100 machines for the wind power world champion

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energy

100 machines for the wind power world champion

“When the winds of change blow, some build walls and others windmills.” True to this old Chinese saying, China continues to extend its lead as world champion in wind power – now strongly supported by 100 Starrag machine tools. The success story started in 2006 with a machine from the Heckert Large Athletic series.

Huge, modular and flexible. These three characteristics distinguish the machine tools of the Heckert Large Athletic series. These are horizontal machining centres in four- and five-axis versions designed for the economical machining of workpieces weighing up to 13 tons with a maximum edge length of 3,300 mm.

2006: Start of the Chinese success story

The Chinese success story started in 2006 when the Starrag plant in Chemnitz delivered a Heckert HEC 1600 with quill to a German manufacturer in the wind energy sector in China. In 2007, a wellknown Chinese company also received a Heckert HEC 1600 as a turnkey solution. The customised solution was well received, as shortly thereafter the company ordered three Heckert HEC 1800s, the largest model in the Heckert Large Athletic series to date.

“Supplying products to two important customers in the wind power sector early on has laid the foundation for Starrag’s success in the Chinese wind power industry,” claims a delighted Hubert Erz (Dipl.-Ing.), Senior Consultant Sales/Renewables. “A total of 100 Starrag machines from the Heckert, Dörries and Berthiez product ranges went to China, where they have since been turning, milling and grinding very high-quality wind turbine gearbox components.”

The feedback from customers on these two particularly popular models shows what companies in the wind power sector attach particular importance to – and not only in China. We are talking about the Heckert HEC 1600 and Heckert HEC 1800, the two top models in the Heckert Large Athletic series. The horizontal machining centres from Chemnitz are suitable for complete and multi-sided machining of gearbox housings and planetary gear carriers used in wind turbines with an output of 1.5 to 6 MW. Thanks to the modular design principle, they can be customised in terms of loading mass, pallet size, interference zone and XYZ tracking.

Jörg Heinrich, Director of Application & Technology Starrag China, Shanghai

“ Our customers benefit from our specially developed quill, based on our experiences with orders for a large, very well-known pioneer in wind power.”

Quill specially developed for the wind power industry

The secrets to success include special developments, which is one of Starrag’s strengths. “Our customers benefit from our specially developed quill, based on our experiences with orders for a large, very well-known pioneer in wind power,” Jörg Heinrich, Director of Application & Technology at Starrag China in Shanghai says, looking back. “With a diameter of 150 mm and an extension length of 750 mm, it meets the special requirements of this industry.”

25 % faster than competitor machines

Because the later performance of a wind turbine crucially depends on its drive elements, the companies in the industry rely on the highest precision in machining. Beneficial features of the Starrag machines include machining quality IT 5/6 and the high long-term accuracy of the linear and rotary axes. Heinrich: “These are not exaggerated advertising claims, but facts thanks to which our customers achieve higher machining accuracies compared to the competition.”

Automation increases processing speed by up to 25%

In addition to precision, productivity is also required. Here too – according to feedback from the Far East – the two machining centres perform very well: This is partly owed to the high degree of automation of the machines, thanks to the Heckert HEC models which machine workpieces up to 25% faster than competitor machines. Setup times are reduced by the standard equipment with pallet changer, which enables workpieces to be set up during machining and thus enables unmanned shifts over a longer period of time.

The enormous amount of space available in the Heckert tool magazines increases productivity even further: This calls for the compact tower magazine with up to 450 tool positions. Bridge tools weighing up to 50 kg and with a diameter of 950 mm can be accommodated here. In addition, the tower magazine can hold 30 tools up to 800 mm long for automatic use in the main spindle.

An Athletic start: The success story of around 100 Starrag machines for the Chinese wind power industry began in 2006 with a Heckert HEC 1600.

“All in all, there is a lot to be said for the successful duo from Chemnitz,” emphasises Hubert Erz, Senior Consultant Sales/Renewables. “This is also shown by the sales statistics, because roughly every second Starrag machine sold came from Chemnitz. I am delighted that the topic of wind power is now also being dealt with more intensively in our geographical region and that we will be able to incorporate on our experience from the China projects over the past decades here in Germany. With our Heckert, Dörries and Berthiez product ranges, we have all the prerequisites to write many more success stories.”