The T900 combustion casing is part of a Rolls-Royce gas turbine power plant.

The casing has to be made from a very difficult to machine heat resistant super alloy, to ensure it maintains its strength and hardness while being subjected to very high operating temperatures.

In 2006 the AMRC began a project in conjunction with Rolls-Royce to apply advanced machining techniques, tooling and strategies to the casing, with the aim of developing new technologies that would reduce manufacturing time and costs, while maintaining, or increasing, quality.

Innovative fixturing solutions were developed during the project, on which the AMRC now holds world-wide patents. Novel tool-path strategies, using state of the art tooling, were applied to the component, taking the technology from a basic principle to an application now seen as industry best practice, both for Rolls-Royce and its global supply chain.