Metal Improvement Company, "a world leader in providing metal treatment services, uses metrology to help maintain high standards, Ben Hayes (Regional Sales Manager) explains how..."

MIC has been established since 1945 and has over 60 operating divisions in Europe, USA, Canada and Asia with on-site processing worldwide, offering a quality controlled and cost effective service, working in partnership to meet our customer's needs.

Our quality approvals, where appropriate, include: FAA, AS9100, NADCAP, ISO 9001:2000, ISO 9001:2008 plus other specific OEM, company and industry approvals as required.

MIC's capabilities include controlled shot peening, a process which is widely utilised in the aerospace industry to improve fatigue and greatly increase the life and performance of components in critical operating conditions. Aero-engine blades are just one of the many applications that use this process.

Controlled shot peening is the bombardment of a surface with small high quality spherical media called shot in a technically defined and controlled way. The shot can be manufactured from steel, stainless steel, glass or ceramic.

Each piece of shot striking the metal acts as a tiny peening hammer imparting a small dimple into the surface. the action of impinging the surface yields the material in tension, further movement is restrained by the core and a beneficial surface residual compressive stress results. The magnitude of the compressive stress is directly related to the yield strength of the base material and is approximately equal to 80% of that value in compression.

Nearly all fatigue and stress corrosion failures originate at the surface of a part, but cracks will not initiate or propagate in a compressively stressed zone, which is a key issue for turbine blade manufacturers and MRO’s. Because the overlapping dimples from controlled shot peening create a uniform layer of compressive stress at the metal surface, this process considerably increases the life of the component.

Following the controlled shot peening process aero-engine blades can be polished to achieve the final surface finish specification. This polishing process is implemented to lower the surface finish following controlled shot peening. This has to be achieved with the minimum removal of material so as not to remove the compressive stress that the controlled shot peening process has introduced.  The reason for achieving this surface specification is to ensure that the surface of the aero-engine blades has a smooth quality and consistent finish, increasing air flow and reducing drag when the aero-engine blade is in operation.  This subsequently increases engine efficiency and reduces fuel consumption. Taylor Hobson’s Surtronic range of instruments allows MIC to easily control and monitor the surface finish of the blades.

Metal Improvement Company's other surface treatments include laser peening, C.A.S.E (isotropic) finishing and highly engineered surface coatings. These additional services provide solutions and enhancements for a diverse range of industries including automotive, competitive racing (F1), power generation, oil and gas, defence, rail and medical.  

Ben Hayes, Regional Sales Manager of the Metal Improvement Company, comments:

"We have been extremely pleased with the flexibility, reliability and overall performance of Taylor Hobson's Surtronic Range. The ability to quickly achieve 100% inspection in a shop floor environment is invaluable.”

Jamie Ross, Surtronic Range Product Manager at Taylor Hobson, comments:

“This is one of the many applications the Surtronic range lends its self to, the speed and ease of use of the Surtronic instruments are clear advantages in controlling the surface finish in this application”. 

*Taylor Hobson is a partner in the CEMMNT organisation