It employs more than 11,000, and has a research and development facility with more than 170 scientists and technical specialists. Parts are moved in these baskets on their way to the fluorescent penetrant line. To meet the aerospace industry s need for strong but lighter material, Howmet developed single-crystal and other casting techniques that use a variety of metals, including titanium, aluminum, nickel and cobalt. As material has grown lighter and stronger, the castings have found new uses in blades, bulkheads, fuel injector components, aileron bellcranks, heat shield components, helicopter transmission adapters, gunblast diffusers and other products. Some parts have ultrathin walls, so thin it is hard to imagine that it could deflect the wind.
Some larger castings combine smaller components into one monolithic structure.
Operators using the FPI system take clean, dry parts that are racked in wire baskets and place them in a spray booth. There, they are completely coated with a fine mist of fluorescent dye. Larger parts are dipped. After a dwell time that allows the dye to work into flaws, the part is carefully rinsed at a specific water pressure to ensure the penetrant does not come out of defects, especially from within the larger flaws. After drying in an oven, which helps draw out the penetrant, the part is moved to another enclosed booth where a talcum powder-like substance, called a dry developer, is sprayed on the part.