03.02.2020

Turbine part: In total, more productive, more dimensionally stable and safer.

Significant increase in productivity plus more precise results in the fully automated production of turbine parts on the Haas Multigrind® CA.

Hells Kitchen!

The engine of a medium-range aircraft consists of around 20,000 delicate individual components. A turbine blade is exposed to extreme loads in the intake, in the compressor and especially in the combustion chamber. High speeds and temperatures of more than 2,000 degrees Celsius, massive centrifugal forces and constant bombardment by dust particles require high-strength and extremely heat-resistant materials. Milling or turning of turbine parts makes little sense with these difficult-to-machine high-tech materials made of Inconel, Nimonic or Titanium, also with regard to the required maximum surface quality and dimensional accuracy.

But what's maximum? The demands on a turbine increase from series to series. Aircraft turbines have to become lighter, more powerful, quieter and more environmentally friendly. In the meantime, there has been a lot of public discussion about specific goals, such as reducing consumption and noise pollution. Because technological progress should continue to meet our mobility needs. Alternative biofuels as a substitute for kerosene could prove to be a real “game changer” for aviation in the near future.

But high-tech turbines are not only used in the aerospace sector. Engineers everywhere are trying to significantly optimize the efficiency of new turbines.

The compact, powerful Multigrind® CA high-tech grinding machine is the core of the fully automated production of complex turbine parts. Together with the large tool changer and the automation cabin with robot unit, it becomes a production unit for unmanned series operation. 

Grinding in one clamping is the first choice!

When manufacturing or repairing expensive turbine parts, grinding is clearly the best way to get there. With consistently well thought-out high-tech grinding, of course! Haas Schleifmaschinen has developed a fully automated grinding process for the compact Multigrind® CA and with the help of its own Application software Multigrind® Horizon, in which all geometries of a turbine part can be machined in a single clamping.

This comprehensive processing sequence has many small individual masters who together achieve great things:

  • With a new clamping device from Haas Schleifmaschinen, all functional sides of a complex turbine part can be processed in just one setup. Consequently, both the foot and the neck or sealing elements. The innovative clamping device is designed in such a way that no deformation of the workpiece can occur during grinding as well as during loading and unloading.
  • The exact clamping position of the component, within the machine work evelop can be dedected and calculated in the Multigrind® CA. The machining program is aligned to this position. The results of the subsequent compensation measurements on the workpieces are used for the automatic fine correction of the grinding path and implemented precisely, in the sense of a closed loop. So the quality remains constant and flawless - turbine part by turbine part.
  • Because of the large tool changer the set-up effort is very small. There is space for up to 70 grinding wheels. Depending on the workpiece size, there are 5 to 7 grinding wheels used, including sister tools and coolant manifolds for each grinding wheel. The coolant oil pressure is 40 bar, and the grinding wheel is cleaned with an additional 70 bar. Less set-up costs = less unit costs and less tool costs.
  • Three dressing units with diamond profile dressing wheels up to a width of 280mm. The complete profile is dressed in the grinding wheel. These are measured again and again and kept in shape. The best conditions for an exact, repeatable result.  
  • The Multigrind® CA with its thermostable and vibration-damped mineral cast bed is the ideal machine for machining turbine parts. The high drive power allows very fine and dynamically fast grinding movements. Thanks to the symmetrically arranged 5 axes, even difficult-to-access areas of the workpiece can be machined with µm accuracy.
  • The complete processing time, depending on the turbine part, is an impressive 12 - 15 minutes. During the grinding process, the next workpiece is already loaded by the robot and fixed in the clamping device. The robot automation in unmanned operation eliminates sources of error since the robot places the workpiece in the clamping device with high precision.
  • The robot automation has other advantages in addition to loading and unloading: The turbine part is passed on to the measuring machine without being removed from the clamping device. The workpiece is washed, the component numbers or the QR code are laser marked, and then a crack test is carried out.

"The grinding process, which Haas ensures throughout, not only reduces the machining time and the high tool costs, but also guarantees repeatable quality in the µm range.”

Above the clouds and on the ground

Thomas Bader, enthusiastic aerobatic pilot, engineer with body and soul and managing director at Haas Schleifmaschinen from Trossingen comments: “Of course, as a pilot and active aerobatic pilot, I have a very close connection to aircraft technology. We are also familiar with the high safety relevance and the precise manufacture of each individual workpiece for implants from the medical industry. Nevertheless, it is something very special for me to sit in a jet and imagine that at Haas we have contributed a few essential parts to ensure that the bird flies safely. Increasing the demands on the efficiency of a turbine or a compressor is a challenge that fits perfectly with our understanding of high-tech processes. And with our solutions, we see ourselves at the top of the grinder industry. ”

Haas Schleifmaschinen will show where the journey is heading, using the example of a turbine component made of the super-strength material Inconel. Check in right away and watch the chips take off.

The author

Zita Bader

Zita Bader works in the marketing and communication department of Adelbert Haas GmbH.

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