Carpenter Technology’s new Emerging Technology Center brings end-to-end AM under one roof
December 4, 2019
Carpenter Technology Corporation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, has officially opened its new Emerging Technology Center (ETC), in Athens, Alabama, USA. The 500,000 ft2 (46,451 m2) centre is said to offer true end-to-end Additive Manufacturing capabilities, having the facilities to atomise a range of speciality alloys into metal powder, additively manufacture the powder into parts, and finish those parts under one roof.
According to the company, the ETC’s post-processing equipment includes a state-of-the art quick cooling Hot Isostatic Press (HIP), as well as vacuum heat treating facilities, to optimise the material properties of high-value speciality alloy components. Parts manufactured at the ETC will be able to be qualified for use in a range of applications, from aerospace and transportation to oil and gas and energy.
Carpenter Technology stated that the ETC’s facilities have been designed to maintain full traceability and provide analytical insights throughout the manufacturing process via a digital thread, allowing the company to manage the entire manufacturing process under one roof with a streamlined workflow.
Carpenter has invested $40 million in the ETC to date and expects to invest a total of $52 million in the centre in total. The ETC is sited adjacent to Carpenter’s Athens manufacturing facility, which began operations in 2014 and produces speciality alloy products for the aerospace and energy markets.
“Our Emerging Technology Center is a critical component of Carpenter Technology’s future growth and development, and is aligned with our business strategy of evolving to an end-to-end solutions provider and influential leader in the AM area,” stated Tony Thene, Carpenter Technology Chief Executive Officer.
“We will also use it as a base to launch future investments as we expand our soft magnetics technology platform, scale up additional powder operations and demonstrate a number of next-generation materials we have under development today,” he concluded.
