ADMAP-GAS - Unconventional (advanced) manufacturing processes for gas-engine turbine components
Overview
Background & policy context:
High market demand for gas turbines in the aircraft industry has driven the need for more efficient, reliable and flexible manufacturing technologies for the production of turbine components.
Objectives:
The ADMAP-GAS project strives for the production of gas turbine components that are efficient, cheap and environmentally safe. The project aims to achieve low tool manufacturing costs, low maintenance costs, continuous production processes, flexible and fast change in production lines, requirement of less machining space and easy correcting of process inaccuracies.
In the project new Unconventional Advanced Manufacturing Processes for Gas-Engine Turbine Components will be developed in order to substitute the critical conventional broaching process for fir tree profiles between rotating blades and disks.
The project will evaluate Water Jet Cutting and High Speed Wire Electro Discharge Machining ("High Speed Wire-EDM") as alternatives to broaching, a machining operation known to experience problems with high tool wear resulting in high maintenance costs, disruption of the production process and inflexibility with regard to changes in the work piece geometry.
Methodology:
The High Speed Wire-EDM Broaching and Abrasive Water Jet Broaching techniques will be further developed, optimised and their individual performance and effectiveness for the machining task will be evaluated. High material removal rates and highest surface finishing will be achieved, resulting in an equal or even better work piece performance. By using these two unconventional manufacturing technologies, with their inherent advantages, a much higher technological and time based flexibility in production of fir tree profiles can be achieved. Failure risks and machining costs will be drastically decreased due to faster and more efficient machining in combination with a higher degree of automation. Tool wear and time consuming tool renewal can be avoided. Machine tool footprints (in comparison to conventional horizontal broaching centres) or machine heights and fundaments (vertical centres) will be drastically reduced. Energy consumption will be reduced and environment will be preserved.
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