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steel, stainless steel, titanium and aluminium. - In aerospace the technology gets used on components of engine, undercarriage, body and wings. Further applications are in medical, F1 (engine, gear box, main drive), steam turbine blades, large gears for marine and wind mill usage, off shore oil exploration. The technology gets used for civil applications as well as military applications.
Enhancement to the life of components with complex geometries and welds has also been demonstrated. The processing capability is being extended with the introduction of a transportable laser peening system and a system with a moveable beam that can treat very large or heavy components.
Controlled Shot Peening has been used by many industries to prevent premature failure and by some as a design tool to enable higher load carrying capacity. However, the process has not been utilized as effectively as it could because of the concern at reproducibility on a repetitive basis. The introduction of Laser Peening answers those concerns. In the past two years Laser Peening has been in production in the UK and USA and to date over 25.000 fan blades have been processed and the technique of Laser Peening established as a reliable, production proven process offering quality control of the end product, the residual compressive stress, to a level unknown previously. Laser Peening offers all markets, substantial benefits both technically and commercially. Presently we are working on residual stress solutions to “engineer” a specific residual stress profile to suit desired performance. Laser Peening has the capability of tailoring the stress profile with compressive residual stresses up to 10 mm deep, with virtually no roughening and little cold work. Designers are asking for a residual stress profile through the product and we are able to adjust depth, magnitude and slope as required.
Contact
www.metalimprovement.com
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