Mr. Weires holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Michigan Technological University (1985) and has had additional studies in Metallurgical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (1990-91). He is currently a Technical Fellow in the Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T)organization of the Boeing Company. Mr. Weires joined The Boeing Company in 1995. He was awarded Associate Technical Fellow in 2004 and Technical Fellow in 2008.
Mr. Weires primary interests at Boeing are in the areas of Aerospace Materials Processing, Heat Treatment of Gearing, Materials Testing, Failure Analysis, Corrosion Testing/Evaluations and Prevention, Quality Control Inspections, Surface Finishing, Casting and Basic Steel Mill Processing. He is also responsible for research and development in the areas of the Development and Heat Treatment of Advanced Gear Materials, Testing and Evaluation of Surface Hardening methods for titanium and precipitation hardening stainless steels. At Boeing, he is a leader in the development of “Design Practices”, an engineering process to improve the first time quality of engineering work by helping engineers better understand the “why” and “how-to” execute engineering tasks.
Mr. Weires is a Technical Fellow in Metallurgy, a Technical Lead Engineer (TLE) for the Metals Staff Engineering group and a Boeing Designated Technical Expert for Heat Treatment. For the Vertical Lift division of Boeing, Mr. Weires provides technical support for the H-47 Chinook, the V-22 Osprey, the Joint Multi-Role(JMR), the AH-64 Apache and MH-139 Grey Wolf. He also supports customers flying commercial variants the107 and 234 helicopters. He is utilized across Boeing to lead problem solving activities impacting the design,fabrication, processing and serviceability of metallic components. His projects have ranged from leading the qualification of a foreign supplier of the drive and rotor systems for the ICH-47F (the Italian version of the H-47 Chinook), failure analysis and root cause investigations on gearboxes within commercial jet engines, bearing failure mitigation on the International Space Station, design and fabrication of components for unmanned maritime vehicles, stress corrosion cracking of high strength materials, development of inspection methods to find arc burns and grinding damage on steel parts and development of new processing methods for gear steels.
Mr. Weires is actively participating in the American Gear Manufacturing Association (AGMA) Metallurgy and Aerospace Gearing Committees. For the AGMA Metallurgy Committee, he was the Committee Vice-Chairman from 2005 to 2008, he then became the Chairman from 2008 through 2015. Currently he is a committee member and his participation in the AGMA Metallurgy committee dates back to 1990. For the AGMA Aerospace committee, he has been a member of that Subcommittee since 2000 and he provides materials and process knowledge to the group whose membership is predominantly gear design experts. Mr. Weires participates in the Penn State (State College) Gear Research Institute (GRI) Aerospace Bloc that investigates gear materials and conducts process development and testing of advanced gear materials including a new corrosion resistant gear steel for aerospace applications. Mr. Weires is also a participant in the USAF led Metals Affordability Initiative (MAI), a consortium of government and industry partners that targets technical solutions that will decrease the cost of metallic materials and their associated processing.
For the ASM-Heat Treating Society (ASM-HTS), Mr. Weires served two terms on the ASM-HTS Board of Directors (2006-2012) and was twice Co-Chairman of the ASM-HTS Technical Conference (2009 & 2011). In 2004, Mr. Weires was the keynote speaker at the ASM Vacuum Carburizing Symposium in Chicago, IL. In2007, he was selected as one of the “25 Most Influential in Heat Treating” by the Heat Treating Industry Newsletter “The Monty” and in 2010, Mr. Weires was awarded the ASM-Philadelphia Chapter William Hunt Eisenman “Established in 1960 in memory of an ASM founder member to recognize unusual achievements in industry in the practical application of metallurgy to production of metals or their engineer use.” Additional accomplishments include: Granted patents # 8,496,872 and 9,790,583 for unique high temperature deep case nitriding of titanium.
Prior to Joining Boeing in 1995, Mr. Weires was the Process Cell Manager and Plant Metallurgist at Lucas Western in Park City, UT. He was responsible for heat treating, electroplating, nondestructive testing, nital etch, the Metallurgical and Chemical Laboratory. This experience included leadership of the design and construction of new facilities, relocation of equipment from the prior location in California and qualification of the start-up of the new facilities. He was the manager of over 30 people in operations and quality.
Mr. Weires was the Plant Metallurgist and Manufacturing Engineering Manager at Litton Precision Gear in Chicago, IL from 1989 to 1992. His Manufacturing Engineering responsibilities were targeted to support heat treating, surface finishing, nondestructive testing and assembly. He led root cause and corrective teams as well as technical meetings with customers.
From 1984 to 1989, he was the heat treating supervisor and Plant Metallurgist at Western Gear, City of Industry, CA. Western Gear was a leader in implementing vacuum carburizing and press quenching of aerospace gear components.
These work experiences have helped Mr. Weires develop insight on how to solve common heat treating problems, improve metallurgical quality and prevent future problems. He has practical experience in the common metallurgical quality control inspections of gearing including surface temper etch inspection, Barkhausen inspection, Magnetic Particle Inspection, Penetrant Inspection and Ultrasonic Inspection.
1) Investigations involved but were not limited to:
a) Development of carburizing processes to optimize micro structures using atmosphere carburizing processes, vacuum carburizing processes and Low Pressure Carburizing (LPC)
b) Development of quenching processes; oil quenching, die quench, plug quench, roller quench and vacuum furnace high pressure gas quenching (HPGQ).
c) Failure analysis of Carburized and Hardened, Through Hardened, and Induction Hardened Gears – Modes of failure included spalling, pitting, tooth tip cracking, tooth bending fatigue, entrapped exogenous inclusions, grinding burns/cracks, arc burns, etc.
d) Heat treat processing discrepancies related to carburizing, induction hardening, nitriding and through hardening processes and includes design, installation and environmental issues.
e) Material processing issues – Cracking in heat treatment due to configuration or decarburization, Non-uniformity in heat treat configuration or inadequate support during heat treatment resulting in excessive distortion.
f) Various types of corrosion problems – atmospheric, galvanic, stress corrosion cracking, crevice corrosion, pitting on gear teeth, etc.
