aerospace

When it is all about speed and precision ...

Starrag is equipping its LX 051 five-axis blade machining centre with a six-axis robot that can take responsibility for loading, unloading and moving components. This flexible robotic cell works with a high level of speed and precision – ideal for scores of customers in the Aircraft and Energy industries. Starrag also uses this type of robotic cell itself to cover peaks in production when handling customer orders or to manufacture prototypes in the shortest of timeframes, such as for Belgian aircraft supplier Techspace Aero.

When it comes to producing prototypes, time is of the essence. Ultimately, the aim is to keep development times short and to launch new products onto the market as quickly as possible. The aircraft industry is no exception here. Starrag AG produces machines that are geared towards the requirements of this sector, and offers its customers particular support in this regard. At its headquarters in Rorschacherberg in Switzerland, the company runs a Centre of Production Excellence (CPE). This application centre is equipped with state-of-the-art five-axis machining centres, machines that can be used to create a wide range of flow surfaces, as well as complex structural components. The technology experts at Starrag use these machines to optimise new and sophisticated machining processes, as well as to take on customer orders for prototype production. The machines are also used to reduce the strain in the event of production bottlenecks in the manufacture of turbine blades, compressor blades, impellers, blisks and complex structural components.

A real all-rounder:The flexible robotic cell

Among the technology used in the CPE is an automated production cell that features the LX 051 machining centre as its core element. Starrag developed the LX series specifically with the highly precise, efficient, simultaneous five-axis machining of turbine blades in mind. A six-axis robot is also built into the machine. This robot can be programmed as required, delivering a high level of flexibility. The robot not only automates the process for loading and unloading components but can also ensure components are moved automatically, support integrated measurement processes and much more besides, depending on the production task at hand.

The robotic cell is the product of decades of experience in the development of machine tools and special tools and comes as a result of Starrag’s wide-ranging expertise in the prototype and series production of turbine blades, as well as in the automation of the processes.

Rainer Hungerbühler, Head of Sales of the Aero Engines & Power Turbines market segment, is impressed by the robotic cell: “With the level of flexibility it offers and the scope for automated operation with little intervention required from the operator, the robotic cell is guaranteed to deliver major benefits for customers – so much so we have already successfully delivered the product as a solution. However, our very own robotic cell in the CPE has also been able to put its performance to the test many times over, most recently for Techspace Aero, a large-scale supplier to the aircraft industry based in Belgium.”

Rapid production in multi-shift operation

Techspace Aero, a company belonging to the French Safran Group, is the global market leader in the development and production of low-pressure compressors for civil aircraft engines. Thanks to key developments made over the recent years, today an aircraft equipped with a low-pressure compressor from Techspace Aero takes off every two seconds. These developments have seen the company grow over the past few years to the size it is today – employing a staff of 1,450 and achieving an annual turnover that most recently totalled 650 million euro. Techspace Aero recently received the order to manufacture a powerful low-pressure compressor for a new engine. In order to adhere to the tight schedule for special functional tests, a set of new starter blades was required. Due to the short development time of the new LEAP aircraft engine – which over the coming years is set to replace its predecessor, the CFM56, one of the most successful aircraft engines of recent decades – it was necessary to produce and test the newly developed compressor blades in a very short amount of time.

Tom Henkes, Process Engineer at Techspace Aero, explains: “I saw the robotic cell based on the LX 051 for myself on my last visit to Starrag in Rorschacherberg and was impressed by its flexibility and autonomy. When I asked whether it would be possible to produce the blade sets we required within the space of a few weeks, I received a positive response. The robotic cell has enabled us to produce the blades in three-shift operation seven days a week, with a significantly reduced number of employees, and to deliver the required quality in a very short space of time. This was possible thanks to the flexibility and innovative drawer system offered by the Starrag robotic cell.”


Machine, automation and process from a single source

Based on this order, Starrag configured the robotic cell in the CPE to fully machine the blades in two clamping positions. The LX 051 was equipped with the relevant tools and NC programmes. Two pallets executed as drawers serve as an interface between operator and cell.

Rectangular-shaped castings of any size and made from any material are provided by the customer in both drawers. A grid is located in the drawer that is adjusted to the current component size. The size of the drawers is selected so as to ensure that a full night shift can be worked through fully automatically. This enables customers to achieve a cost-effective form of production even in countries where labour costs are high. To ensure maximum flexibility during this process and to make it easier to change between workpieces, each drawer can be allocated another component.

Thanks to its flexibility, the robot can be programmed with a host of workflows to cater for different types of turbine blades. The process for a turbocharger blade is presented below as an example: The workflow starts with the robot taking a casting from drawer 1. First it checks whether it has the correct one for the blade geometry to be produced in its gripper using a measuring station inside the cell. Once the OK has been given, the robot loads the casting in the hydraulic clamping device. There, the blade base obtains its pine tree profile, which later allows the blade to be fixed in the impeller on the shaft.

The profile is also used for the second clamping operation – moving the component is again a task for the robot. However, as the required positioning accuracy of the blade profile to the blade base is within a range of approximately 0.01 mm, the position of the pine tree profile is measured beforehand in the second clamping operation. Based on the data acquired, the control automatically optimises the milling programme for the blades to ensure the required accuracy is achieved.

Growth - High level of flexibility enables very different machining tasks to be completed

Equipped with a double gripper, the robot finally removes the finished component and, after a small pivot, immediately positions a new casting. Once the robot has moved back from the machining centre, it places the finished turbine blade in drawer 2. At the same time, it starts the machining process again.

Regardless of whether the Starrag robotic cell is used for this type of service or whether it is used by an end customer, the benefits are impressive. The user benefits from a solution where the machine, automation and entire machining process are coordinated with one another to optimum effect. This includes the complete machining of all blade types being completed with a single clamping device. The result: clearly calculable, optimised unit costs for the ready-to-install blades. What’s more, once loaded the robotic cell is able to continue working through the stock without further intervention from the operator, enabling capacity to be utilised around the clock. Thanks to the flexibility offered by the six-axis robot, the system can also be configured for different machining tasks without substantial setup costs.

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