EuroWire November 2022

Technology News

Targeting new additive manufacturing opportunities at airshow

AWI promoted its wire for WAAM at Farnborough

aircraft structures, in instrumentation and high-performance engines. The company’s wire and straight bars, which are produced at its factory in the UK’sWest Midlands, aremade into springs, fire detection wire, fasteners and electrical instruments, and are all manufactured to work at high temperatures and/or in corrosive gases or liquids. Visitors to the airshow had the oppor- tunity to talk with AWI’s R&D and sales personnel to discuss new projects, prototype work and supply chain agility, with orders able to be made in coils, spools or straight bars within a range of 0.025 to 21mm (0.001" to 0.827"). Delegates were also able to explore the recent introduction of Inconel 617®, a nickel-chromium-cobalt-molybdenum alloy with an addition of aluminium. AWI sales executive Paul Chatterley said, “This is our latest addition to a 60+ range of alloys and delivers a combination of increased strength and stability at elevated temperatures (up to 1,100°C/2,012°F), whilst retaining the high temperature resistance of Inconel alloy 601.” Inconel 617’s high nickel and chromium content makes it resistant to a variety of both reducing and oxidising media, as well as achieving comparable corrosion resistance to Inconel 625. AlloyWire International www.alloywire.com

A UK manufacturer of round, flat and profile wire headed to Farnborough International Airshow in July with a new offer for component makers. Alloy Wire International (AWI), which has been AS9100-accredited since 2013, is now selling its exotic nickel alloy wire to the 3D printing industry, as more suppliers recognise the demand for cost effective rapid production of parts. The company can manufacture its wire for wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), a process that produces near net shape components that require less machining, wasting less material than conventional methods. It can also provide quicker lead times than conventional forging or casting without the need for complex tooling, moulds or dies. Angus Hogarth, R&D director at AWI, commented, “It’s all about finding that manufacturing difference and additive manufacturing is a discipline the aero- space manufacturers are increasingly investing in. We were confident we could play a role in 3Dprinting and, after months of R&D and technical reviews, we see our business as being a strong supplier of exotic nickel alloy wire to the growing additive manufacturing sector.” Alloy Wire International tends to be a fourth-tier supplier to the aerospace market, with its material manufactured into components that are integral to

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November 2022