Black Box
Overview
Focus:
Weight ReductionIndustry:
AerospaceDimensions (mm):
125 x 125 x 125Weight (g):
150010-Year
Weight Reduction
Casting Simulation
Stringent Testing
Optimal Design
High Toughness
Designed to withstand severe impact, this housing ensures that critical flight data and logs can be reviewed in the event of a crash, aiding in the prevention of future incidents and helping to save lives. The part is made from age-hardened 17-4 precipitation-hardening stainless steel, and coated with fire-resistant insulation to protect electric recording devices. Texmo Blank has been producing these housings for over a decade, with thousands of units supplied.
Concept Development
Our client challenged us to reduce the weight of the housing while meeting stringent dimensional and destructive testing requirements, aiming to optimise fuel efficiency by minimising component weight. While the part had been dual-sourced previously, Texmo Blank’s enhanced design not only passed the required testing but also outperformed competitors, allowing us to secure 100% of future production.
Material Selection
17-4 precipitation-hardening stainless steel, renowned for its strength and corrosion resistance. After casting, each part undergoes homogenisation, solution annealing, and age-hardening to achieve the desired mechanical properties. Homogenisation ensures a uniform microstructure, while age-hardening precipitates carbide spheres throughout the casting, providing high toughness without compromising the stainless steel’s corrosion resistance.
Simulation & Prototyping
To achieve weight reduction, our engineers used casting simulations to address isolated hot spots in the design, ensuring shrinkage porosity was confined to the gating system rather than the part itself. Cost-effective Voxeljet patterns allowed us to test multiple gating configurations. After simulations, non-destructive testing (NDT) confirmed the optimal configuration, enabling a confident transition to hard tooling.
Quality Control
This part undergoes extensive testing, including 100% Liquid Penetrant Testing (LPT) and Computed Radiography (CR), both essential non-destructive tests to confirm external and internal soundness. Following NDT, each part undergoes destructive testing to verify it meets the application’s stringent performance standards.
Impact
By reducing the weight of this component, Texmo Blank contributed to enhanced fuel efficiency for airlines. Although weight savings per part were less than a pound, this project led to a cumulative weight reduction of hundreds of pounds across the aircraft, significantly improving flight efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.
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