As a part of its “Factory of the future” approach, Safran Helicopter Engines has began its first automatic manufacturing line committed to turbine blade production. The event at its Bordes plant changed into celebrated in the presence of Alain Rousset, President of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine location.
The new line will manufacture every turbine blade used inside the enterprise’s product line. Its activation represents a leap forward, in phrases of quality and competitivity, on this type of factor manufacturing, coupled with a discount in production cycle and tighter value manage. The time taken to build each blade can be cut by means of half.
Initiated in 2012, the line is these days 100 % operational. With a 900 square metre footprint, the brand new production line capabilities several robots and automatic cells capable of performing each method (milling, sprucing, etching, 3-D manipulate, and surface finishing) from raw material to completed, ready-to-collect turbine airfoil. Operators have been regionally educated to adapt their talents to this new manufacturing line. It could produce extra than 100,000 airfoils a year. Turbine blades are many of the most complicated components in an aero-engine to supply. Designed to preserve excessive temperature and constraints, their manufacturing tolerance is measured in microns.
Philippe Darmayan, Alliance Industrie du Futur President, will christen the manufacturing line an « enterprise of the destiny showcase » on 6 December 2016, at some point of the Salon Convergence pour l’Industrie du Futur. Also present will be Christophe Sirugue, Secretary of State for industry on the Ministry of Finance and the Economy. The award distinguishes businesses that have evolved progressive commercial initiatives
Laurent Mazoué, Safran Helicopter Engines EVP Operations, says that commencing of this « line of the future » “marks a new step in our “Factory of the future” strategy which will maintain our manufacturing capacity at a world-class level. The automated and robotized production line will also greatly improve our competitivity and manufacturing agility and contribute to a high level of customer satisfaction. The skills and expertise of our teams, a key element in this project, will also be transformed”.
Safran Helicopter Engines’ “Factory of the Future” program was released in 2010, with the outlet of the Joseph Szydlowski plant in Bordes (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). This became followed by using the Mantes-Buchelay (Yvelines) plant establishing in 2011 and, in 2015, the Cap 2020 Tarnos modernization software. Also in 2015, Safran Helicopter Engines added the serial manufacturing of additive manufactured (three-D published) additives in Bordes. Among now and 2020, different “lines of the future” could be delivered in Safran Helicopter Engines manufacturing facilities.
