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COMPANIES TO WATCH
INNOVATIONS
IN MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
IN MATERIALS AND PROCESSES
AM&P asked companies involved with materials and processes to submit their innovations
to a competition we call Companies to Watch in Materials Science and Engineering.
The companies in this article have been selected as exceptional contributors to innovation in
the materials industry. Congratulations to these outstanding innovators!
ATI Allvac stable, with a much slower growth rate at elevated
Allvac 718Plus is a new precipitation-hardened temperatures.
nickel-base superalloy that is capable of main- For more information: Howard Freese, ATI
taining excellent strength and stress-rupture prop- Allvac, 2020 Ashcraft Avenue, Monroe, NC 28110;
erties to 704ºC (1300ºF). The alloy is designed to tel: 704/289-4511; howard.freese@allvac.com;
have the temperature capability and thermal sta- www.allvac.com.
bility of Waspaloy, while retaining the processing
characteristics of standard alloy 718. Carpenter Technology Corporation
In addition, 718Plus has a cost advantage over The AerMet ultrahigh-strength alloys, including
Waspaloy because of lower intrinsic raw material AerMet 100 and the more recently introduced
costs, as well as improved hot workability and AerMet 310 and AerMet 340, have been devel-
weldability that leads to better material yields oped to meet the demanding service requirements
in finished parts. These characteristics make it that designers of high-performance components
ideal for both rotating and non-rotating compo- require for aerospace
nents in next-generation turbine engines, or for structural applications. As
replacing incumbent alloys such as Waspaloy and a family, these alloys offer
René 41 in legacy engines. a unique combination of
The primary strengthening phase is gamma- high strength, excellent
prime, with a volume fraction ranging from 19.7 ductility, high fracture
to 23.2 %, depending on the quantity of delta toughness, and resistance
phase. Studies of the gamma-prime to corrosion, pro-
phase in 718Plus show it to be high in viding a range of
niobium and aluminum, which is
very different from the gamma-
prime present in Waspaloy and
René 41. In fact, this may ac-
count for its unique precip-
itation behavior and
strengthening effects.
Alloy 718Plus also con-
tains the delta phase,
which is beneficial for
conferring stress-rupture Carpenter
notch ductility and con- Technology’s
trolling microstructure ultrahigh-
during thermomechanical strength
processing. However, the Aermet
volume fraction of the delta alloys are
phase is considerably less than is available in a
range of sizes
found in alloy 718, and tends to be more and forms.
Allvac 718Plus is being considered for applications in both new and legacy engines, in-
cluding advanced engines such as the General Electric Aircraft Engines GEnX shown here.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007 25
strength from 235 ksi to 275 ksi, and fracture User-friendly, the
toughness of 60 ksi in. to 100 ksi in. InductoScan is easily pro-
Another alloy, Custom 465 stainless, possesses grammed through the
a superior combination of strength, toughness, PC operator inter-
corrosion resistance, and strength-to-weight ratio face providing max-
compared with other high-strength stainless imum flexibility and
steels. easy use through
Carpenter Ferrium S53 is an ultrahigh-strength, simple parameter
corrosion-resistant stainless steel developed for entry. Components
U.S. Air Force aircraft landing gear. This alloy is and designs are field
produced and marketed by Carpenter, under li- proven with more
cense from QuesTek Innovations LLC. than 40 years of expe-
For information: Lisa MacGregor, Carpenter rience behind each
Technology Corp., 101 West Bern Street, Reading, machine. All equip-
PA 19601; tel: 610/208-3479; e-mail: lmacgregor@ ment and tooling are backed
cartech.com; www.cartech.com. by the world’s largest designer and manufacturer
of induction heating equipment.
Hysitron Inc. Mechanical modules provide various process
In the last year, Hysitron has released two in-situ solutions; scan, lift/rotate, pick & place, linear
nanoindentation tools, the TEM PicoIndenter and transfer, and rotary index. Flexible design also al-
nanoECR. The TEM PicoIndenter is the first in- lows for a wide range of power supplies and con-
strument to enable real-time, direct-observation trols to be changed or upgraded to meet future
(or in-situ) depth-sensing in- needs. Removable tank cover enables full access
dentation inside a transmis- to all mechanical components for ease of mainte-
sion electron microscope. nance or changeover.
Depth-sensing indentation InductoScan is a self-contained system on a
(often called nanoindenta- common base to support standalone work cell re-
tion) involves continuously quirements. User friendly PC/PLC based controls
acquiring direct measures of simplify setup, changeover, diagnostics, and
the depth of penetration as process monitoring. It includes a quench recircu-
a function of applied contact lating system with plate and frame heat ex-
load while indenting a changer, and a water cooling recirculating system
sample, usually with a sharp diamond indenter. for inverter and coils.
