Compressors, Pumps, and Turbines

Compressors, Pumps, and Turbines provide highly efficient service in many areas, from power generators to chemical processing to the jet engines found on air­planes. The demand for ma­xi­mum efficiency begins in the production of the complex rotational parts used in them.

This includes impellers and blisks installed in turbo­machines. Individual turbine blades are high-end com­po­nents that have to meet many different requirements with regard to sur­face quality and profile accuracy. 5‑axis milling processes are commonly used in the production of impellers and blisks.

 
 –

Industry Challenges

  • Complex work­piece geo­metries

    Reliable 5‑axis strategies are necessary for machining highly complex impeller and blisk geo­metries

  • Materials that are difficult to machine

    Innovative special strategies are required for the efficient and tool-friendly machining of titanium and Inconel

  • High surface quality and tight dimensional tolerances

    Highly efficient strategies are necessary to achieve the required sur­face quality for impellers, blisks, and turbine blades with minimal programming

Programming made easy thanks to special packages perfectly matched to the requirements

The machining of impellers and blisks places high demands on CAM soft­ware. Standard 5‑axis strategies are not sufficient for efficient NC programs used to produce these components. With its multi-blade pac­kage that targets impeller, blisk and turbine components, OPEN MIND is there­fore able to offer machining strategies specially designed for simple and efficient programming of turbo­machinery components. Integration into the familiar hyperMILL® environment enables other machining options to be combined and thus optimize or complete the production of parts. Other components such as diffusers and casings can also be programmed in a single soft­ware solution. The hyperMILL® special packages provide easy-to-use automated functions, allowing users to program even complex components with­out any specialized know­ledge.

Would you like to learn more about our complete CAM solution for Turbomachinery components?

If so, please contact OPEN MIND Technologies USA, Inc.
1492 Highland Avenue, Unit 3, Needham MA 02492

CAM Strategies for Industry-specific Components

Multiblade
Singleblade

Multiblade

The special package for impeller and blisk machining includes the following strategies:

  • Multiblade roughing
  • Multiblade plunge roughing
  • Multiblade hub finishing
  • Multiblade point milling
  • Multiblade flank milling
  • Multiblade edge milling
  • Multiblade fillet milling

Turbine blade

The special package for impeller and blisk machining includes the following strategies:

  • 5-axis blade top milling
  • 5-axis blade swarf cutting
  • 5-axis blade fillet milling
  • 5-axis blade platform machining

Automation speeds up programming

Like all other companies, turbo­machinery manufacturers are also facing the constant need to cut costs. This makes it all the more important to design the end-to-end manufacturing process – from NC programming to milling – to be as economical as possible.
Feature and macro technology allow the user to save considerable time during NC programming. Having a simple definition of the key blade features enables the use of stored programming sequences in the form of a macro. The complete NC programming can thus be automated, standardized, and performed very quickly.

Leaving nothing to chance: simulation and collision avoidance

The simulation technologies and post­processors developed by OPEN MIND allow even the most complex impellers, blisks, and turbine blades to be reliably manufactured every time. For instance, hyperMILL® VIRTUAL Machining offers an NC code-based simulation. This takes into account both the geo­metries and the kinematic behavior of all components involved in the manufacturing process. During simulated 5‑axis machining, the user is shown the exact movements that the machine tool will actually perform. Integrated safety mechanisms ensure that only collision-free NC programs are transferred to the machine tool.

Videos: CAM software for Turbo­machinery

Want to watch our videos?

Then please enable cookies to view this content.

Enable cookies

Turbine Blade | GROB
Impeller Machining
5-axis Machining: Aerospace – Single Blade
Turbine Blade | GROB

This shows a machining example of a turbine blade on a GROB G550 machine programmed with CAM software hyperMILL®.

Impeller Machining

The manufacture of complex rotational parts with multiple blades, such as blisks and impellers, as well as individual blades, require complex 5-axis milling. OPEN MIND offers its own impeller/blisk and turbine package for components used in aircraft engines, turbomachinery and power generators. This allows the programming of these complex applications, even without special expertise in the field.

5-axis Machining: Aerospace – Single Blade

This video shows the machining of a single blade on a KERN Micro. hyperMILL®’s single blade module provides optimized milling strategies for complete and reliable machining of such parts. A special highlight is the possibility to use conical barrel cutters for finishing. This reduces machining times significantly and ensures excellent surface quality.

 
 

Reference

 –

Polygona Präzisionsmechanik AG

Read more
 

Advantages at a Glance

  • Integrated solution

    Everything in a single user inter­face

  • Best-in-class 5‑axis strategies

    Enable safe machining of complex impellers, blisks, and turbine blades

  • Easy to program

    Intuitive and supported by automated functions

  • High process reliability

    Thanks to collision-checked tool­paths as well as reliable simulation and collision avoidance

  • Optimized roughing and finishing strategies

     For efficient, tool- and machine-friendly machining, even when handling difficult-to-machine materials

mobile-s mobile-m mobile-l tablet desktop-s desktop-m desktop-l desktop-xl