Processes to take off

< Back to Magazine No. 02-2024

news

Processes to take off

The aviation industry is pushing its productivity

The mood in the aircraft construction industry is extremely positive. Full order books are waiting to be processed. Production managers therefore expect the Aerospace & Turbine Technology Days at Starrag's headquarters in Rorschacherberg to provide some practical ideas for making their manufacturing processes even more efficient. And on 18th and 19th June, they received a wide variety of them in large numbers.

The Aerospace & Turbine Technology Days are not a “normal” in-house exhibition. “The focus here is not on our Starrag machines, but on technical solutions for problems that production managers in aircraft and turbine construction are dealing with intensively,” emphasizes Martin Buyle, CEO of the StarragTornos Group. Together with highly qualified partner companies from the fields of automation, digitalization, metrology, tool presetting, etc., Starrag demonstrates live how various processes can be improved. The results not only inspire the visitors, but also Martin Buyle: “I am always fascinated by how, even with a wide range of workpieces, an intelligent combination of machine, tool and software can increase productivity, sometimes by a percentage of two to three digits.”

The process-orientated event concept has been extremely well received by participants for many years. Martin Buyle welcomed over 200 participants in June 2024: “All well-known aircraft manufacturers, OEMs, first-tier suppliers and manufacturers of power plant turbines are represented here. They come from all over the world, from America, Europe and Asia, from a total of 18 nations.”

His fellow board member Alexander Attenberger, responsible for Starrag sales, confirms this: “Our Technology Days, which we are organizing for the 25th time, have become one of the most important forums for the aerospace industry. This is where production specialists can find out about the latest developments and exchange experiences with each other.” This is particularly interesting at the moment. The aviation industry is in a state of upheaval; Energy efficiency, lightweight construction and carbon footprint are becoming increasingly important and completely new drive concepts are being debated.

The “Blade in one go” station is a guide to where we should be heading. Here, a turbine blade is manufactured off the shelf in a fully automated process. Blank handling, machining and reclamping, as well as depositing the finished part in a cassette, all take place without the need for manual intervention by an employee. The Starrag LX 021 5-axis shovel machining center is at the center of the production facility. Partner Blum Novotest contributes to the high process reliability with its technologically leading measuring components.

Right next door is another highlight of the 2024 Technology Days – an automated LX 051 shovel machining center, in which a Fanuc cobot including parts storage was integrated without increasing the footprint of the machine. “The plant can now be operated in night and weekend shifts with fewer or no operators. In addition, the productivity per square meter has increased significantly,” explains Alexander Attenberger.