Investment to Capture Growing Demand for
Complex, High-Performance Parts for Aerospace and Beyond
- $60 million expansion to include
state-of-the-art additive manufacturing center focused on feedstock
materials, processes, product design and qualification
- Investment advances development of
proprietary metal powders engineered specifically for 3D
printing
- Company unveils Ampliforge™ process, an
Alcoa-invented technique combining additive and traditional
manufacturing for enhanced properties
- Builds on over 100 years of metal
powder production history and 20 years of additive manufacturing
expertise with capabilities in California, Georgia, Michigan,
Pennsylvania and Texas
Lightweight metals leader Alcoa (NYSE:AA) is expanding its
R&D center in Pennsylvania to accelerate the development of
advanced 3D-printing materials and processes. Alcoa will produce
materials designed specifically for a range of additive
technologies to meet increasing demand for complex,
high-performance 3D-printed parts for aerospace and other
high-growth markets such as automotive, medical and building and
construction. The $60 million expansion is under construction at
the Alcoa Technical Center, the world’s largest light metals
research center near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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“Alcoa is investing in the next generation of 3D printing for
aerospace and beyond,” said Alcoa Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Klaus Kleinfeld. “Combining our expertise in metal alloys,
manufacturing, design and product qualification, we will push
beyond the limits of today’s additive manufacturing. This
investment strengthens our leadership position in meeting
fast-growing demand for aerospace components made using additive
technologies.”
Demonstrating this integrated strategy, the Company today
unveiled its Ampliforge™ process, a technique combining
advanced materials, designs and additive and traditional
manufacturing processes. Using the Ampliforge™ process, Alcoa
designs and 3D-prints a near complete part, then treats it using a
traditional manufacturing process, such as forging. The Company has
shown that the process can enhance the properties of 3D-printed
parts, such as increasing toughness and strength, versus parts made
solely by additive manufacturing. Further, the Ampliforge™ process
significantly reduces material input and simplifies production
relative to traditional forging processes. Alcoa is piloting the
technique in Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
The Company’s comprehensive approach to advancing additive
manufacturing includes:
- Materials Leadership: Alcoa’s
material scientists will produce proprietary aluminum, titanium and
nickel powders designed specifically for 3D-printing. These powders
will be tailored for various additive manufacturing processes to
produce higher strength 3D-printed parts, and meet other quality
and performance requirements. Alcoa has a long history in metal
alloy and powder development, having invented over 90 percent of
the aluminum alloys used in aerospace today and with a 100-year
history in aluminum metal powder development for rocket fuel, paint
and other products.
- Combination of Process and
Design: Alcoa will further its development of advanced
3D-printing design and manufacturing techniques—such as Alcoa’s
Ampliforge™ process—to improve production speeds, reduce costs, and
achieve geometries not possible through traditional methods. Direct
production of 3D-printed metal parts represents a new way to
manufacture aerospace components and requires a new suite of
innovative design tools to realize its full potential. By
connecting our materials scientists with our manufacturing experts,
we enable a rapid development feedback loop to inform new software
tools and processes that take full advantage of additive
capabilities.
- Qualification Expertise: With
the industry’s longest-running history of certifying aerospace
components and qualifying processes, Alcoa will use its testing and
process control expertise to overcome challenges with certifying
new 3D-printed parts, starting with aerospace applications.
This expansion of the Alcoa Technical Center builds on Alcoa’s
additive manufacturing capabilities in California, Georgia,
Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas. The Company has been creating
3D-printed tools, molds and prototypes for the past 20 years and
owns and operates one of the world’s largest HIP (Hot
Isostatic Pressing) complexes in aerospace, a technology that
strengthens the metallic structures of traditional and additive
manufactured parts made of titanium and nickel based super-alloys.
Through the recent RTI acquisition, Alcoa gained 3D printing
capabilities in titanium, other specialty metals and plastics for
the aerospace, oil and gas and medical markets. This expansion
positions Alcoa to industrialize its advanced 3D printing
capabilities across these and other manufacturing facilities.
Construction of the new facility is expected to be completed in
the first quarter of 2016. The project will create more than 100
full-time positions—including materials specialists, design
experts, and process and inspection technologists—by 2017 and
approximately 45 temporary jobs during construction.
The Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic
Development, Westmoreland County, Upper Burrell Township and
Burrell School District have agreed to support the project through
a mixture of financial support and tax abatements, resulting in an
estimated cost savings of up to $10 million.
About Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing refers to the production of
three-dimensional products by depositing one layer of material—such
as metals and plastics—on top of another layer, based on a digital
model. The process can help increase productivity, help customers
bring products to market faster and enable the creation of complex
designs not possible using traditional materials and processes.
About Alcoa
A global leader in lightweight metals technology, engineering
and manufacturing, Alcoa innovates multi-material solutions that
advance our world. Our technologies enhance transportation, from
automotive and commercial transport to air and space travel, and
improve industrial and consumer electronics products. We enable
smart buildings, sustainable food and beverage packaging,
high-performance defense vehicles across air, land and sea, deeper
oil and gas drilling and more efficient power generation. We
pioneered the aluminum industry over 125 years ago, and today, our
more than 60,000 people in 30 countries deliver value-add products
made of titanium, nickel and aluminum, and produce
best-in-class bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum products. For
more information, visit www.alcoa.com, follow @Alcoa on
Twitter atwww.twitter.com/Alcoa and follow us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/Alcoa.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains statements that relate to future events
and expectations and, as such, constitute “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include those
containing such words as “accelerates,” “anticipates,” “estimates,”
“expects,” “positions,” “projects,” “should,” “will,” or other
words of similar meaning. All statements that reflect Alcoa’s
strategies, outlook, expectations, assumptions, or projections
about the future other than statements of historical fact are
forward-looking statements, including, without limitation,
statements regarding the expected benefits and results of expanding
Alcoa’s research and development (R&D) center in Pennsylvania
and its development of advanced 3D-printing materials and
processes; forecasts regarding demand growth for complex,
high-performance parts for aerospace and other markets and Alcoa’s
ability to capture such demand; and the expected timing for
completion of construction of the expanded R&D facility in
Pennsylvania and expected employment levels. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject
to risks, uncertainties, and changes in circumstances that are
difficult to predict. Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements include: (a) unfavorable changes in
general economic conditions or in the markets served by Alcoa,
including aerospace, automotive, building and construction, and
other markets; (b) Alcoa’s inability to successfully implement, or
to realize expected benefits from, new technologies, investments,
capacity expansions, or advanced manufacturing processes,
including, without limitation, the expanded R&D facility in
Pennsylvania, Alcoa’s proprietary metal powders, Alcoa’s new
Ampliforge™ process for combining advanced materials, designs and
additive and traditional manufacturing processes, Alcoa’s Hot
Isostatic Pressing technology, and other innovative products and
techniques; (c) the impact of competitive developments, changes in
the regulatory environment, or trends in the metals engineering,
technology, and manufacturing sectors; (d) failure of Alcoa’s
additive manufacturing processes to meet customer specifications,
product qualification tests, strength or fatigue resistance
expectations, or other quality, design, cost, safety, or
performance requirements; (e) Alcoa’s inability to realize expected
benefits, as planned and by targeted completion dates, from the RTI
acquisition; and (f) the other risk factors discussed in Alcoa’s
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, and other reports
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Alcoa disclaims
any intention or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking
statements, whether in response to new information, future events
or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150903005730/en/
AlcoaInvestor ContactNahla Azmy,
212-836-2674Nahla.Azmy@alcoa.comorMedia ContactChrista Bowers,
212-836-2605Christa.Bowers@alcoa.com
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