Claims
- 1. A process for manufacturing a machined metal part, comprising:
a) preparing a metal sheet or plate comprising a heat treatable alloy by a process comprising: a1) casting a rolling ingot, optionally followed by homogenisation, a2) conducting at least one hot or cold rolling operation, optionally separated by at least one re-heating operation, to obtain said sheet or plate, a3) optionally conducting at least one cutting and/or finishing operation, b) pre-machining said sheet or plate on one or both sides thereof so as to obtain a pre-machined stock, c) solution heat treating said pre-machined stock, d) quenching said pre-machined stock.
- 2. A process according to claim 1, additionally comprising, after the quenching, conducting at least one the following:
e) controlled stretching f) aging, and/or g) cutting.
- 3. A process according to claim 1, wherein the sheet or plate comprises an aluminium alloy.
- 4. A process according to claim 3, wherein the aluminium alloy comprises an alloy of the 2xxx, 6xxx or 7xxx series, or a lithium-containing alloy of the 8xxx series.
- 5. A process according to claim 1, wherein the alloy comprises (in wt-%) between about 5.5 % and about 11% Zn, between about 1.5 and about 3% Mg, and/or between about 1.0 and about 3.0% Cu.
- 6. A process according to claim 1, wherein the profile comprises one or more channels parallel to the direction of rolling.
- 7. A process according to claim 6, wherein the profile of said sheet or plate is approximately constant over its length.
- 8. A process according to claim 1, wherein the pre-machining is carried out with a speed of at least 5,000 revolutions per minute.
- 9. A process according to claim 2, further comprising at least one machining and/or drilling operation after said quenching or after said controlled stretching.
- 10. A process according to claim 2, wherein the controlled stretching leads to a permanent set of between about 0.5% and about 5%.
- 11. A process according to claim 1, wherein the cutting comprises mechanically shearing or sawing, by laser beam or by liquid jet.
- 12. A process according to claim 1, said casting comprises using liquid metal to prepare a rolling ingot that incorporates at least 5% of machining scrap.
- 13. A process according to claim 2, wherein a length of between about 50 mm and about 1,000 mm, at both ends of said sheet or plate does not comprise any profile and is of approximately constant thickness.
- 14. A process according to claim 13, wherein said sheet or plate comprises a transition area, said transition area being between a heel of said sheet or plate having no machined channels, and a central area thereof which has machined channels, wherein the thickness of said transition area decreases from the heel towards the central area.
- 15. A process according to claim 1, wherein said sheet or plate is at least about 60 cm in width.
- 16. A process according to claim 1, wherein the sheet or plate is at least about 200 cm in length.
- 17. A process according to claim 1, wherein the sheet or plate is, prior to machining, at least about 15 mm in thickness.
- 18. A process according to claim 14, further comprising cropping the heel and the transition area after the controlled stretching.
- 19. A process according to claim 2, wherein the controlled stretching is carried out between at least two clamps to obtain a controlled permanent set of at least about 0.5%, and that a transverse support is held, for at least part of the duration of the stretching, over at least one surface of the sheet or plate.
- 20. A process according to claim 19, wherein the permanent set is more than 1.5%.
- 21. A process according to claim 19, wherein support on said at least one surface of the sheet or plate is provided by at least one roller subjected to application stress on the sheet or plate.
- 22. A process according to claim 21, wherein said roller is capable of moving longitudinally over the surface of the sheet or plate.
- 23. A metallic component obtainable from a process according to claim 1.
- 24. A metallic component according to claim 23, wherein said metallic component comprises alloy 7449 and exhibits between two ribs thereof:
−a Kapp(L-T) of at least about 90 MPa{square root}m, (measured on a CT-test piece with W=75 mm according to ASTM E561-98), and a Rm(L) measured by a tensile test of at least about 550 MPa.
- 25. A structural component suitable for use in aircraft construction comprising a metal part obtainable by a process according to claim 1.
- 26. A structural component according to claim 25 comprising a component of a wing system panel, a fuselage component, a spar, a rib or a wing box.
- 27. A metal part comprising an aluminium alloy suitable for aircraft construction obtained by a process according to claim 1.
- 28. A method for preparing a machined part having a targeted shape comprising: pre-machining a stock part to form a shape compatible with said targeted shape, and quenching said pre-machined stock part.
- 29. A wing skin with integrated stiffeners comprising a plate having a thickness of about 30 to 60 mm, prepared from a pre-machined stock with a maximum thickness of about 25 to 55 mm.
- 30. A method for utilizing up to 40% machining scrap generated in the manufacturing heavy plates made from 2xxx and 7xxx alloys for aircraft application comprising:
identifying, collecting and processing machining scrap and liquid metal.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
0215997 |
Dec 2002 |
FR |
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] The present application is related to French Patent Application No. 02-15997 filed Dec. 17, 2002, and U.S. Ser. No. 60/446,993, filed Feb. 13, 2003, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
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60446993 |
Feb 2003 |
US |