Published 7/8/2018

Starrag Tech Days Highlight Turbine Technology Applications

A visit to Starrag headquarters in Roschacherberg, Switzerland during the company's 2018 technology days revealed new equipment, tools, technologies and machining strategies for turbine manufacturing.

Barbara Schulz

European Correspondent, Gardner Business Media

With its STC T series, Starrag offers turnkey solutions for large aerospace or power engineering casings. The Switzerland-based company’s Turbine Technology Days attract many interested customers every year.

Up to 5 tons can be machined at a speed of 400 rev/min. on the STC MT series, and special angle heads that can be automatically changed ensure efficient machining.

Starrag has developed an adaptive roughing strategy for aerofoils, leading and trailing edges, intersections and platform machining. After the casting is measured on the machine, a best-fit machining strategy ensures that there are no air cuts, which cuts machining time in half.

A custom NC program tailored to each blade ensures the best possible roughing strategy, Sofian Regez explained.

In Haimer’s Cool Flash system, high-pressure coolant is sprayed through the face area of the toolholder, directed at the cutting edges of the tool.

Haimer’s heavy-duty shrink chuck allows a cutting feed of 80 m/min. as compared to 60 m/min. with a standard shrink cut when machining Ti6Al4V with a Haimer Power Mill. The feed per tooth can be increased to 0.07 mm/tooth (standard: 0.05 mm/tooth), Haimer says.

This stator blisk segment is machined in one setup with a special “lollipop” milling cutter and conical ball-end mill. The blades could only be machined with special tools due to undercuts and extreme demands on precision. The segment is 300 mm in length and features 16 blades made of X5CrNi18-10.

Starrag develops customized tools for individual workpieces to ensure the best possible machining strategy. This "lollipop”milling cutter was developed to machine a stator blisk segment in one setup on a Starrag LX 051.

Starrag Group's new CEO, Dr Christian Walti, gave the opening address at the Technology Days event this past June at the company’s Swiss headquarters.

The June 2018 Starrag Technology Days event at the company’s Swiss headquarters was opened by the Starrag Group's new CEO, Dr. Christian Walti, and was once again packed with interesting technology presentations. Jointly organized with toolholding and cutting tool company Haimer, highlights included a new adaptive roughing strategy that eliminates air cuts, angle-head applications with automated tool change, Haimer's tool-shrinking, tool-balancing and pressetting solutions, and custom tools for blisk-machining applications.

Browse the slideshow to explore some of the highlights.