PLATTSBURGH — Norsk Titanium, one of the area’s leading manufacturing outfits, was on the receiving end of some good news in the early stages of the new year.
Norsk learned that its proprietary RPD technology for the production of aircraft parts has been qualified by Airbus, the world’s third largest aircraft producer, for the production of parts for their planes.
‘AEROSPACE IS BACK’
The qualification is expected to lead to many opportunities for Norsk at their Plattsburgh plant, which excites local officials.
“The process of qualification and testing with each aerospace producer is long and rigorous, but Norsk components made in Plattsburgh were already on Boeing aircraft and will now start to be on Airbus aircraft,” North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas said.
“The global pandemic had a major impact for a few years on aerospace, stalling contracts and production, but aerospace is back and Norsk has now secured one of its major targets. We congratulate Norsk on this major milestone in the adoption of its unique 3D technology and we thank Airbus for this new global link with the North Country. Onward and upward.”
RPD TECHNOLOGY
Norsk Titanium describes itself as a global leader in metal 3D printing. With its proprietary Rapid Plasma Deposition® (RPD®) technology and 700 MT of production capacity, Norsk offers cost-efficient 3D printing of value-added metal parts to a large addressable market.
RPD® technology uses significantly less raw material, energy, and time than traditional energy-intensive forming methods, presenting customers with an opportunity to better manage input costs, logistics, and environmental impact, the company said.
RPD® printed parts are already flying on commercial aircraft, and Norsk Titanium has gained significant traction with large defense and industrial customers.
The company, which is located in the Town of Plattsburgh at the former Clinton County Airport site off Route 3, unveiled news of the qualification and initial production for Airbus in a release Thursday.
Within a multi-year collaboration with Airbus, Norsk Titanium successfully qualified its Merke IV® machine and the Rapid Plasma Deposition® (RPD®) process for Airbus production, the company said.
Premium Aerotec in Varel Germany, an Airbus subsidiary, has placed an order for an initial structural part, and Norsk Titanium is currently completing delivery of the first order.
The first additively manufactured preforms delivered by Norsk have been machined, qualified and installed into an A350 assembly.
MORE DEVELOPMENTS
In other good news, Norsk said it is expanding its rapid part development and qualification capabilities to shorten the lead-time and meet accelerated customer part verification needs.
The new capabilities include heat treatment, ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT), finish machining operations, and coordinate measuring (CMM), and will allow for Norsk Titanium to perform all tasks needed to design, develop, and qualify parts without adding any lead time required by the supply chain, the company said.
The additional capital investments have been made as part of Norsk Titanium’s continued cooperation with the state of New York, the release said.
“With our RPD Builder™ rapid part design tool and these new capabilities, we can now take a customer’s final part geometry, design the RPD® preform, and validate the design all at our Plattsburgh, New York facility,” Steve Eaton, Norsk Titanium VP of Operations, said.
“We will be able to verify parts in accordance our customers’ aerospace material specifications in as little as six weeks.”
The expanded capabilities will also allow Norsk Titanium to deliver limited production rapid prototypes to customer who have urgent needs, the company said.
Rapid part development and prototyping are critical capabilities needed to meet Norsk Titanium’s objective of developing a ‘part-in-a-day’ operation and transitioning the number of parts needed to meet the company’s long-term goals.