Pietro Rosa TBM supports Starrag’s sixth Turbine Technology event that showcased developments to further improve the efficiency of machining turbine blades and IBR’s.
A two-day event held at the Starrag company headquarters in Rorschach, Switzerland, attracted an audience of over 160 aerospace manufacturing professionals and allowed Starrag’s recently appointed CEO, Dr. Christian Walti to provide his vision of what the future will hold in terms of its products to support its marketplace. He stated: “Starrag’s broad product portfolio and inherent expertise is a distinct advantage in terms of global operational excellence,”
Chief of Technology
As a guest speakers supporting the event Mauro Fioretti and Andrea Maurizio, president and chief of technology, respectively, of Pietro Rosa TBM Group reinforced the Starrag message in their presentation ‘Strategic partnerships for innovation’.
The Pietro Rosa TBM group moved into the field of machining forged blades in the 1980s Fioretti stated: “this is when our partnership with Starrag began.” Today, the company has six Starrag machines in its Italy plant and four in the US, at New England Airfoil Products.
Customer’s on-going cost-down initiatives have driven continuous improvement in our production and planning methodologies, this is where the use of Starrag machining technologies and having them as a technology partner makes a huge difference. We’re selling flying hours not just engines. Today engines operate at higher temperatures resulting in an increasing need for compressor blades of titanium and nickel alloys. These super alloys are more difficult to machine, polish and test, so while we not only need the best 5-axis milling machines, we also must have “smart” fixturing, high-level process automation and process monitoring, as well as a dependable supplier partner who is responsive and has superlative technical support.
We need to automate as much as we can in order to include as many multiple processes as possible into our production flow lines.
Aircraft programs tend to start with relatively low batch sizes that are gradually replaced by stable, higher-volume quantities as the “ramp rate climbs” it is very clear to us that automation is the key to cost-competitiveness, and that can only be done working closely with the product producer and the machine tool manufacturer”.
About Pietro Rosa TBM
Pietro Rosa TBM is an international leading manufacturer of compressor airfoils and mission-critical components in the energy, aerospace, oil & gas and marine markets.
The group invests heavily in R&D and innovation and has built up its intellectual property in hot forming, machining, and surface finishing technologies through a solid collaboration with universities and research centers globally. Pietro Rosa TBM has plants in Europe and the USA.
For further information e-mail: media@pietrorosatbm.com