Application specific

The high speed Edgetek CBN machine has been purchased to improved cycle times and increase machinery efficiency in the production of custom machined critical components for aerospace – commercial and military – and industrial gas turbines. This includes turbine components made from hard to machine exotic alloys.

The Precision Technologies Group (PTG) encompasses a number of established brands including Jones & Shipman, Holroyd, Binns & Berry, Crawford Swift and Precision Components.

“The Edgetek is the ideal machine to improve productivity and reduce costs across small batch custom machined components,” says Steve Benn, PTG regional sales manager for machines. “The inherent flexibility of the Edgetek SAM machines allows them to reduce multi-operation processes, even if the material is difficult to machine nickel-based alloys used in aerospace applications, or the powdered metals used for timing gears and sprockets in car engines.”

Therm Incorporated is a supplier of turbine components to major OEMs specialising in LP and HP blades and vanes for aerospace and industrial gas turbine applications.

“Key to winning this order was our ability to demonstrate an excellent track record with Edgetek machines of achieving vastly improved performance in aerospace manufacturing applications,” adds Mr Benn. “We were able to demonstrate how a US-based aerospace subcontractor had used an Edgetek 5-axis SAM to reduce the cycle time for ‘shroud segment' production from 150 minutes to just 17 minutes.

“The shroud segment is manufactured from hard Hastalloy X and had previously been machined using a vertical turning centre. This required time-consuming set-up and involved a configuration which imposed excessive levels of tool wear because of its interrupted cut.

“Using the 5-axis Edgetek machine has dramatically reduced the overall cycle time for each component, because of its combination of high metal removal rates and simplified set-up. Tooling costs have also been reduced by over 30%.

He continues: “In addition to reduced cycle times, we were also able to show Therm how, by using an Edgetek, it could reduce the number of machines required – and hence set up times – for machined blade and vane products. We were able to cite an example in the aerospace sector, where a single 5-axis Edgetek machine is replacing seven conventional milling and grinding machines, providing a reduction in the machine set-up time for a complex part from eight hours to less than 10 minutes.”

Another important advantage of the Edgetek machines is their use of plated Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) coated grinding wheels to achieve good metal removal rates on a wide range of hard and exotic materials that are unsuitable for high speed machining with diamond coated grinding wheels.

“Smaller batches and more set-ups mean that many companies no longer have the luxury to amortise the cost of bonded CBN wheels over extended production runs,” Mr Benn explains. “Plated technology fills the need for high metal removal rates with short set-up times and eliminates the need for dressing.”

Jones & Shipman
www.jonesshipman.com