Product category:
CNC and Motion Controllers
News Release from: Heidenhain (GB) | Subject: ITNC 530 digital drive control systems
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 21 March 2008
Digital drive control enables precision
drilling
Machine tools with digital drive control systems are capable of the high precision drilling of cooling holes in turbine components destined for aerospace engines.
Specialising in the design and supply of machining systems to turbine manufacturers, Winbro Group Technologies' expertise is directed to the custom building of high-performance laser and high speed electrical discharge machining (HS-EDM) machine systems The 80-plus employee company based at Coalville, Leicestershire, also designs and builds equipment for electro chemical machining (ECM) and stem/capillary drilling applications, It is a fact of life that these processes can be extremely challenging in terms of their operation and control because, as Mike Wakeham, Systems Engineer, points out, they are not necessarily predictable, and so hands-on experience counts for a great deal
Added to which the turnkey solutions devised by Winbro can take several months to complete and the element of unpredictability means there is never an absolute guarantee of a successful outcome.
However, the company has succeeded in establishing an enviable reputation for its novel approach and today is an acknowledged world market leader in its chosen niche.
Two recently completed machines - a Delta Laser and a HSD (High Speed Drilling) EDM - epitomise Winbro's disciplined approach to engineering, project management, manufacture and service.
Both machine tools are equipped with Heidenhain iTNC 530 digital drive control systems and are capable of the high precision drilling of cooling holes in turbine components destined for aerospace engines.
The technology behind the five-axis laser machining process has been developed specifically to match the high level of quality and accuracy previously achievable only with EDM.
Winbro's innovative LFE (Laser Front End) - Post allows the user to create complex 3D shapes and hole patterns from a graphical front end, which in turn interfaces with the Heidenhain iTNC 530 to enable easy control of the five-axis laser processing system when processing components destined for the aerospace and industrial gas turbine industries.
The HSD EDM multi-axis machine is also earmarked for the drilling of complex aerospace components, but has the advantage of being able to drill holes where a direct line of sight is not possible and at angles of less than 10 degrees to the surface.
In both instances drilling of components takes place at a late stage in the manufacturing process, when components have a very high value-added content and machining errors could be extremely costly.
The resulting emphasis on extreme accuracy in terms of both the geometry of each hole/feature and its precise location on the surface of the component, which is a prerequisite for producing the correct flow pattern and desired cooling effect, is a major influence on the decision to equip Winbro machines with Heidenhain iTNC 530 control systems.
The subject of ongoing development, the iTNC 530 contouring control is capable of producing a highly accurate workpiece when machining at high speed.
And, like all iTNC contouring controls from Heidenhain, it features velocity feed forward control, which means that it can machine with a very small following error of only a few microns.
"The iTNC 530 has a lot of special features relating to complex contours and it is a very good control", says Wakeham, "although laser machining and EDM are a different ballgame to, say, milling because there are no machining forces to contend with".
"Workpieces are probed when in place to establish the position of the key features of the cast/fabricated component and our patented laser 'drilling on the fly' technique then significantly reduces production times for the drilling of cooling holes in rotary components by allowing continuous rotation of the workpiece during machining".
"We also use Heidenhain EnDat [bidirectional interface] encoders on every axis, including the rotary axes, to ensure optimum accuracy and repeatability as well as relying on Heidenhain motors and drives". Request a free brochure from Heidenhain (GB) ...
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