Turbine manufacturing companies in the aviation and energy sectors depend on Starrag machines for their power and precision. This reliance extends beyond engine blades and blisks to include turbine housings. Aircraft engines, steam, and gas turbines require housings and casings available in varied sizes. These components are increasingly complex and often made from challenging materials, necessitating multiple processing technologies ideally combined within a single machine or flexible manufacturing systems. Starrag’s extensive machine range meets these rigorous demands.
The Starrag STC series is pivotal in machining large turbine casings, capable of handling diameters up to 3.3 metres. These machines excel in economical 5-axis heavy-duty machining, particularly with intricate casings made from titanium and Inconel. For smaller casings, the Heckert X series in MT design offers high-precision turning and milling on one machine. The 5-axis X variants feature a rotary swivelling table, ideal for creating angled holes in casings.
Starrag addresses the machining of enormous steam and gas turbine housings, with diameters reaching up to 12 metres, using large Droop+Rein portal machining centres produced in Bielefeld. Additionally, the vertical Dörries lathes and Berthiez machines, primarily used in aircraft construction, offer vertical turning and grinding capabilities. Starrag’s SIP horizontal or vertical jig boring machines, produced in Vuadens, Switzerland, provide ultra-precision machining for fine boring, milling, and grinding.
The Bumotec CNC turning/milling centres at Vuadens produce small, high-precision, complex parts with micrometre-level accuracy, crucial for components like injection nozzles in casings. The UK subsidiary TTL, specialising in Siemens NX CAM, plays a critical role in maintenance, repair, and overhaul tasks for turbine housings. This expertise is vital for restoring costly housings to near-new condition through build-up welding and precise milling.
Alexander Fitz, Sales Director for Aerospace & Turbine at Starrag AG, states, “Machine tools are one of our core competencies, which no other company in the world can offer in terms of their technological breadth and varying sizes. We also have an in-depth technical understanding of the entire process chain required to manufacture ready-to-install turbine housings.”
Starrag’s ability to integrate various machining operations on a single machine enhances productivity. Klaus Struebel, Segment Sales Manager Aerospace & Turbines, highlights the reduction of clamping positions through the integration of milling, turning, and grinding with self-developed machining heads. Standardised interfaces and pallets accelerate processes and increase accuracy, allowing for the inclusion of washing, drying, and measuring processes as needed.
Starrag’s advantage extends to the development of customised carbide milling cutters for difficult-to-machine materials like titanium and Inconel. These tools, tailored to specific machining processes, offer faster machining and extended tool life, contributing to a stable, repeatable process. Struebel notes the challenges of internal bores in housing machining, addressed through special interchangeable angle heads and deep-hole drilling expertise.
The durable gear spindle, manufactured in Rorschacherberg, remains stable under thermal and mechanical stress, supporting extended operation times. Starrag’s ATCC (Aerospace Turbine Competence Center) in Rorschacherberg, equipped with the latest 4- and 5-axis machining centres, provides optimal conditions for developing and testing machining solutions, ensuring that Starrag remains at the forefront of the industry.