With this coupling of high-resolution techniques, For more information: Lauren Trimble, Induc-
the load-depth (or force-displacement) curve can toheat Inc., 10 Indel Ave., Rancocas, NJ 08073-0157;
be time correlated to the TEM movie. For example, tel; 609/267-9000; www.inductoheat.com.
it could show the indentation-induced microstruc-
ture evolution of the sample. JEOL USA
Hysitron’s nanoECR system is a multifunctional JEOL electron microscopes deliver extremely
instrument capable of simultaneously measuring high resolution for nanotechnology research and
nanomechanical and electrical material proper- unprecedented quality for imaging fine surface de-
ties from nanoscale contacts. NanoECR combines tails, analyzing biological and fabricated samples
nanoindenter hardware with a conductive in- at the atomic level, and seeing microscopic details
denter probe and a voltage/current source to as they really are, magnified hundreds of thou-
achieve a time-based correlation of force, displace- sands of times. Easy to use, flexible for a variety of
ment, voltage, and current. Both the TEM Pico-
Indenter and nanoECR are revolutionary instru-
ments that provide the ability to obtain an in-situ
correlation of the mechanical properties, material
deformation behavior, and electrical characteris-
tics that are important in areas ranging from fun-
damental material and device understanding to
product performance and reliability.
For more information: Dr. Ryan Major, Sr. R&D
Staff Scientist, Hysitron Inc., 10025 Valley View
Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55344; tel: 952/835-6366;
fax: 952/835-6166; rmajor@hysitron.com; www.
hysitron.com.
Inductoheat Inc.
Inductoheat Inc. has developed the Inducto-
Scan, a high-performance induction heat-treating
system for mid-to-high volume and/or multi-shift
operations. Multiple scan-tower modules are The JEOL transmission electron microscope helps re-
available to accommodate a wide variety of parts. searchers develop improved materials.
26 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007
applications, and backed by award-winning sup-
port, JEOL electron microscopes play an influen-
tial role in the development of new products and
materials, analysis for quality control and forensic
investigations, and materials characterization.
For the crystallographer, metallurgist, or semi-
conductor research scientist, current high
voltage/high resolution TEMs, utilizing 200 keV
to 1 MeV, have permitted the routine imaging of
atoms, allowing materials researchers to monitor
and design materials with custom-tailored prop-
erties. With the addition of energy dispersive X-
Left, a TEM micrograph shows the nanometer-size grain structure of one of
ray analysis (EDXA) or energy loss spectrometry NanoSteel’s SHS alloys. Right, the SHS hardfacing applied to the excavator bucket
(EELS), the TEM can also serve as an elemental tooth in the foreground provides a sharp contrast in wear protection when com-
analysis tool, capable of identifying the elements pared to bucket teeth in the background which have not been hardfaced.
in areas less than 0.5μm in diameter. Cryo-EM and
tomography help to develop 3D models of
viruses, enabling researchers to mimic the self-
assembling molecular structure to create new
nanoparticles for materials science.
For more information: Pamela Mansfield, JEOL
USA Inc., 11 Dearborn Road, Peabody, MA 01960;
tel: 978/536-2309; www.jeolusa.com
Nanosteel Co.
The key to NanoSteel’s new family of alloys,
known as Super Hard Steel (SHS), is their ability
to form very small property-enhancing, After extensive testing, NSL chemists determined that
microwave-digestion would be a reliable test method that
nanometer-sized grain structures. In doing so,
would save considerable time and cost for customers trying
SHS provides performance well above that of con- to comply with RoHS directives.
ventional steel and into the realm of tungsten-
carbide products for wear and nickel-based system. Second, the entire operational part of the
superalloys for corrosion, without the associated system rests on a floating platform of air cylinders,
high cost. Enhancing their ease of use, the enabling it to accommodate different plate thick-
patented SHS alloys are designed for conventional nesses and distortions from heat treating.
processing and application equipment. Having two test methods provides the steel mill
Now applied by thermal spray, welding, and with the ability to test with standard E-10 method
laser cladding processes, NanoSteel’s SHS atom- for customers with stricter requirements, or to use
ized powder and wire products are extending the the more efficient depth-Brinell for other cus-
service life of mission-critical industrial compo- tomers. The methods are equally accurate, but
nents in the oil & gas, power generation, mining, the E-10 method is more traditional.
