Defense
Defense or Military power transfer, propulsion, and other metal-wear components have unique challenges linked to the extreme conditions that many vehicles, aircraft, and weapons systems are asked to operate in coupled with the ever-increasing demands for reduced sustainment costs and increased readiness.
REM’s ISF® Process is an isotropic superfinishing process that has been proven to be extremely effective at both increasing the service life of many metal to metal contact power transfer and wear components and in recovering/repairing used, lightly damaged metal components that would otherwise be scrap and require replacement. Thus, the ISF Process is able to reduce sustainment costs by both remediating spare parts into high-performing usable components and derivatively reduce the required spare part inventory.
The ISF Process has a wide range of component applications including gears, engine components, bearings, airfoils, firearm components, and numerous other metal component applications that benefit from reductions in roughness/friction and improvements to surface texture through REM’s unique polishing technology. Additionally, the ISF® Surface has been shown to significantly improve fuel efficiency in gear applications; for this reason, REM’s ISF Process was selected to be a featured technology on the FED Alpha (Fuel Efficiency Demonstrator) for the US Army.
With decades of experience in demanding industries just as the Aerospace/Aviation industry and thousands of flight-critical components flying, REM and the ISF Process are well qualified to support the demands of the Military/Defense industry.
Common Defense Applications for the ISF Process:
- Rotary and VTOL Aircraft
- Fixed Wing Aircraft
- Ground Vehicles
- Armored Vehicles
- Short and Long Barrel Weapons Systems (ex. Howitzer)
- Firearms
Component Benefits for Defense Applications:
- Reduced Friction/Roughness
- Increased Resistance to Micropitting
- Increased Resistance to Scuffing
- Increased Component/System Operating Life in a Loss-of-Lubricant/Oil-Out Event
- Increased Resistance to Contact and Bending Fatigue
- Increased Part Durability/Reduced Wear
- Reduced Lubricant/System Operating Temperatures
- Reduced Vibration and Noise
- Increased Power Density Allowable/Component Load Carrying Capacity
- Reduced Lubrication Requirements and Cost (anti-wear additives, etc.)
- Increased Lubricant Lambda Ratio
- Increased Fuel Efficiency/Operating Efficiency
- Increased Average Time Between Maintenance
- Improved Laminar Flow Properties/Reduced Turbulence
- Potential to Refurbish Used Gears
Production Benefits for Defense Applications:
- Potential to Reduce Manufacturing Steps
- Potential to Eliminate Surface Coating Requirements
- Potential to Reduce Prior Surface Finishing Requirements
Common Defense Alloys REM can Assist with:
- Carbon Steels/Gear Steels
- Specialty Steels
- Stainless Steels
- Titanium Alloys
- Aluminum Alloys
- Superalloys
- Other Exotic Alloys
Common Defense Component Forming Methods the ISF Process can Improve:
- Forged
- Stamped
- Ground (Machined)
- Milled
- Turned
- EDM
- Pressed and Sintered
Interested in learning more, ready to start a project, or have an application that you don’t see listed here? Contact us today to see how we can help solve your surface finishing/polishing needs.