Turbine blade machining

Intelligent tooling solutions – cutting your costs...

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 Tooling solutions for turbine blades

Your innovative partner

We aim at improving the competitiveness of our customers by
reducing the unit costs in the cutting processes.
UNIMERCO does not just deliver tools. Our tooling technicians
have in-depth knowledge of power generation applications and
each problem is analysed thoroughly to come up with the best
possible solution for you.

In cooperation with you, we design the ideal solution for your

specific application.

The tools are manufactured on advanced machinery in our four

manufacturing locations.

After delivery, we assist you, if necessary, with the implementation

of the tooling solution to make sure that everything runs smoothly
and you benefit from the optimum tool performance.

Faster machining
A result of our extensive research and development activities is
high performance tooling solutions for turbine blade manufacturing
reducing machining time considerably. Instead of using HSS tools
in a traditional process you can use a high performance tooling
solution to achieve narrow tolerances much faster.

Fewer tools needed

In most cases, using this approach, the actual number of tools
needed for manufacturing a turbine blade can be reduced. In
some cases, the number of tools has been reduced by 30%. Of
course your advantages are lower tooling costs, shorter cycle time
and thereby higher productivity.

Surface finish
With the optimised tooling package, you will achieve excellent
surface finish results.

Longer tool life

The use of high performance coated carbide tools results in longer
tool life. Your benefits are less machine down time, as there are
fewer tool changes, and a reduction in the number of internal
measurements needed.
We look forward to your inquiry for a customised tooling solution
for your turbine blade application.

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Tooling solutions for turbine blade machining

Root form Airfoil to platform transition

Brazed and solid car- Ballnose and taper ballnose tooling

bide tooling solutions solutions. Available for high speed
for rough and finish machining and conventional 3-5 axis
machining. Cutter root machining.
form profile measuring
reports are available.

Platform & shroud Airfoil

Custom designed parallel and Ballnose, lollipop, torus

conical tools for maximum and barrel form tools are
performance when machining designed to maximise step
at up to 400m/min. over and consequently
maximise surface genera-
tion rates.

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 g
Market-leadin
delivery time

NE
W

New technologies to ensure optimum machining efficiency

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• Power Edge™ • Superior tool life
• New nano composite coating • Great component quality
• Newly developed geometry • Highest possible feed rate
• New and improved carbide grade • Minimised cost per cut

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Root form
Carbide-tipped profile tool on steel body
Typical optimisation case
• Very accurate profile meets narrow tolerance demands Original process UNIMERCO solution
• Superior performance due to optimised geometry HSS profile tool, 25 SC-tipped tool, 25
• C5 coating for optimum tool life Feed length 480 mm. 480 mm.
Tool life 15 m. 35 m.
• No presetting time - considerable
time savings in tool room Cutting speed Vc 45 m/min. 90 m/min.
Feed/tooth Fz 0.016 mm
/tooth 0.120 mm/tooth
• Tool diametres up to 180 mm.
Machining time 4,300 sec. < 300 sec.
• Market-leading delivery time.
>> 10 times shorter machining time
Surface finish Ra 1,1 Ra 0,5

>> 10
TIME
MACHIN S SHORTER
SIMPLY ING TIM
PLUG A JUST E
ND PL A
Y

Carbide fir tree end mill

Saving machining time: carbide tools for fir tree slot machining

Previous solution UNIMERCO solution

HSS fir tree cutter SC fir tree cutter
Surface finish Ra = 1.2 Ra = 0.4
Tool life 20 slots 192 slots
Machining time/slot 710 sec. 110 sec.
Total numbers of slots 2,000 2,000

HOUR 335
S SA
per year on this machine
VED
PER
MAC
HINE
Annual time saving or 335 hours per machine
capacity increase

Market-leading delivery time

HSS fir tree cutter SC fir tree cutter * UNIMERCO customises each tool to meet the customer’s individual
(competitor’s solution) (UNIMERCO solution) demand. The delivery time for a UNIMERCO solid carbide fir tree cutter is
3 weeks from appoval of overall design.

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 Intelligent tooling solutions
Solid carbide tools are continuously updated to meet the increased market demands and to make sure that you get a solution which
ensures the most competitive manufacturing process.

Airfoil
Solid carbide torus end mill
UNIMERCO adapts the tool to the specific wishes of our customers, whether the main
criteria is tool performance or tool life.

