Launchpad, July - August 2006
For a full list of proposed, active and closed projects see here
High productivity arc and laser welding of titanium and titanium alloys
To be launched: September 2006
Cost per Sponsor: £15,000 pa, two payments
Project Leader: Richard Jones
Recent advances in welding processes and equipment offer potential productivity advantages for the welding of titanium and titanium alloys in the oil/gas, aerospace and defence industries. These include:
- Advanced TIG and plasma welding
- Pulsed MIG welding with novel filler wire
- High power laser and hybrid laser/arc welding
The objective of the proposed programme of work is to demonstrate the high productivity benefits achievable with the advanced arc and laser processes, whilst maintaining high weld quality levels. It will also establish practical guidelines to facilitate the industrial implementation of these processes for a range of applications.
Evaluation of laser cutting for fabricated components in titanium alloys
To be launched: September 2006
Cost per Sponsor: £15,000, one payment
Project Leader: Eliana Fu
Titanium alloys are being used more frequently to produce high quality, structural components where corrosion resistance and lightweighting is also required. Currently the use of thermal cutting processes for titanium alloys is not widespread due to concerns regarding degradation of the cut edges and cold cutting processes such as abrasive water jet or machining are mostly used. If the process can be successfully demonstrated, laser cutting can offer significant advantages over other cutting processes in terms of flexibility, accuracy and productivity.
The cost benefits of laser cutting can result in savings of more than £20 (~$34) per metre for a typical titanium alloy plate 10mm thickness compared to abrasive water jet cutting.
