Alcoa, a manufacturer of primary and fabricated aluminum, has supplied a set of two Aluminum Amah tips to Austal USA.
The Aluminum Amah tips can be readily installed and are offered for using in the future Littoral Combat Ship USS Jackson (LCS 6). The leading edge of the trimaran-type, all aluminum vessel is the Amah tip. The tip weighs 850 lb and the length is over 7 ft across. Currently, Austal constructs the LCS 6 for the U.S. Navy at the company’s Alabama shipyard.
Partnership between Alcoa Technical Center (ATC) and Austal resulted in the one-piece design. The design and development was offered by ATC. Iowa-based Alcoa Global Rolled Products’ mill provided the substrate. The final milling was supervised by Michigan-based Alcoa Transportation Products (ATP).
According to Eric Roegner, Alcoa Forgings and Extrusions and Alcoa Defense’s President, inexpensive manufacturing solution, a streamlined purchasing method, with less complexity was provided by Alcoa to Austal. The solution enhanced the ship’s weight performance, he stated.
Alcoa and the American Bureau of Shipbuilding (ABS) worked together to ensure that the machining process, which was performed by ATP and the thick plate manufactured at Davenport satisfied ABS’ stringent and exacting standards. This made sure that full certification was obtained for the LCS usage.
During May 2012, Alcoa will supply a second set of Amah tips to Austal for use in the future Littoral Combat Ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8).
Source: http://www.alcoa.com/