PyroGenesis in final stages of Boeing supplier qualification for coarse titanium powder
PyroGenesis Inc, Montreal, Canada, has announced that it has moved to the formal procurement process queue of Boeing’s approved supplier list, a final step of the multi-year product qualification process for the use of coarse Ti64 metal powder in Boeing components. The process is currently running to schedule and is expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2025, though normal delays may be incurred.
“PyroGenesis is proud to be in the final queue for achieving supplier status with Boeing, one of the largest, most notable, and most advanced companies in the world. The high standard of Ti64 metal powder produced for Boeing at PyroGenesis Additive is the result of years of design and engineering work that went into developing our NexGen plasma atomisation process,” said P Peter Pascali, president and CEO of PyroGenesis. “Befitting a corporation involved in the top-secret military, defence and aerospace projects, Boeing’s process is discreet, confidential and very methodical. Those unfamiliar with the aerospace industry may view this process as either too formidable or unexplainedly prolonged, but for mission-critical product manufacturers, this is quite normal, as we have often been advised of such by Boeing.
“What’s doubly exciting for PyroGenesis is that Boeing has shown itself again and again to be a true innovator in the Additive Manufacturing arena, having spent more than three decades using 3D printed parts, first with polymers, and then, over the past decade or so, utilising metal additive processes,” Pascali continued. “Boeing’s work with complex parts geometries, thin-walled structures, and other focus areas have often led the way in demonstrating how Additive Manufacturing can dramatically reduce the long lead times associated with complex-parts manufacturing, thereby overhauling the supply chain for parts, in the process – especially those that are forged. Boeing’s production of a 3D-printed main rotor link assembly for Apache helicopters, using the Rock Island Arsenal’s Jointless Hull Printer – the largest 3D metal printer in the world – is a perfect example. That single process reduced the lead time for this key part from one year to less than twenty-four hours, an incredible result and a true showcase for the future of Additive Manufacturing.
“Throughout this qualification process with Boeing, and ahead of the final supplier list notification, PyroGenesis has not been idle. We continue to improve the system in step with Boeing’s continued technological advancements. Separately, we have also been stockpiling the coarse-cut titanium powder to ensure project readiness upon being placed on the approved supplier list,” Pascali concluded.
PyroGenesis also noted that it has submitted its fine-cut titanium metal powder for qualification by Boeing; this process is ongoing.
