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Hardide Coatings invests $7million in US production

Hardide Coatings Inc., a United Kingdom-based provider of surface coating technology, is investing in a new manufacturing plant worth $7 million to expand its nanostructured coatings throughout North America.

The 26,000ft² facility in Martinsville, Virginia, is planned to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2015, creating as many as 29 jobs in the first three years.

The facility is located within an enterprise zone in a state where more than 230 aerospace companies, the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, and two Rolls-Royce facilities are based. It will house chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coating reactors as well as pre-treatment, inspection, quality assurance, and finishing equipment. www.hardide.com

VX Aerospace’s carbon structure airplane wins award

Designed by VX Aerospace, the VX-1 KittyHawk aircraft has won a JEC Innovation Award for its blended-wing carbon structure.

“We are very proud to receive a special award from the JEC Group for the VX-1 KittyHawk. It recognizes the innovative, high-potential aspect of our project internationally,” says VX-Aerospace CEO Bob Skillen. Partner Chomarat Group’s C-Ply composite reinforcement made the aircraft’s design structurally possible by giving the structure low weight, structural efficiency, durability, and ease of manufacture.

C-Ply came from collaborative work between Chomarat and Stanford University’s Dr. Steven Tsai, who developed the concept of bi-angle, thin-ply, non-crimp fabric composites. North Carolina State University and the University of South Carolina were other partners in the VX Aerospace project. www.chomarat.com

PPG installs electrocoat primer system for USCG

PPG Industries’ aerospace coatings group has installed the first commercial system in the U.S. for application of its aerospace electrocoat (e-coat) primer for aircraft parts. The system is installed at the U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center, Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

In the e-coat process, pre-treated metal parts are immersed into a water-based primer bath and an electrical charge is applied. The primer is attracted to the charged part in a uniform film, the part is rinsed, and thermally cured. The low solvent emissions, chromate-free Aerocron e-coat primer offers weight savings and produces near-zero waste. With e-coat primer, the logistics center has reduced primer application and processing time from hours to minutes and full cure time from days to an hour.

PPG makes the resin and paste components for Aerocron primer at its Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and Springdale, Pennsylvania, coatings plants. The primer is qualified to SAE International’s Aerospace Material Specification 3144 for anodic electrodeposition primer for aircraft applications. www.ppgaerospace.com

Manufacturing technology orders up 3.1% in 2014

December U.S. manufacturing technology orders totaled $506.89 million according to AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the United States Manufacturing Technology Orders (USMTO) program, was up 32.7% from November and up 4.7% when compared with the total of $484.08 million reported for December 2013. With a year-to-date total of $5.08 billion, 2014 was up 3.1% compared with 2013. The USMTO report provides regional and national U.S. orders data of domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment.

“The momentum we saw in manufacturing toward the end of 2014 is fueling optimism for 2015, with many major manufacturers saying they plan to hire more and invest more throughout the coming months,” says AMT President Douglas K. Woods. “The 3.1% gain in orders for the year was in line with our yearly forecast. While there are reasons for caution – a rising dollar, falling oil prices, and a shortage of skilled workers – overall we feel that the U.S. economy will continue to improve its fortunes through the first half of 2015 and manufacturing will see a measure of restrained growth.” www.amtonline.org

American robotics market has strongest year yet

Robot orders and shipments in North America set new records in 2014, according to the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industry’s trade group.

A total of 27,685 robots valued at $1.6 billion were ordered from North American companies during 2014, an increase of 28% in units and 19% in dollars from 2013. Robot shipments also set new records, with 25,425 robots valued at $1.5 billion being shipped to North American customers in 2014. Shipments grew 13% in units and 6% in dollars from the previous record set in 2013.

While the automotive industry was the primary driver of growth in 2014, non-automotive industries also performed well throughout the year, growing 7% from 2013. In addition to welding automation, robot orders saw growth in assembly (+16%) and material handling (+11%). The RIA estimates that about 230,000 robots are now used in U.S. factories, placing the United States second only to Japan in robot use. www.robotics.org