NEW YORK, Oct. 23 (UPI) — Norsk Titanium AS and Alcoa have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint technology and industrial cooperation program focused on 3-D printing.
“We’re thrilled to deepen our relationship with Alcoa through this program, which is focused on advancing the global reach of our game-changing, 3D-printing Direct Metal Deposition technology,” NTi President & Chief Executive Officer Warren M. Boley, Jr said.
“Through this cooperation program, we expect to build on our innovative technology capabilities by leveraging Alcoa’s in-depth understanding of lightweight metal components, increase our offerings for aerospace and other end markets, and support our goal of delivering near-net-shape titanium components finished with minimal machining.”
RTI International Metals, now Alcoa Titanium and Engineered Products, supplier of titanium for all three F-35 variants under a nine-year, $1 billion contract with Lockheed Martin, became a strategic investor in and minority owner of Norsk Titanium in July. NTi is now producing aerospace-grade titanium components with fourth-generation equipment.
Norsk Titanium said it expects to formally conclude the multi-year aviation certification process in the first quarter of 2016 and will begin producing titanium components for customer part qualification in 2016.
Norsk Titanium is headquartered in Norway and has a U.S. subsidiary.
“Through this joint cooperation program, we will bring together Alcoa’s unmatched metallurgical know-how and deep aerospace industry relationships with Norsk Titanium’s 3D-printing technologies to ultimately accelerate the introduction of advanced manufactured aerospace solutions,” said Eric Roegner, president of Alcoa Titanium and Engineered Products.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.