WFL Offers Complete Machining Solutions for Small Power Plants

WFL Millturn Technologies has entered the sector of small power plants, which has a long history dating back to the 19th century when energy was generated by means of human and animal power. With the advancement of the industrial revolution, the demand for faster and more efficient solutions increased, leading to the development of special small power plants. As part of its expansion in this field, the company now offers complete machining of key components for small power plants, such as turbine, gear, and generator shafts, valves, and pump wheels, which have the highest shape and position tolerances and place high demands on their machining process. For the efficient production of such workpieces, a MILLTURN machine masters the necessary special technologies, such as the milling of special profiles or large gears as well as the grinding of shaft parts, including concentricity and roundness measurement, all in compliance with the highest precision requirements.

The untensioned blank in the generator shafts is often pre-turned and turned into a MILLTURN with welded-on bars. As an alternative to welded-on bars, some generator shafts are also made from solid material. One of the most important aspects of machining the welded-on bars is ensuring that the blank is aligned in the circumferential direction in such a way that the longitudinal grooves are inserted in the centre of the bars. Thanks to the WFL measuring cycles, measurement of this blank is fully automated, making it even possible to determine and correct welding errors. In the shaft area, bevelled ø 60 mm holes must be inserted, which meet the ø 100 mm center hole at a depth of approx. 500 mm. All holes can be inserted in the MILLTURN without any tools, with very elegant rounding of the edges of the holes being carried out too. The precise outside diameter of the bars that is to be machined is finished in IT7 quality by means of turn-milling. Bearing seats on the pins are rotated with maximum precision and subsequently rolled. The WFL in-process measuring guarantees process reliability, even with IT6 quality.

The potential savings when machining generator shafts in a MILLTURN are considerable compared to sequential manufacturing on different machines: a full 60 percent can be saved by complete machining in the process chain. In the case of set-up time, the savings are as high as 80-90 percent.

Image Source: WFL Millturn Technologies