is expanding its portfolio of alloys that can be processed.
Low-pressure casting for aluminium alloy A205?
The basis for the acquisition of the low-pressure casting system from the Upper Austrian machine manufacturer FILL was an enquiry from an aerospace OEM. This led to a cooperation with the aerospace supplier Howmet Tital, the machine builder FILL and the research institute Access.
The starting point was the question of whether a new compressor housing for the low-pressure range of an engine could be manufactured from the innovative material A205.
Currently, a casting process for compressor rings IMC made of the highly viscous but highly temperature-resistant aluminium alloy A205 is being developed at the plant together with the project partner Howmet Tital. If the parts produced in this way are used in aircraft engines, a weight saving of about 40% compared to conventional titanium components can be expected, which will enable a significant increase in efficiency.
In addition to the expansion of the material spectrum, the plant also offers the possibility of significantly increasing the geometry spectrum. In future, the new low-pressure casting plant will be able to produce castings with diameters of up to 1000 mm.
For the development of the production process, Tital and Access jointly applied for a research project in the aeronautical research program LuFo. The content of this project included the construction of a prototype plant at the Access TechCenter. The requirements for the plant - including low-pressure casting in ceramic moulded shells were defined in close cooperation between the project partners. Based on the defined requirements, Fill was selected as the supplier and the process concept was developed in detail.
In the further course of the project, it is planned to enable Howmet Tital to offer the OEM the compressor housing made of the material A205 by around mid-2023.
If you have any questions about the plant and possible areas of application, Access in Aachen would be pleased to hear from you.
About Access:
Access e.V. is a non-profit independent research institute with locations in Aachen and Cottbus. At the Access TechCenter, casting technology manufacturing routes and materials are developed and qualified for a wide range of industrial applications in accordance with aerospace standard EN 9100. Certification and digitalisation of the processes form the basis of the industry-oriented development.
Head of the TechCenter is Dr. Matthias Bünckm.buenck(at)access-technology.de
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