Heat Treatment & Metal Joining

Heat treatment

Bodycote is the market leader in the vacuum heat treatment of aerospace components such as precision cast turbine blades, with experience in every generation of material including the latest single crystal alloys.

Investment in the latest technology furnaces and control systems has ensured that Bodycote is able to meet the requirement for ever tighter control of temperature uniformity and provide critical heating and cooling rates necessary for optimum blade performance. Validated furnaces are situated at key locations, together with trained personnel, to meet the industry’s need for this specialised heat treatment support.

Controlled atmosphere heat treatment, case hardening or through hardening and tempering of components such as flap tracks, landing gear parts, flight control items and similar airframe and structural components, represent a significant proportion of the heat treatments carried out by Bodycote for aerospace manufacturers. The nitriding of critical engine components, such as engine bolts and gears, is a long established Bodycote speciality, having developed computerised process controls and cycles to suit specific aerospace steels and components.

Metal joining

Bodycote has extensive expertise in the field of critical metal joining techniques for aerospace applications, including vacuum brazing, honeycomb brazing and electron beam welding.

Electron beam welding (EBW) is a cost-effective means of producing complex aerospace engine components with varying section thickness which require ultimate joint strength and integrity. The precision and cleanliness with which joints can be produced enables EBW to be used for items such as engine flame tubes without adversely affecting prior heat treatment or fine details such as air-cooling holes.

Honeycomb brazing is used to join critical honeycomb seals in jet engines, which are essential to the efficiency of gas flow through the engine. Bodycote’s skilled workforce has many years of experience in the complex process of honeycomb brazing.