Example of tool life optimisation and annual tool cost savings

Previous solution UNIMERCO solution
Z3 carbide Z6 NTS carbide torus cutter
Vc 400 /min
m
200 m/min
Fz 0,08 mm/cutting edge 0,08 mm/cutting edge
Machining time 120 120
Tool life 7 parts 20 parts
This customer achieved a saving of
> 60,000 EUR in tool cost for this blade type alone
savin
> 60, g of
000 E
UR

Airfoil to platform transition

LU S
CP7o w P
Taper ball nose carbide end mill
Typical case
E d ge
Previous solution UNIMERCO solutioner
Uncoated carbide UNIMERCO Power Edge™
tapered ballnose end mill tapered ballnose end mill

For this finishing operation we did not optimise on machining data,

but our customer went from 20 blades tool life to 89 blades with
the UNIMERCO tool.

PLUS
This meant for our customer:

C7
• App. 20,000 EUR saved on this toolYtype alone
OLOG
N room for setting up
• Significant time savings CHtool
TEin
• Fewer regrind shipments
r E dge
eblade i.e. cheaper blade
Sge™
• Lower tool costw >4t
Po
per imes

U
longe

L
r

P
tool li

C7
fe
rE d
Powe

Titanium platform US
PL
C7
Standard NTS end mill
Performance example
r E dge
Milling of titanium o w e (Ti-6AI-4V)
P component
Roughing titanium platform
Ap = 7 mm Fz 0,06 mm/tooth

Ae = 12 mm Previous carbide solution = 53. min tool life

P LAU SG
C7
Vc = 44 m/mm NTS C7 PLUS™ Power Edge™ = 167 min. tool
I N
life
CO T
e
> 200 % increase in tool life
e r Edg 200%
Pow

LUS
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Total quality
– your guarantee for continuous performance

Specification system and service concept

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Measuring report Packaging solutions

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error --- st tole / 7,5 atic rtik
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20 08
Date 8. april

We know that producing turbine blades requires very narrow To avoid problems during transport, all tools for turbine blade
tolerances. In order to give you the best possible tool quality, production are delivered in secure plastic or wooden boxes.
we offer to measure each individual tool and document the For tools with larger diameters, a measuring report as well as a
findings in a measuring report. scan of the tool profile will be included in the tool box in order
This is our way of documenting that the tools are manu- to avoid tools being mixed up.
factured according to your requirements, and that they are
instantly ready to use - Simply Plug & Play.

RE•NEW™ concept 100% repeatability

All tools are reground and re-coated utilizing the same ad- Due to a unique internally developed norm system and a very
vanced technology as for the manufacture of the tools. And we advanced drawing database, we are able to continuously
regrind your tools with the same care that we use to manu- deliver tools with the exact same geometries throughout all
facture new tools. We also RE•NEW™ other tool brands with future deliveries, regardless in which UNIMERCO manufactur-
very good results. You will benefit from tool performances on ing facility your tools are being produced.
reground tools, which can match or even surpass the perfor-
mance of a new tool.

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UNIMERCO GROUP
UNIMERCO is an international manufacturer, distributor and service provider
within machining.
The core activities comprise optimisation guidance and sales of tooling solutions
for e.g. the automotive, aerospace, metal, woodworking, power generation, fluid
power and food industries.
The company was established in Denmark in 1964 and today has more than 600
employees in 10 countries. In 2006/07, the total turnover was EUR 91.7m.

Since 2003, UNIMERCO has been consistently chosen as one of the 100 best
European workplaces by the ‘Great Place to Work Institute’.

UNIMERCO A/S
Drejervej 2
DK-7451 Sunds
Tlf. +45 97 14 14 11
Fax +45 97 14 14 86
[email protected]
UNIMERCO Inc.
6620 State Road
UNIMERCO A/S (UM DANDIA) Saline, MI 48176, USA
Erik Husfeldts Vej 7 Ph. +1 734 944 4433
DK-2630 Taastrup Fax +1 734 944 4432
Tlf. +45 36 72 12 52 [email protected]
Fax +45 36 72 12 92
[email protected]
UNIMERCO 063_0005_PM_ML-ML_Turbine_blade

UNIMERCO Inc. Southeast

13850 Ballantyne Corporate Place, Suite 500
UNIMERCO GmbH Charlotte, NC 28277
Mauserstraße 30 Ph. +001 704-887-3440
DE-71640 Ludwigsburg-Ossweil Fax. +001 704-887-3441
Tel. +49 (0)7141 6434 755 [email protected]
Fax +49 (0)7141 6434 756
[email protected]
UNIMERCO, s.r.o.
UNIMERCO Ltd Vídeňská 102
Nanscawen Road, Fradley CZ-619 00 Brno
UK-Staffordshire WS13 8LH Tel. +420 547 426 535
Ph. +44 (0)1543 267 777 Fax +420 547 426 536
Fax +44 (0)1543 267 778 [email protected]
[email protected]

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