Bodycote invests to support future brazing demand

As part of Bodycote’s international brazing network, the Stockport, UK plant is recognized as a center of excellence for vacuum brazing honeycomb seal components for both aerospace and power generation applications. To meet growing requirements from civil aerospace engine manufacturers, power generation OEMs and their supply chains, the brazing department has been enlarged, new welding and inspection equipment have been installed, and new vacuum brazing capacity has been added.

When it comes to safety-critical components, Bodycote’s Stockport plant has over 50 years of brazing heritage, from brazing Concorde’s heat exchangers to abradable felt-metal seals for modern wide-body aircraft. Bodycote was one of the first subcontract heat treatment companies to provide metal joining services to industry and has extensive experience in every generation of material including the latest single crystal alloys and superalloys.

Honeycomb brazing is used to join critical honeycomb seals in jet engines, essential to the efficiency of gas flow through the engine. Brazing is a cost-effective process that eliminates the risks associated with standard welding. Brazing can be used to repair surfaces that are susceptible to corrosion, erosion and cracking. As demand increases for improved aircraft engine performance, the use of vacuum brazed felt-metal abradable seals is increasingly being adopted by major gas turbine manufacturers for flow path efficiency improvements. Bodycote’s vacuum brazed felt-metal seals provide superior clearance control in blade tip and labyrinth seal applications up to 760˚C while minimising or eliminating wear on expensive rotating parts.

Technical customer service is extremely important for brazing projects, and Bodycote’s engineers around the globe have the required knowledge and experience to advise customers on design to brazing manufacture. Bodycote operates brazing centers of excellence throughout Europe and North America. As a quality-led and customer-focused business, Bodycote has repeatedly been awarded Nadcap accreditation for heat treatment, brazing, and Electron Beam Welding.