New Opportunities with Arconic's Very Thick Plate Stretcher

Arconic is investing $190 million in a new very thick plate (VTP) stretcher at Davenport Works to expand product offerings for high strength aluminum alloy plate in both aerospace & industrial markets. The new stretcher will enable the largest aluminum alloy plate cross-sections (thickness and width) ever made, targeting applications such as wing ribs, spars and fuselage frames in derivative and all-new aircraft. The stretching process is required for all aerospace aluminum alloy plate products to drastically reduce internal stresses & improve flatness. An updated portfolio of aerospace plate products is being developed to support the roll-out of the VTP stretcher in 2017. Specifically, 7085-T7451, Arconic’s thick plate product with the highest combination of strength and toughness, is being developed to cover thicknesses up to at least 10in. 7065-T7451, Arconic’s high strength thick plate product, will continue to be available up to 6in thick but also in significantly wider widths than previously available, allowing larger structures to be manufactured out of a single plate. 7050-T7451, the industry’s baseline thick plate product, is also being developed to cover higher thicknesses up to 9 inches. To meet excellent thick gauge properties, the complete processing flow path was optimized leading to the development of a unique set of proprietary fabrication parameters. Property datasets have been obtained ahead of the commissioning of the VTP stretcher and will be presented.