aerospace

Scharmann ECOFORCE

Improves production capacity for tailored valve machining

In light of casting and forging costs of up to 120,000 euros per raw material, care, competence and confidence in the machining and production process are of the utmost importance at Koso Kent Introl (KKI).The company manufactures specialised valve bodies for underwater applications, as well as for the oil, gas and petrochemicals sector.

The level of production capacity offered by the company can be attributed to the installation of the ECOFORCE 1 HT2 horizontal machining centre. The machine from Mönchengladbach is predominantly used to machine custom components for which cycle times of more than 24 hours are common. Lynn Mowbray, Operations Director at the British company, explains: “Processing capacity for custom products can quickly become limited for us. Due to the particular production method we use, the specific requirements of our “right first time” approach for components made from materials that are difficult to machine, and the high level of machining capacity required, only very few machine tools have been able to meet our strict production requirements.” In addition, KKI can draw on numerous references from the 25 years of business the company has shared with Dörries Scharmann.

+ 25% shorter cycle times due to milling, turning and drilling operations in one clamping position

KKI produces highly durable control and throttle valves, one-way restrictors for surface and underwater applications, as well as control valves for underwater applications. Each week, the site manufactures an average of 20 valves with capacities of between 25 and 508 mm from sophisticated materials such as titanium, Inconel, super duplex, duplex and stainless steel. The highly durable valves are used in a variety of outdoor applications, including high-pressure and high-temperature applications, and must withstand the effects of cavitation, high speeds, vibrations, evaporation and dissipation (sound and energy) as well as liquids polluted by suspended matter.

+/- 0,02 mm tolerance

“We make use of the machine‘s precision to ad-here to very strict specifications.”

The machine, which measures 1,600 × 1,250 × 2,200 mm, is equipped with 1,400-mm double pallets so that the operator (who is present at all times) can set up and prepare the next component in advance. Providing no heat treatment is required, most components are now processed on the ECOFORCE machine in a single sequence of clearing, pre-smoothing and finishing. Lynn Mowbray explains: “We make use of the capabilities and level of accuracy offered by the machine as much as possible in order to adhere to our strict specifications in terms of geometric relationships, size tolerances and surface finishes. We always carry out numerous cuts and perform constant tests, as any error would be extremely costly. Thanks to the repeatability of the process, however, we can make highly precise adjustments using a minute off- set – and know the result in advance.”

The main areas of the production cycle include turning work for large surfaces and flanges and the drilling of various holes in surfaces positioned adjacent or at an angle to each other. These holes can have a diameter of up to 700 mm and a depth of 600 mm and are drilled using specialised drill rods with a normal tolerance of +/- 0.02 or, in some special cases, an overall tolerance of 0.01 mm. The drawing specifications can even include offset or semi-circular machining. For most components, pitch circle boring cycles are also required.

The high-quality ECOFORCE is installed on a specially prepared solid foundation and offers a 4,000-rpm spindle drive with a 50-kW output and torque of 2,200 Nm. The specification also includes a facing head with a maximum rotation diameter of 1,250 mm. This rotating head offers a speed of 300 rpm and an enormous level of torque of 6,000 Nm. The W axis is 375 mm long, the U axis +/- 100 mm. Questions about environmental protection, such as the installation of energy efficient drives, the recovery of energy, compensation for idle power and energy efficient peripheral devices for hydraulics, hydrostatics and cooling, all played an important role when purchasing the machine.

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