When turbine manufacturing is fun …
Turbine Technology Days 2016
AT THIS YEAR’S Turbine Technology Days (TTD) event, which was being held for the fourth time in 2016, Starrag and the German company HAIMER GmbH promised to deliver a show with numerous partners and demonstrations. The main focus at the Starrag site in Rorschacherberg was on one important finding: The manufacturing of turbine components is fun. “Together with numerous interesting event partners, we will be presenting the best products and services relating to the manufacture of turbines”, said Dr Bernhard Bringmann, Managing Director of Starrag, as he welcomed around 150 guests to the event.
“I’m here because it’s important for me to keep my finger on the pulse of the manufacturing processes”, pointed out Dr Gregor Kappmeyer, Engineering Associate Fellow Machining at Rolls- Royce Deutschland Ltd & Co KG in Oberursel. A holistic approach is very important for him with regard to the manufacture of aircraft components, explained Dr Kappmeyer in his lecture “Modern Aero Engine Components – Efficient Machining, the Key for Success”.
Dr Kappmeyer declared what is referred to as the marketplace, where the partners of the Starrag Group showed how different products and services can be combined with those of the machine tool manufacturer to produce tailormade solutions, a complete success. An important partner for Starrag in this field is HAIMER GmbH in Igenhausen: “The customers were able to gain a clear picture of why the tool clamping device plays a key role in the overall process as an interface between the machine spindle and the cutting edge of the tool. Why balancing the entire tool is so important for the machine spindle, workpiece precision and tool life was covered in detail.”
Other equally important engineering partners represented at the marketplace were TDM Systems, CGTech Deutschland (Vericut), Boeing (production research), Benz (tools for the machining of housings), Blaser Swisslube (coolants and lubricants), Flexmill (polishing and grinding of turbine blades), Heule (tools for double-sided deburring, chamfering , countersinking in a single working step), Moldtech (CAD/CAM), Oerlikon Surface Solutions (tool coatings), Thomson (linear friction welding) and Wenzel (coordinate measuring technology).
Starrag Group has gone one step further than in its partnerships with other companies with flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), including cell controllers, with which the company covers 90 to 95 % of requirements. The Swiss specialists are responsible for the complete system, which is very flexible according to individual customer needs. As a current example, Project Manager Marcel Leuch presented a new FMS with four linked machining centres, a grinding machine and two robots (parts handling), which can fully machine seven different components (forged guide vanes and engine housings) – including component cleaning and measuring – in three clamping positions. The really clever thing about it is the automation, which reduces unproductive times and downtimes, thus considerably increasing productivity. Marcel Leuch: “If one robot should fail, the other automatically takes over.” A good example of how the important customer requirement of reliability can be met with clever automation.
“Our speciality is tailor-made tools, including for very thin-walled workpieces.”
The fine art of complete machining of hybrid components – in this case an outlet guide vane (OGV) made from aluminium, composite and titanium – was demonstrated by a Starrag expert on a Starrag LX 151, a machining centre specially designed for the 5-axis machining of turbine blades. A 2.65 kg OGV with two pockets was created from 72 kg of aluminium alloy forgings (AMS 4147) in nine machining steps (including 3D roughing, face milling and even finishing). One pocket is filled with composite and sealed with a titanium component.
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