Consulting Services

Below is an overview of the services Material Processing Technology, LLC provides. At MPT we have over 30 years of professional experience and aim to provide you with the same Customer Focus, Technical Excellence, and Business Impact that has made us a leader in metallurgical consulting services for gas turbine component manufacturers and related organizations.

If at anytime, while you are browsing through our services section, you have a question related to any of our services don't hesitate to call us at 231-780-1265.

Among the services we offer are:

Product and Process Commercialization / New Product Introduction

MPT provides technical support for all aspects of new product and process introduction. For the past thirty years we’ve been involved with successfully leading new process development, manufacturing scale up, process validation and commercialization activities for gas turbine component manufacture, coating and repair products and processes. We have extensive experience with managing qualification activities for a wide range of manufacturing processes and coating systems for gas turbine compressor and hot section components.

Among the larger commercialization efforts we’ve led have been EB-PVD (Electron-Beam Physical Vapor Deposition) thermal barrier coatings, CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) and VPA (Vapor Phase Aluminide) gas phase coatings, Platinum modified aluminide coatings (pack, CVD & VPA), CA-PVD (Cathodic Arc) erosion resistant coatings, advanced repair techniques and numerous other technologies related to gas turbine airfoil manufacture.

Process Improvement / Six Sigma

MPT has substantial experience with the benchmarking of existing production process capability using six sigma DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve and control) and other methodologies. We’ve found this approach to be highly effective in improving the yield and reliability of complex manufacturing operations. MPT works with you and your team to provide a technical assessment of your manufacturing operations and develops recommendations for improving process robustness and product yield. From this initial assessment we will develop a roadmap for process improvement and provide technical support for implementation within your plant. We also have expertise in development and implementation of best practices across multiple domestic and international operations.

We have been able to demonstrate bottom line results for the past thirty years in all aspects of component manufacture. Ask us for details of how we have successfully identified root causes for product variation in alloy making, investment casting, ceramic core manufacture, injection molding, machining, coating, heat treatment or repair processes.

Quality Assurance / Auditing of Outside Suppliers

MPT is available to provide audits of potential or current suppliers; evaluating their technical capabilities and quality programs against your purchase order requirements and generally accepted industry standards for special processes. We can provide onsite supplier surveillance to witness the critical manufacturing and inspection operations to ensure adequate oversight and to expedite any acceptance or interpretation questions that arise.

MPT has conducted detailed process reviews of alloy production, investment casting (wax pattern, ceramic core, shell build, vacuum cast and post cast operations), machining, heat treating and coating processes. We can assist you in identifying companies that are qualified to reliably manufacture your components. MPT can also provide recommendations for the development of purchasing specifications that define the quality standards, processing parameters and final acceptance standards for component manufacture.

Metallurgical Support

Working with state of the art outside laboratories, MPT can provide comprehensive metallurgical analysis and testing of production or pre-production components or process control materials. We are highly knowledgeable in the expected characteristics, common anomalies and the physical metallurgy of nickel based superalloys, all major aerospace or Industrial gas turbine coating systems and the casting technologies utilized for conventionally cast (CC), directionally solidified (DS) or single crystal (SX) components. MPT can provide clients with an expert assessment of material conformance or deviation from blue print or specification requirements.

Expert Witness / Litigation Support

MPT provides expert witness and litigation support for clients by serving as a testifying expert and/or performing targeted research or counsel during case investigation, settlement or cross-examination of other experts. Because of his extensive background in gas turbine component manufacture, Mr. Smith is able to serve as an expert in gas turbine component manufacture and associated component durability in field service performance for aero or industrial gas turbine applications.

Areas of Expertise:

·     Gas Turbine Casting Manufacture
(blades, vanes, gas path seal segments etc.)

·     Nickel based Superalloys
(Conventionally Cast, Directionally Solidified or Single Crystal)

·     Coating System Manufacture and Field Performance

·     Oxidation Resistant Coatings
(Aluminide, Platinum Aluminide, MCrAlY etc)

·     Thermal Barrier Coatings
(TBC’s, Yttria Stabilized Zirconia, YSZ)

·     Erosion Resistant Coatings ( TiN, ZrN, Cr Carbide, Titanium DiBoride)

·     Corrosion Resistant Coatings

·     Abradable Coatings
 

Types of cases can include:

·     Personal injury

·     Wrongful death

·     Products liability

·     Patent infringement

Intellectual Property Reviews / Technology Assessment

MPT offers a number of different approaches for gaining valuable insight into a given technology area. We will work with you to customize a search for your company that can guide resource allocation, future research & development direction, guide business development paths and can provide effective monitoring of competitor actions. We have access to a wide range of resources to maximize the effectiveness of technology assessments and use state of the art patent search databases and analytical tools for conducting IP reviews. Among the types of searches that we can perform are:

Patent Landscape research combines the state-of-the-art of a technology field with an in-depth study of the patent coverage to determine viable future research and business development paths.

State of the Art searches provide an overview of a technology area. We search for references that show functionally equivalent means of accomplishing a similar end.

Literature Reviews can identify enabling non-patent publications that can stand as prior art in the same manner as a published patent.

Collection Searches show the evolution of a specific technology within a specific date range. Collection searches are not restricted to the state of the art, and typically include both expired and unexpired patent references.

File Wrapper History provides the correspondence records between the inventor and the patent examiner. Often the file history provides insight into areas of weakness in a given patent, citing the arguments for acceptance or rejection of initial claims. Copies of all cited prior art patents are included.

Competitive Landscape incorporates the patent landscape and literature review plus competitor profiling via public records (internet research, web page listings, D&B etc) and industry knowledge.
 

Conference Technology Reports

MPT covers several technical conferences each year and provides written reports customized to each client’s particular business interests. During the first half of 2008 reports are available for the International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings and Thin Films (ICMCTF 08) held in San Diego, CA April 28^th – May 2^nd, and the ASME IGTI Gas Turbine Conference (IGTI 08) held in Berlin Germany June 9-14. This fall we will attend the Eleventh International Symposium on Superalloys to be held at Seven Springs, PA Sept 14-18. Contact us for additional information and pricing.