Turbomachinery components 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.
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.
Multiblade
The special package for impeller and blisk machining includes the following strategies:
Turbine blade
The special package for impeller and blisk machining includes the following strategies:
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.
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.
This shows a machining example of a turbine blade on a GROB G550 machine programmed with CAM software hyperMILL®.
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.
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.
