EuroWire January 2020

Technology News

Photo credit: © Schuler

▲ ▲ With isothermal forming, die and workpiece have the same temperature during the forming process

Aircraft drives produced on Schuler presses

pressure. The isothermal presses enable the company to develop advanced technologies for the forming of engine blades that allow the production of parts with minimal machining effort. Saturn also purchased an isothermal deep-drawing press from Schuler for the production of sheet metal parts from TA6V. It enables the isothermal hot deep-drawing of sheet metal parts in a combined operation (parts can be hot or cold formed), with a newly developed oven concept without chimney effect and a controllable bed cushion. It can also be retrofitted with an argon gas supply for superplastic forming. As a result, complicated components with good dimensional accuracy can be produced in a single step. The low main forming speed keeps the flow stresses low, allowing a good distribution of material in the die and protecting it from high loads. Schuler offers customer-specific technology in all areas of forming technology, from networked presses to press shop planning. Schuler AG www.schulergroup.com

UEC-Saturn, part of the United Engine Corporation, specialises in gas turbines for aviation, shipping and power plants. Since 1937, almost 50,000 aircraft engines have been produced on its assembly line. At the production site in Rybinsk, Russia, around 300 km north of Moscow, a total of ten Schuler presses are used. In 2014, Schuler received an order from Saturn for a 1,600-ton PA 325 screw press. The machine bodies of the smaller series are monobloc-type. The most recent delivery was a PSS 480 screw press with a press force of 2,800 tons, which has been in operation at Saturn for more than a year. Schuler has also supplied Saturn with an isothermal press for the production of turbine blades made of titanium. The high-strength material is becoming increasingly important as a material in aircraft construction because of its light weight. In isothermal forming, die and workpiece have the same constant temperature during the entire forming process. The press can be used for several forming processes: turbine blade production, calibration and thermosetting. In this special process, the components are heated to a temperature slightly below forming temperature and then acted upon by a constant

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