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The one‐step precision blasting method of glass bead cleaning, peening and corrosion removal involves impelling micron size spherical glass particles at controlled velocities against a work‐piece. The impact of the glass beads on the surface of the object pulverises and removes all forms of oxidation, corrosion and other foreign matter, including pit corrosion and corrosion in recessed and hidden areas around and under items such as rivets, The removal of all foreign matter down to the base metal is accomplished far more rapidly, hence far more economically, than currently utilised methods. There is no removal of base metal, no dimensional change and no contamination. Peening is achieved in a similar manner, as will be described later.

A FIVE‐AXIS contouring‐type numerically‐controlled shot peening machine has solved the problem of strengthening certain critical structural components of the General Dynamics F.111 variable sweep wing tactical fighter/bomber which is being built at Fort Worth for the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force and, possibly, for service with the Royal Air Force. Apart from the vital wing support assembly which must carry the entire weight of the aircraft during flight, over thirty other F.111 components are automatically shot peened with absolute uniformity in this tape‐controlled machine to give the necessary fatigue strength—among the components being 25 ft. long milled wing skins.

Controlled shot peening is widely accepted in the aerospace industry for fatigue life enhancement of critical aeroengine and airframe components. Less well known and little understood by many production engineers is the associated process of “peen forming”. This uses the basic principle of shot peening to form or shape curved sheet metal geometries which would be difficult to create with conventional methods such as die bending, stretch‐forming or rolling. It is particularly cost effective where the number of components involved is too small to justify expensive mass production processes.

Discusses the use of a corporate Internet in a geographically‐spread consulting firm, James Martin & Co., to share ideas, vision, client information and results. Illustrates with examples. Applications include a quarterly Employee Attitude Survey and regular discussion forums. Proposes that a well‐designed corporate intranet is a highly effective method of making intangible vision and mission pledges more tangible.

Laser cladding deposition is limited in industrial application by the micro-defects and residual tensile stress for the thermal forming process, leading to lower fatigue strength compared with that of the forging. The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach to reduce stress and defects.

A hybrid process of laser cladding deposition and shot peening is presented to transform surface strengthening technology to the overall strengthening technology through layer-by-layer forming and achieve enhancement.

The results show that the surface stress of the sample formed by the hybrid process changed from tensile stress to compressive stress, and the surface compressive stress introduced could reach more than four times the surface tensile stress of the laser cladding sample. At the same time, internal micro-defects such as pores were reduced. The porosity of the sample formed by the hybrid process was reduced by 90.12% than that of the laser cladding sample, and the surface roughness was reduced by 43.16%.

The authors believe that the hybrid process proposed in this paper can significantly expand the potential application of laser cladding deposition by solving its limitations, promoting its efficiency and applicability in practical cases.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of mechanical surface treatments on the surface layer properties and the fatigue performance of the aircraft alloys Al 7075‐T73 and Ti‐6Al‐4V

Laser peening without coating (LPwC), shot peening (SP), ultrasonic shot peening (USP) and ball burnishing (BB) were applied and the resulting changes in surface roughness and residual stress‐depth profiles were evaluated. Fatigue performance of both alloys was tested in rotating beam loading (R=−1) on hourglass‐shaped specimens and the results were compared with the electrolytically polished (EP) reference conditions.

All studied mechanical surface treatments led to pronounced increases in fully reversed fatigue lives and fatigue strengths in both Al 7075‐T73 and Ti‐6Al‐4V.

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper that compares fatigue performance of a wide variety of mechanically surface treated conditions in two aircraft alloys.

Inevitably, traditional shot blasting methods with their inherent drawbacks of lack of fine control, the problems of escaping dust and abrasive and the consequent resistance to them by operatives and managers alike, have had to change to keep pace with the times. And change in a dramatic fashion they most certainly have in the last few years with automation much in evidence. But what is not perhaps generally realised is just how great the advances have been and how widely automated impact treatment systems are used today in various sectors of industry.