Collaboration
Partnering with AvioCast & Tongtai on Aerospace Parts
To enhance the value added of Taiwan’s aerospace industry, ITRI inked a cooperation agreement with aviation parts casting firm AvioCast Inc. and Tongtai Machine & Tool Co. Inc. on developing additive manufacturing (AM) processes and production models for lightweight aluminum alloy components. The agreement, signed by ITRI’s Material and Chemical Research Laboratories General Director Alex Y.M. Peng, AvioCast Chairman Tsuneo Honda, and Tongtai Deputy Manager Hsin-Pao Chen, is expected to assist the Taiwan supply chain in gaining a foothold in the AM aerospace parts market that stands at over NT$6.5 billion.
From left: Dr. Hsin-Pao Chen, Deputy Manager of Tongtai; Dr. Alex Y.M. Peng, General Director of ITRI’s Material and Chemical Research Laboratories; Tsuneo Honda, Chairman of AvioCast.
Dr. Peng explained that in this collaborative project ITRI will introduce AM processes to help local factories produce lighter aluminum alloy parts on their own, while reducing the weight of aerospace parts by at least 32%. AvioCast, he said, will be dedicated to material development of high strength aluminum alloy and the structure design of lighter aerospace parts. Tongtai, on the other hand, will focus on customized AM manufacturing of aerospace-grade aluminum powder and equipment development. Cooperation by the three parties, in his view, will break through bottlenecks currently facing Taiwan in the development of its aerospace industry. Dr. Peng further stressed that the establishment of the first aerospace parts AM supply chain in Taiwan will help it secure business opportunities in the increasingly competitive aerospace market.
Mr. Honda remarked that AvioCast has long devoted itself to precision casting of aerospace components. With the revolutionary changes brought about by AM, AvioCast hopes to apply this new technology into its manufacturing process, thus lightening the weight of aerospace parts. Together with ITRI’s longstanding capabilities in materials technology and Taiwan’s capacities in precision machinery, the cooperation will advance the development of AM aerospace parts.
Dr. Chen from Tongtai commented that the company has aggressively accumulated AM technology in recent years, and it has become involved in the biomedical and metal molds industries. This opportunity to work together with ITRI and AvioCast will help it branch into the aerospace field and develop AM equipment for aerospace component manufacturing on its own.