ATI to Establish Additive Manufacturing Facility to Serve US Navy

ATI Inc. has been awarded a contract by Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc. (BPMI) to support development of highly engineered part solutions in support of the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. To support the contract, which calls for advanced manufacturing methods including metal additive manufacturing (AM), ATI will establish a dedicated additive manufacturing facility outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

ATI will expand upon its traditional capabilities, bringing expertise as a global producer of high-performance materials and solutions to AM for aerospace and defense. ATI Additive Manufacturing Products will include advanced large-format metal AM, heat treating, machining and inspection capabilities within a secure facility. It is designed for expansion as ATI continues to extend its AM technologies to the assembly of finished components.

The new operation brings together the expertise of ATI forged products, known for producing mission-critical, finish-machined forgings, with the powder alloy leadership of ATI specialty materials. “With this facility, ATI will maximize its ability to deliver advanced additively manufactured materials and components by turning them into parts that further the defense industry,” says Kim Fields, ATI president and chief operating officer. “Our customers increasingly require more robust and versatile materials and components, produced in an ecologically sustainable manner. This facility will deliver both.”

The facility is projected to come online in mid-2024. “Within one facility, we’re combining the latest additive and advanced manufacturing technologies, and ATI’s novel powder alloys,” Fields says. “We bring decades of experience delivering solutions that power and protect. We’re well-positioned to deliver the next generation of manufactured components.”

AM has advanced beyond rapid prototyping to the manufacturing of structural and functional components. “Additive manufacturing offers tremendous advantages to our program, including accelerating ship construction, improving operational readiness, reducing costs and an increase in warfighting capability,” says Barb Staniscia, BPMI president and general manager. “Metal additive manufacturing is driving necessary improvements in lead time, design and performance for the U.S. Navy.” 

ATI strives to partner with its customers to deliver materials that enable great achievements. “As our customers blaze the trail of what’s possible, ATI is honored to partner with BPMI in developing and producing the materials and components that make these extraordinary achievements possible,” Fields says.

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• Read about Allegheny Technologies Inc.’s (ATI) task to build an oil collector for a fleet of legacy helicopters. The lightweight part was delivered faster and made more easily via electron beam melting (EBM) than a conventionally manufactured alternative could be produced, while also illuminating a way forward for upgrading other existing systems.
   
• Watch this episode of The Cool Parts Show which features ATI’s oil collector for legacy helicopters. AM editors discuss the oil collector at the 8:17 minute mark.