Aviation: How our technologies make your #FavoriteMoments possible

Temperature fluctuations, rotational forces, mechanical loads, changing wind and weather conditions: An aircraft has to withstand a lot to enable safe travel above the clouds. Over 100 years of aviation experience and precise, state-of-the-art technology and production processes make us pioneers in safe, economical and environmentally conscious air travel.

We supply safety-critical components to over 200 technologically advanced customers worldwide, including all major aircraft manufacturers. voestalpine BÖHLER Aerospace, for example, is a leading supplier to the aerospace industry and specializes in the production of highly stressable drop forgings made of titanium alloys, high-alloy steels and nickel-based alloys. Our special materials are used, for example, for wing side panels, cargo systems and cargo access doors, engines, pylon and engine mounts and landing gear – and of course for turbine construction. voestalpine BÖHLER Profil manufactures, for example, special profiles for the production of turbine rings or engine guide vanes, which are installed in various types of aircraft and helicopters. We also supply special profiles for the production of seat rails for securing containers in cargo aircraft, for the manufacture of loading flap guide rails or sealing profiles for loading hatches.

Our long products (rods, billets, etc.) are also used in a wide range of dimensions for components for the aviation industry. Our aerospace companies in the High Performance Metals Division, e.g. Villares Metals in Brazil or the voestalpine Roll Forming Corporation in Shelbyville (Kentucky, USA) and many other locations worldwide put all their know-how at the service of safety and efficiency in aircraft construction.

voestalpine BÖHLER Edelstahl in Kapfenberg (Austria) and voestalpine BÖHLER Bleche in Mürzzuschlag (Austria) are regarded as one of the most reliable aerospace suppliers in the world. The new stainless steel plant in Kapfenberg produces tool and special steels fully automatically, which are predestined for the production of highly resilient and weight-saving aircraft parts, among other applications. Around 200 different alloys, e.g. the nickel-based alloys that are so important for aviation, are sent out into the world from there – many of them “into the air”.

• Structural parts (cutting-edge forgings)
  We manufacture structural parts for the aircraft fuselage using as little material as possible and with high temperature resistance, combining the highest levels of material, design and manufacturing expertise. It is not only the function of the horizontal and vertical stabilizers at the tail section – i.e. the tail of the aircraft – that is trend-setting, but also our solutions for connecting them to the passenger compartment. In addition to the high metallurgical requirements, the tolerances for production are also very low and allow no leeway.

• Landing gear components
  In the air, the landing gear of a modern aircraft has no function; the decisive factor is that it weighs as little as possible! When landing, however, the high-alloy steels must be able to withstand the enormous impact loads and absorb the corresponding forces effortlessly . High-alloy steels, which offer a combination of high resistance and strength, are therefore primarily used for landing gear components such as the main fitting.

• Engine disks
  Engine construction is the top class in aircraft construction. The engine disks support the engine blades and rotate at high speed in the very hot exhaust gas jet. They also have to be lightweight and withstand the highest mechanical stresses. Our drop-forged parts for turbine blades or turbine disks withstand all these stresses because we manufacture them from high-alloy steels, nickel-based alloys and titanium. This ensures maximum stability and high corrosion resistance with the lowest possible weight. We manufacture both small helicopter engine disks and large-scale engine disks with a forged weight of over 350 kg . We supply our customers – leading OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers – with low-pressure turbine disks for regional jets, single aisles, large LPT disks for long-haul aircraft and twin aisles.

• Lower Spar
  The “lower spar” component is located in the so-called pylons (wing center box) and connects the wing to the engine of the aircraft. There is a rear and a front engine mount on each pylon – they hold the engine in place. The lower spars must be extremely resilient to both large temperature differences and mechanical forces. The tools required for the production of the lower spar forgings are manufactured and maintained in-house at voestalpine BÖHLER Aerospace. All production aids such as dies (negative mold for forging), trimming tools or milling devices are made from voestalpine BÖHLER Edelstahl materials. This means that not only does the added value remain largely within the Group, but quality control in the production process is also extended to tool manufacture.

• Lower Spar” press production
  To produce the “lower spar” component, the pre-material stock passes through a number of production steps in press production, in which the metallurgical properties are ensured and it comes ever closer to its final shape. During the two-stage heat treatment in special furnaces, the final mechanical properties are finally set according to customer requirements. The entire product is meticulously checked again by specially trained experts in a thorough initial inspection and quality check. The “Spar” then continues its journey through production.

• Screw press
  Two mechanical screw presses are available in Kapfenberg – one with a pressing force of 31,500 tons and another, the world’s largest, with 35,500 tons and a height of 19 meters. This enables us to forge close contours and process parts with a maximum weight of 1,600 tons made of steel and titanium alloys. The engine disks produced in Kapfenberg are manufactured on the large screw press. This manufacturing process is unique in the world.

There is no question that we know our way around steel. But we can do more – much more. In addition to steel, composite and other materials – usually very light ones – are also used in aircraft construction. And we have expertise there too. Take titanium, for example: with a specific weight of 4.51 g/cm³, it is about half as heavy as steel, while at the same time offering high corrosion resistance – even without a coating. This is why titanium is used for wings, engine mounts, in the engines themselves (turbine disks), for the landing gear and in the vertical stabilizer. We are the only manufacturer of titanium sheet for the aviation industry in Europe and our North American aviation company – voestalpine RFC Aerospace – is also “top in titanium”. It has been manufacturing formed and welded titanium products since 2008 and has taken up the machining of titanium components in recent years.

In many cases, titanium will gradually replace aluminum, which has been increasingly used to date – also because it is more compatible with fuselages made of composite materials. Titanium has a particular advantage for these hybrid designs: When heated, titanium components change their dimensions only half as much as steel or only by a third compared to aluminum; the metal’s coefficient of thermal expansion is roughly the same as that of carbon fibers, making it particularly suitable for joint processing. An Airbus A350, for example, consists of 53% carbon fiber and 14% titanium. While Boeing’s long-haul aircraft B777, for example, was still made of 7% titanium, this metal already accounts for 15% in the Dreamliner B787.