and raw materials processing industries. After The test cycle takes less than a minute. First, a
initially introducing SHS for thermal spray appli- trolley moves the tester into position next to a plate
cations in 2002, Nanosteel extended the product on the production line. The tester slightly lifts and
line for service as a weld overlay in 2006. clamps the edge of the plate, grinds the test lo-
The company is now developing new alloys to cation, then makes and measures an indentation
be the basis of nanostructured sheet steel and plate via 3000 kg of test force. The waviness of the plate
that will offer a unique combination of high per- after heat treating necessitates the floating design,
formance with low cost from a highly recyclable which allows so the tester to automatically accom-
and easy to use material. This combination has modate different working heights.
the potential to redefine steel for many different For more information: Jeb Blair, Newage Testing
worldwide industries. Instruments Inc., 147 James Way, Southampton,
For more information: Greg Nixon, The Nano- PA 18966-3817; tel: 215/526-2200; jblair@newage-
Steel Company, 67 Cedar Street, Suite 101, Prov- instruments.com; www.newageinstruments.com.
idence, RI 02903; tel: 401/270-3549; fax: 401/270-
9306; www.nanosteelco.com. NSL Analytical Services
NSL recently solved a major testing problem
Newage Testing Instruments Inc. faced by customers trying to comply with the RoHS
Newage has developed a Brinell hardness testing Directive restricting the amount of high-mass-unit
system that combines several unique features for additives such as PBB and PBDE flame retardants
inline testing of hardened steel plate. First, the in electrical equipment. The problem was the lack
Brinell system allows the operator to select the of a reliable, cost-effective way to test for flame re-
system: ASTM E-103 for Brinell depth-of-indenta- tardants in polymers. An EPA method was origi-
tion measurement, or E-10 for traditional optical nally adapted for this analysis, but it requires large
Brinell measurement by an automatic scanning samples and solvents that are expensive to dispose
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007 27
of, and can take up to 24 hours to run. After exten- tion capabilities and a struc-
sive testing, NSL chemists determined that mi- ture closely approximating
crowave-digestion would be a reliable test that that of bone or wood.
would save considerable time and cost. S Comp’s unique structure
Basic steps in the process include FTIR analysis is a space-filling array of hol-
to determine polymer chemistry, and cryogenic low reinforcements or micro-
grinding for efficient extraction. In the next step, balloons, embedded in a metal
a proprietary solvent is added for accurate quan- matrix. These microballoons
tification. Then the microwave digestion process can be SLS glass, E-glass, mul-
is run three times to extract 99.999% of the addi- lite, alumina, SiC, or carbon, de-
tive. The material is then analyzed with GC/MS pending upon the metal matrix
to determine the amount of additive. density and properties needed.
This new method can serve to extract materials S-Comp densities are typically
other than flame retardants, and future work will 30 to 70% of the pure metal alloy. Modulus typi-
concentrate on proving applicability to other high- cally ranges from 25 to 50% of the parent metal
mass-unit additives in plastics, such as UV ab- alloy, while other mechanical properties can be 50
sorbers, stabilizers, plasticizers, and flow additives. to 75% of the parent material.
For more information: Greg CiCillo, NSL Ana- S-Comp materials have an exceptional ability
lytical Services Inc., 4450 Cranwood Parkway, to absorb high impact energies, whether from
Cleveland, OH 44128; tel: 216/438-5200; 800/497- large-body impact, ballistics, blade fragments, or
6752; www.nslanalytical.com. collisions. Higher initial crushing strength make
them ideal in situations where only high-energy
Olympus NDT threats are of concern, allowing smaller impacts
Olympus NDT has been instrumental in the de- to be deflected with no structural deformation
velopment of ultrasound phased array technology while large threatening impacts are effectively
that offers considerable potential in the niche absorbed. With more than five times the energy
world of nondestructive testing. Phased array absorption per unit volume, and more than twice
provides many advantages over the energy absorption relative to weight than com-
conventional ultrasound and petitive metal aluminum foams, S-Comp metallic
other NDT technologies. It has composites are ready for your impact and ballistic
become user-friendly and realis- mitigation needs.
tically priced, with more prod- For more information: Brian Doud, Powdermet
ucts and applications, and lower Inc., 24112 Rockwell Drive, Euclid, OH 44117; tel:
prices predicted in the future. 216/404-0053; bpdoud@powdermetinc.com;
Phased arrays are remarkably www.powdermetinc.com.