2) Written and/or approved various types of Materials and Process Specifications:
a) Gear Steel Material Specifications
b) Heat treating/Carburizing Specifications – including carburize and hardening procedures for gear steels.
c) Heat treat process for induction hardened gears.
d) Nitride Process for hardening of industrial gearing.
e) Nital Etch Inspection – Grinding Burn process
f) Ultrasonic Inspection of raw materials
g) Magnetic Particle Inspection of Gearing Components
3) Reviewed and approved various manufacturing processes, engineering drawings and heat treat procedures/techniques.
4) Reviewed and approved maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for flight safety components.
a) Facility qualification
b) Process qualification
c) Repair Planning review
d) Product review
5) Written and/or approved new supplier or new facility qualification plans for:
a) Heat Treating
b) Electroplating & Chemical Finishing
c) Shot Peening
d) Isotropic Super finishing
e) Nondestructive Testing
f) Surface Temper Etch Inspection (Nital Etch)
PUBLICATIONS LIST
Dale J. Weires, Senior Metallurgical Engineer
1) BONDING ENERGY OF FOUNDRY SANDS – Contributor to presentation at American Foundry men’s Society Technical Conference, 1984.
2) POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF LOW PRESSURE CARBURIZING FOR THE ROTORCRAFT INDUSTRY – Keynote Address at the ASM Vacuum carburizing Symposium, Chicago, IL in November 2004.
3) AMERICAN GEAR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION SPECIFICATION – AGMA 2004 – “HEAT TREATING MANUAL”. I was a principal contributor to the update of this information sheet.
4) AMERICAN GEAR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION SPECIFICATION – AGMA 2007 –“SURFACE TEMPER INSPECTION” (Now ISO 14104). – I was a principal contributor to the update of
this specification.
5) AMERICAN GEAR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION SPECIFICATION – AGMA 911 -“DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR AEROSPACE GEAR SYSTEMS”. I was a principal contributor to the
update of this specification.
6) AMERICAN GEAR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION SPECIFICATION – AGMA 923 – “METALLURGICAL SPECIFICATION FOR STEEL GEARING”. I was a principal contributor to the update of this specification.
7) AMERICAN GEAR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION SPECIFICATION – AGMA 937 – “AEROSPACE BEVEL GEARING”. I was a principal contributor to the update of this specification.
8) AMERICAN GEAR MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION SPECIFICATION – AGMA 938 – “SHOT PEENING”. I was a principal contributor to this specification.
9) ISOTROPIC SURFACE FINISHING OF HELICOPTER GEARS. I was primary contributor to the white paper that resulted in a USG program to qualify ISF on the H-47 platform, 2005
10) LOW PRESSURE VACUUM CARBURIZING AND HIGH PRESSURE GAS QUENCHING OF GEAR STEELS. D. Weires & S. Holder, Presentation to the ASM Brandywine Chapter, 2008.
11) LOW PRESSURE VACUUM CARBURIZING AND HIGH PRESSURE GAS QUENCHING OF GEAR STEELS. Contributor to the National Rotorcraft Technology Consortium (NRTC) Final Report, 2009
12) QUENCHING OF 9310 GEAR STEEL USING OIL AND HIGH PRESSURE GAS QUENCHING. Presentation at the ASM-HTS Technical Conference, 2009
13) ANALYSIS AND TESTING OF GEARS WITH ASYMMETRIC INVOLUTE TOOTH FORM AND OPTIMIZED FILLET FORM FOR POTENTIAL APPLICATION IN HELICOPTER MAIN DRIVES –
F. Brown, S. Davidson, D. Hanes & D. Weires AGMA FTM 2010
14) INVESTIGATION OF A CRACKED HELICOPTER ROTORSHAFT, ASM Liberty Bell Chapter, 2010 Presentation to the Liberty Bell Chapter as the recipient of the 2010 William Hunt Eisenman Award.
SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS
ASM – American Society for Metals – Member
ASM-HTS – ASM Heat Treating Society – Member
2006 – 2012 Board of Directors
2009 & 2011 Technical Conference Co-Chairman AGMA – Aerospace Gearing Committee, Subcommittee Chairman of Aerospace Materials
AGMA – Metallurgy and Materials Committee – Member
2005 – 2008 Vice Chairman
2008 – 2015 Chairman
PATENT
High Temperature Nitriding of Titanium Parts, 2017 & 2013, Patent numbers: 9790583 & 8496872
General Courses Taught on Metallic Materials and Material Selection, Metallurgy, Heat Treatment, and Quality Control.
- Boeing Internal Course – Created and taught 8 hours of Gear Materials selection and processing for an internal Boeing Course for gear and drive system design, 2002
- Society of Mechanical Engineers, Gear Expo, October 2007 two-hour section taught on Gear Metallurgy
- Boeing Internal Course – Created and taught a 2 hour Course on metallic materials for Boeing Engineers in 2010 American Gear Manufacturers Association, “Materials Selection and Heat Treatment of Gears”, two-hour section taught at Gear Expo, October 2011.
- Boeing Internal Course – Created and taught a 2 hour Course on metallic materials for Boeing Engineers in 2012
