A unit of SMS Meer supplied one of its trademark, supersize clutch-operated screw presses to a Chinese manufacturer. After a 48-day construction project, and start-up and commissioning procedures due to continue through May, the new press will be operated by Wuxi Turbine Blade Co. Ltd. in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.
In addition to the performance of the plant, SMS Meer’s logistics are also very impressive. In the course of installing the new machine, a press table weighing more than 300 metric tons had to be moved, according to SMS.
Wuxi Turbine Blade is China’s largest manufacturer of turbine blades for power stations, and supplies sets of blades for large steam turbines, industrial steam turbines, gas turbines, large compressors and generators, as well as a variety of blades as spare parts. The company’s Forging Division is one of China’s largest producers of forged components in carbon steel, alloy steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, and high-temperature alloys.
With a press force of 35,000 metric tons (343 MN), the clutch-operated screw press designed and built by the SMS Eumuco Hasenclever subsidiary makes it possible to form Powerful New Screw Press for Chinese Forger products with high forces, and still achieve only brief contact with the forged workpiece. It’s a process that combines the advantages of a hydraulic press (high forming forces) with those of a forging hammer (brief contact with the forging.)
The central design feature of the new press is a screw with a diameter of 1,320 mm and a weight of 85 t. The plant requires only 500 kW of frequency-controlled drive power, which SMS indicates will amount to 87% less energy than is consumed by traditional screw presses.
With the addition of the new press Wuxi Turbine Blade will be expanding its capabi l ities, notably thanks to its variable-impact speed, which will allow the company to forge larger parts than it does now. This will help it to meet rising demand from its customers in the aerospace and power-generation industries.
SMS Meer has been working with Wuxi Turbine Blade for more than 30 years. Its first large press from SMS Eumuco Hasenclever was started up in 1995. In addition to the new screw press installation and the press table relocation, that operation will be modernized, too. “SMS Meer not only supplies top-quality screw presses but is also available for the customer after commissioning to ensure optimum service,” stated Norbert Gober, vice president of Eumuco Hasenclever Closed-Die Forging Presses.