Delcam’s PowerMILL improves competitiveness in five-axis blisk machining

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2015-09-22 13:50:42

In order to improve its competitiveness, the Penza Diesel Plant in Russia uses the latest high-technology production methods. These include programming the company’s advanced machine tools with Delcam’s PowerMILL CAM software for high-speed and five-axis machining.

The Penza plant, which is located between Moscow and Samara, was founded in 1949. The complete complex includes areas for casting, forging and pressing, machining, welding, assembly and maintenance, giving the plant the ability to produce all the elements of its products completely independently.

In 2005, the factory acquired a Nakamura-Tome Super NTX high-performance turning and milling machining centre, for the production of the blisks for its turbochargers. A further five-axis machine, an OKK VP-600 5AX vertical machining centre, was added in 2010. This is used for blisk manufacture and also for the production of moulds for precision casting of turbine blades and other components.  Both machines are programmed exclusively with PowerMILL.

“We chose PowerMILL after we completed a number of pilot projects in cooperation with experts from the Centre of Computer Design within Penza State University,” remembered Mr Andrey Sverchkov, the Deputy Technical Director at Penza Diesel Plant.  “As a technologist by training and after having many years of experience using various CAM systems, it took me about a month of working with PowerMILL to gain an in-depth understanding of the program.”

Mr Sverchkov is still personally engaged in the development of many of the CNC programs in PowerMILL. “The main benefits are the speed with which I can generate even complex programs and the many opportunities to edit toolpaths manually to get exactly the results I need,” he claimed.

“We also use the supporting CAD system, PowerMILL Modelling, which offers a variety of surface modelling techniques,” he added. “As a rule, we get CAD models of the finished products from designers in the Parasolid format. We undertake refinement of these designs to create an ‘operational’ 3D model that represents the shape of the casting. As well as using these models to develop the tooling designs to manufacture the parts, we also use them as stock models for all subsequent milling operations on the castings.”

“The development of programs for machining of each new blisk requires about two days, taking into account the time spent on the construction of 3D models of the parts and the blanks.  However, the various types of blisk may vary significantly, both in shape and size, and in the number of blades.  Similarly, developing the models and programs for machining of our moulds usually takes no more than two days,” claimed Mr. Sverchkov. “We compared this figure with the productivity of our colleagues in related businesses using other CAD/CAM systems and found that they were taking several times longer.”

More recently, in addition to traditional metal moulds for precision casting of large parts, the Penza plant has begun using the Delcam software for the production of master models in either plastic or wood for the manufacture of composite components. Again, the tooling design is first developed in PowerMILL Modelling and the models then milled with PowerMILL. This approach was used in the production of the exhaust system for a new generation of diesel engine.

“After many years of working with PowerMILL, we have never encountered any problems in our machining due to issues with our CAM system, so it has become really trusted,” concluded Mr Sverchkov. “This is thanks to the specialists at Delcam Samara, who have developed high-quality post-processors for our machines.”

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