versatile, with economical solu-
tions to many industrial prob- QuesTek Innovations LLC
The OmniScan is a lems. Advantages of phased ar- Working with the United States Air Force,
portable phased array rays include faster inspection speed, versatility QuesTek Innovations LLC has computationally
instrument that has in applications with easy setup changes, easy-to- designed and developed a unique high-strength,
become widely used read detailed cross-sectional scans of internal de- high-toughness, corrosion-resistant steel to re-
in a variety of fects, small probe footprints for restricted test place 300M in landing gear systems. 300M, the
industries since it was areas, and full data analysis and archiving. steel currently used in the vast majority of USAF
introduced in 2003. Olympus has applied this groundbreaking tech- landing gear components, requires cadmium
It has a modular nology to real-world applications by developing plating for environmental protection. However,
mainframe with
a number of portable and automated inspection cadmium is a known carcinogen and represents
replaceable
technology modules
systems for a variety of maintenance and manu- hazards on install, overhaul, maintenance, and
(UT, PA, EC, ECA). facturing applications. The portable modular Om- repair. The Air Force esti-
niScan series of flaw detectors offers high-speed mates $200M dollars is
acquisition rates for both manual and automated spent annually on landing
inspections, the PipeWizard for automated in-
spection of pipeline girth welds, the TomoScan
Focus LT acquisition unit, TomoView software,
and a complete selection of phased array probes.
For more information: Meindert Andersen,
Olympus NDT, 48 Woerd Avenue, Waltham, MA
02453; tel: 781/419-3900; www.olympusndt.com.
Powdermet Inc.
Powdermet has developed S-Comp, a family
of structural syntactic metal composites with su-
perior strength-to-weight ratios, better forma-
bility, and lower cost compared to honeycomb
and integrally stiffened panel alternatives. S- The A10 Warthog landing gear contains a piston made of
Comp materials have exceptional energy-absorp- the Questek Ferrium S53 alloy.
28 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007
gear overhaul and repair, 80% of which is corro- TargetDoser is an automatic dosing station, pro-
sion-related. viding preparation methods and process liquids
QuesTek has applied its Materials By Design to TargetMaster. It has seven pumps and ten pre- Innovations
methodology to computationally design a corro- programmed methods, and accommodates 200
sion resistant steel named Ferrium S53, which user-defined methods.
in materials
meets Air Force requirements for landing gear. The TargetSystem also provides precision au- and
QuesTek has patented the alloy and has already tomated grinding and polishing to the pre-deter- processes
licensed its first licensee for production and dis- mined target, with an accuracy of +/-5 microns
tribution. The design, scale-up, qualification, and or better. are the
licensing of S53 validates QuesTek’s unique busi- For more information: Struers Inc., 24766 De- foundation
ness model as a materials design firm with ex- troit Road, Westlake, OH 44145; tel: 440/871-0071; for advances
pertise in the development and licensing of intel- www.struers.com.
lectual property. AMS and MMPDS specifications in every
for Ferrium S53 are anticipated in 2007, and the Thermo-Calc Software Inc. industry,
U.S. Air Force is now actively working on com- Thermo-Calc is a leading developer of software especially
ponent qualification. Once implemented, Ferrium and databases for calculations involving compu-
S53 will reduce corrosion condemnations, dra- tational thermodynamics and diffusion-controlled aerospace,
matically improve stress-corrosion-cracking re- simulations. It is a powerful software package for automotive,
sistance, and result in more robust and safe thermodynamic calculations for multicomponent
landing gear for the Air Force fleet.
and
systems relevant to iron, nickel, aluminum, tita-
For more information: Brian Tufts, Materials nium, and magnesium-base alloys, as well as electronics.
Design Engineer, QuesTek Innovations LLC, 1820 other complex systems.
Ridge Ave., Evanston, IL 60201; tel: 847/425-8241; Thermo-Calc sold its first license to a commer-
fax: 847/328-5855; btufts@questek.com. cial company in 1984. Since then, the Calphad
methodology on which Thermo-Calc is based, the
Struers Inc. software and databases, have been continuously
The Struers TargetSystem is a significant ad- developed and are now widely used within in-
vance in the microelectronics industry’s approach dustry, government research labs, and academia.
to microsectioning and sample preparation for Once seen as more of a research tool, Thermo-Calc
failure analysis. The system has reduced sample now serves not only to design new alloys, but also
preparation times from about eight hours to just to predict phase balances and precipitate forma-
35 minutes, and it provides excellent finished tion based on specific chemistries as a way of im-
polish quality. proving quality control and anticipating problem-
The system allows the user, through a fully au- atic heats ahead of time.
