Norsk Titanium US Inc, a global leader in the additive manufacturing (AM) of aerospace-grade titanium components, recently delivered parts for the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Leonardo’s Grottaglie Plant, which is based in South Italy and part of Leonardo’s Aerostructures Division.

This delivery adds a third production customer to Norsk’s growing commercial aerostructures customer base and represents Norsk’s first recurring production order from a European Union-based aerospace company.

Using Norsk’s Rapid Plasma Deposition (RPD) process, Norsk engineers designed Ti-6Al-4V preforms that reduced raw material needs by over 40%. ‘Leveraging’ the RPD industrial process enabled the company to create a near-net-shape design, while maintaining the ‘stringent process control and material properties needed for structural applications in Boeing aircraft’.

Karl Fossum, Norsk director of customer programmes, said: “We are pleased to be Leonardo’s supplier. This delivery marks a significant increase in the number of AM parts previously manufactured from titanium plate. It also is an important step towards our mission to provide an alternative to titanium forgings in aerospace applications.”

Norsk Titanium is the ‘world’s pioneering supplier’ of aerospace-grade AM structural titanium components. The company uses its patented RPD process, which that transforms titanium wire into complex components suitable for structural and safety-critical applications. Norsk Titanium is a Tier One supplier to Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems and GKN.