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Aerocast Starts Supply Program for Jet Engine Components

April 13, 2011
Magnesium IDG casings for Hamilton Sundstrand, for 737 and A320 jets
Aerocast Inc. reports it has started producing complex magnesium castings for Hamilton Sundstrand’s series of integrated drive generators (IDGs). Two different styles of castings are produced at the group’s foundry in Nogales, Mexico, to form pressure control housings for IDGs used on engines for Boeing 737 and Airbus A320/A330 aircraft. Hamilton Sundstrand is a United Technologies Corp. subsidiary that designs and manufactures aerospace systems for commercial, regional, corporate, and military aircraft, and international space programs. An IDG is “constant speed drive” (CSD) and an oil-cooled generator housed in the same casing. A CSD is used to drive an AC electrical generator on military and commercial jet engines, to stabilize the variable speed from the jet engine gearbox and produce a constant output RPM. Each aircraft has two engines, and each engine has an IDG to create electricity during the flight. Boeing and Airbus will use the Hamilton Sundstrand IDGs for new aircraft and as replacements on existing jets. Aerocast manufactures sand castings in aluminum and magnesium, primarily for aerospace manufacturing. Its customers include Honeywell Aerospace, Hamilton Sundstrand, Sikorsky Aircraft and Shimadzu Precision Instruments.