Brogren Industries

How Brogren Industries Cut Haynes 282 Without Compromising Material Integrity

Productivity, Quality, and Development

These are the key operational pillars for Brogren Industries. As a Swedish tech company manufacturing advanced components for aerospace and industrial gas turbines, Brogren processes and assembles complex structures using sophisticated welding and machining methods. Operating in a sector where safety and reliability are paramount, their customer relations are built on strict process control and uncompromising quality assurance.

For Brogren Industries, the challenge lies not only in the tight geometric tolerances required by aerospace Tier 1–3 suppliers, but also in the material itself. They work daily with hard-to-machine materials where traditional methods frequently fall short.

The Challenge: Haynes 282 and the Threat of Thermal Damage

In 2018, Brogren Industries encountered a specific manufacturing hurdle: they needed a reliable cutting method for Haynes 282.

Haynes 282 is a high-strength, gamma-prime strengthened nickel-based superalloy originally developed for high-temperature applications. It exhibits exceptional creep strength, thermal stability, and weldability, making it highly desirable for gas turbine components. However, its high strength at elevated temperatures and rapid work-hardening tendencies make it notoriously difficult to machine.

Conventional thermal cutting methods such as laser, plasma, or electrical discharge machining (EDM) present a severe risk when used on superalloys. These methods introduce a Heat-Affected Zone (HAZ) along the cut edge. Just as thermal processes can cause microcracking in ceramics or alpha-case formation in titanium, heat inputs into nickel-based superalloys alter the local microstructure. This thermal damage degrades mechanical properties, significantly reducing the fatigue life of the component. For aerospace parts operating under immense stress, compromised material integrity is unacceptable. Process integrity must be prioritized over mere dimensional tolerances.

The Decision: Embracing Micro-Abrasive Waterjet Technology

Brogren Industries required a cutting process that resulted in zero thermal impact on the Haynes 282 material. They initiated a collaboration with Finepart to evaluate micro-abrasive waterjet (micro-AWJ) cutting.

Unlike thermal methods, micro-AWJ is a cold-cutting process. It does not simply use “water that cools” a thermal cut; rather, it is a purely mechanical erosion process driven by high-velocity abrasives. Because there is no heat input, there is no HAZ, no metallurgical transformation, and no thermal distortion. Furthermore, the micro-AWJ process induces compressive residual stress into the cut surface, a characteristic known to actively improve the fatigue performance of metallic components.

The Finepart system also delivered the extreme precision Brogren required: ±2.5 µm system positioning accuracy, ±2 µm repeatability, and ±10 µm finished part tolerance.