Low Cost Titanium Casting Process and Design for Net Shape Components for the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle

UES Inc., a small business company, with support from a titanium casting company, proposes to develop an innovative titanium casting methodology that combines the low cost and high quality. When fully developed this new casting methodology will enable replacement of currently used expensive wrought titanium structural components of the EFV with affordable net shape castings. This program will demonstrate the engineering, manufacturing, and economic feasibility of affordable titanium casting process. In Phase I, UES will demonstrate feasibility of a low cost melting and casting practice and will establish, through appropriately designed experiments, relationships among final properties and key variables of the casting process. Phase II will design optimized processing parameters to produce idler wheel and sprocket carrier of the EFV, develop property database, and a commercialization plan.