Aerospace

When Performance Can't Be Compromised

Without question, high performance equipment is a necessity in the aerospace industry. Components need to be able to withstand friction, high temperatures and corrosive environments while continuing to operate at optimum levels. SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts works closely with customers to offer practical, cost-effective options for the surface enhancement of these components. The technologies offered are utilized on OEM components to enhance performance and on MRO components in need of refurbishment.

Some of the surface enhancement coatings utilized on aerospace components include nickel for pre-braze operations, wear resistance, dimensional restoration and corrosion protection. Cadmium coatings for corrosion protection are available as LHE® (Low Hydrogen Embrittlement) formulations that do not require post-baking. Zinc-Nickel and other alloys are available as alternatives to cadmium coatings. In addition, various anodized coatings are offered including Types I, II and III. These coatings are used to process components of engines, actuators, landing gear and airframes, increasing their ability to perform and extending overall in-service life.

Process Capabilities

Process approvals

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Aerospace - Typical Applications

• Corrosion Protection - On-site touch up coatings for corrosion protection with LHE® and No Bake®  Cadmium and Zinc-Nickel LHE™ (low hydrogen embrittlement) allow repairs to be made in place,and with minimum to no disassembly required.
• Pre-Braze - turbine blades, turbine vanes, turbine stators and frames are nickel plated to ensure proper wetting of the surfaces to be brazed. Compared to other methods of applying the intermediate nickel layer, selective brush plating, is faster, more consistent, and more cost effective.
• Surface enhancement - OEM applications use nickel or a nickel alloy to improve hardness and wear resistance of the component.
• Application of sulfamate nickel plating on selected bores of landing gear. Using either encapsulated brush or CVGP™ plating technologies, the speed of setup and application provides significant cost and process control benefits versus tank and other "out-of-tank" methods.
• Refurbishment - MRO applications use nickel or sulfamate nickel for dimensional restoration of an inside or outside diameter on the component.
• Anodizing - Repair applications replace worn or damaged hardcoat with a new, anodized hardcoat coating.

Repair Applications - Aerospace Since 1982, SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts has provided the Aircraft/Aerospace Industry with AeroNikl sulfamate nickel deposits for both salvage and OEM applications. The AeroNikl solutions provide fast plating rates, minimize masking, minimize the need for post-plating machining and lessen the environmental concerns by using small solution volumes. The solutions provide defect-free, adherent, high quality nickel deposits in three hardness levels (250, 400, and 575 Hv). Prebraze TURBINE STATOR: Inner and outer stator and seal diameters are plated with 5µm to 20µm (0.0002 in. to 0.0008 in.) thickness of AeroNikl 250 Code 7280 for prebraze at the repair facility. The ability to selectively apply the prebraze deposit in house, without the need for immersion tanks saves time and money as well as minimizes any potential environmental issues associated with large tank plating operations. TURBINE FRAMES: These components are plated with 5µm to 15µm (0.0002 in. to 0.0006 in.) thickness of AeroNikl 250 Code 7280 for prebraze on a contract basis by SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts for over 5 years, providing a quick turn around time for the customer. These parts were originally tank plated and required an extensive and time consuming masking operation. The use of selective plating on these parts has eliminated the need for complicated masking and significantly reduced the turn around time for each part. TURBINE BLADES: Over the last 5 years, SIFCO's Contract Service Department has processed well over 11,000 OEM second stage blades, which previously were tank plated. The switch to selective plating for this prebraze application provided considerable savings to the customer and a much faster turn around time.

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Other Applications

• COMPRESSOR SPACERS AND TORQUE CONE FLANGES: Repair of worn bolt holes with a nickel Code 2088 buildup of 125µm (0.005 in.). This material was selected because it approximates the hardness of the substrate material.
• LANDING GEAR: Touch-up with Cadmium LHE® and Cadmium No Bake®  for corrosion protection allows repairs to be made on-site, saving disassembly cost.
• MAIN LANDING GEAR OUTER CYLINDER: CVGP (Controlled Velocity Gap Plating) has allowed orifice tube boss ID's to be repaired with thicknesses ranging from 250µm to 750µm (0.010 to 0.030 in.), with a tolerance range of 50µm (0.002 in.). Deposits of 750µm (0.030 in.) can be applied in approximately two hours. Tank plating, for the same repair, requires the part to be immersed for extended periods (24 to 72 hours is common) for the required deposit thickness. Machining is then required because of the excessive edge buildup. This immersion requires very time consuming, and careful masking.

Plating On Titanium

The SIFCO Process® enables you to selectively, brush plate adherent deposits onto Ti 6-4 and Ti 6-6-2 to improve the surface properties of localized areas on components for either OEM or repair applications. The technology optimizes the adhesion of the deposit to titanium alloys by effective removal of titanium's passive oxide and micro-roughening to increase surface area.

This micrograph shows a Ti 6-4 Grade 5 base plated with 0.0014" of nickel, followed by 0.014" of copper that is capped with 0.0023" of nickel. Brush plated deposits consistently meet the adhesion requirements of AMS 2451 and ASTM B 571 (bend test method), with no hydrogen embrittlement per GM 3661P. Additionally, brush plated deposits exhibit adhesion in excess of 6000 psi in tensile pull tests.

With an adherent base layer of nickel, specific deposits to meet your engineering requirements can be selectively plated to a precise thickness.

With an adherent base layer of nickel, many additional deposits can be selectively plated to a precise thickness for:

Preparation for Brazing Improved Wear Resistance Improved Corrosion Protection Better Lubricity

Increased Hardness Increased Conductivity Resizing & Repair

These additional deposits can range from soft and hard nickels, to coppers, tin, and zinc, to silver, gold, and platinum.

Cobalt Chromium Carbide Metal Matrix Deposit SIFCO Process®Co-Cr3C2 Machinable Superior Wear Resistance High Temperature Oxidation Protection Ductile, Dense, Non-Porous Deposit Heat Treatment Improves Deposit Performance

SIFCO’s Co-Cr3C2 Deposit can be applied in thicknesses up to 7mils on to most common base materials, including Ti 6-4 and 6-2-2, with excellent adhesion.

For more information, please call Technical Support at 216-524-0099.

Dalic®   Selectron®   SIFCO Process®

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