A partnership between Morgan Advanced Materials’ Certech business and a manufacturer of turbine blades has entered its third decade.
Based in Leeds, UK, AETC Ltd, part of PCC Airfoils LLC, manufactures a variety of blades for the aerospace and industrial gas turbine sectors.
The need for precision in the blade manufacturing process is key given the high costs of the nickel- and titanium-based alloys used, the costs of reworking, and the cost of a lost component if the stringent tolerances demanded in these sectors are not met.
This means that accurate and consistent manufacture of the ceramic cores, made by Certech, is important.
New programs
In the last two years as AETC has created than nine new blade programs, each requiring the design and manufacture of cores in Morgan’s proprietary K120 ceramic material.
K120 directionally solidified single crystal material has improved high-temperature stability, making it suitable for use with alloys requiring high-temperature pre-heats.
‘Over the years we have worked with a number of core suppliers but in recent years have made Morgan one of our key business partners,’ said Brenda Nichols, group purchasing manager at AETC Ltd.
