GE jet engine compressor ring inertia welding (Inco 718)

Jet engine manufacturers — GE, Pratt and Whitney, Rolls-Royce, and others — use inertia welders to join turbine and compressor components. At GE this Model 400 is making a 24-inch diameter compressor ring assembly of Inco 718 nickel alloy. Two more welds are made to complete the four-piece assembly. Compared to one-piece forged design, material savings per assembly are 370 pounds of nickel alloy. Other welding methods researched could not yield consistent quality.