tomated process, to view both hidden and visible Thermo-Calc Software has recently announced
targets such as microvias and wire bonds. This the release of TCFE5, a thermodynamic database
is done through two setup stations, TargetZ and for different kinds of steels and iron-base alloys
TargetX. for Thermo-Calc and DICTRA. This release fol-
TargetZ is a video microscope for viewing and lows a three-year collaborative program for stain-
sighting specific distances to visible targets. With less steels carried out within the framework of the
a powerful vision system of up to 680X magnifi- Centre for Computational Thermodynamics; the
cation and its 15-inch TFT monitor, TargetZ makes CCT is a collaboration between the Royal Insti-
it a simple task to map and align even minute tute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden), Kimab,
targets. and Swedish industry. Besides improving upon
TargetX is a console allowing for the positioning the accuracy of predictions compared with ear-
of the specimen within the customer’s existing X- lier versions of this database, TCFE5 also includes
ray machine, and for sighting specific distances
to hidden targets.
The Struers Target System is the first failure analysis tool Thermo-Calc can be used to calculate how the tempera-
that permits real-time alignment and measurement of both ture at which sigma phase first appears varies within the
visible and hidden targets, such as microvias and BGAs. normal range of composition for a particular alloy.
ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007 29
The CRISP system is shown being inspected shortly after its
installation by one of the initiators of CRISP, Prof. Dr. Eckhard
Quandt (center) who is now at the Christian Albrechts Univer-
sity in Kiel; Dr. Markus Dilger, Managing Director of the Nano
Technology Systems Division at Carl Zeiss SMT (right); and Dr.
Hartwig Bechte (left), Commercial Administrator at the Caesar
Institute.
VisiTec has molar volume data for the phases, which allows Carl Zeiss SMT
developed a for the prediction of volume fraction of phases, as The Nano Technology Systems Division of
large-chamber well as density and thermal expansivity based on Carl Zeiss SMT has developed a unique trans-
scanning composition and temperature. mission electron microscope (TEM) for the
electron For more information: Paul Mason, President, imaging and analysis of materials with atomic
microscope that Thermo-Calc Software Inc., 4160 Washington
is combined resolution. The CRISP (Corrected Illumination
Road, Suite 230, McMurray, PA 15317; tel: 724/731 Scanning TEM Probe) system utilizes a variety
with a hydraulic
tensile tester. 0074; fax: 724/731 0078; www.thermocalc.com. of uniquely combined electron-optical innova-
tions. These include, above all, an imaging
VisiTec of America energy filter from the Zeiss 200kV Libra 200
VisiTec has developed a large-chamber scan- instrument generation, supplemented with an
ning electron microscope that combines an LC- electrostatic electron monochromator and
SEM with a MTS Hydraulic Tensile Tester. It in- an aberration-corrected illumination system.
cludes a node control mechanism that creates a These technological innovations provide un-
still observation node at any location on the spec- paralleled insights into the innermost proper-
imen during fatigue cycling, allowing a point of ties of materials.
interest to remain within view. The exceptional A special CRISP application, in addition to the
stability of this machine enables improved in-situ established projection imaging of the specimen
study of the fatigue-cracking phenomenon. structure, is the possibility of scanning the ob-
The tensile testing machine is mounted on a ject with an atomic-sized electron probe.
steel frame and is introduced inside the vacuum It is also possible to scan an image with the
chamber. In this combined test, not only the force specimen signal generated in the process of scan-
and break point of the material are determined, ning via TEM. In doing so, the special corrector
but also the crack is available to be viewed and in the CRISP illumination system leads to an im-
studied thanks to the microscope. provement of the spatial resolution down to
In this way, the microscope is transformed into atomic resolution.
a complete testing device. The properties of the In other words, it is possible to image atoms
materials can be studied after fatigue testing, de- at a distance of less than one ten-millionth of a
livering complete testing results. This system in- millimeter (= 1 Angstrom). Furthermore, the
creases the ability to record material structural corrector permits the use of a beam current that
changes that precede crack nucleation, and allows is a factor of ten higher than standard systems,
observation of the influences of microstructure which significantly improves the reliability of
on the early stages of crack propagation. chemical analyses and the acquisition time of
For more information: Adriana Romero, Di- the measurements.
rector, VisiTec of America, 200 Prosperity Drive, For more information: Markus Wiederspahn,
Oak Ridge, TN 37923; tel: 895/228-1851; romero Germany; tel: +49 73 64 20 21 94; email: wiederspahn
@visitec-em.de; www.visitec-em.de. @smt.zeiss.com; www.zeiss.com.
30 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES/JULY 2007
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