A packed audience of aerospace production specialists were recently treated to examples of advanced manufacturing at the AMRC with Boeing centre in Sheffield, when machining solutions specialist Starrag UK (www.starrag.com) joined forces with Kennametal to present their Optimised Titanium and Inconel Machining event.

This not only included technical presentations on the benefits of Starrag machining centres and a number of new Kennametal tooling developments, but also demonstrations of best-practice machining of Inconel and titanium workpieces on the AMRC’s Starrag STC 1250 machining centre.

There was also a keynote speech on high-performance manufacturing by Rolls-Royce’s technology partnership manager Jamie McGourlay, who outlined the company’s manufacturing achievements during the past decade of collaboration with the AMRC.

He highlighted examples of process modelling, ‘intelligent’ fixturing, multi-tasking machining and the use of advanced cutting technologies.

Dr McGourlay said: “Working closely with the AMRC over the past 10 years has enabled our adoption of high-performance manufacturing technologies.”

He went on to describe some of Rolls-Royce’s current work, including the Ultrafan engine project (which involves new-generation materials and processes), the Tempest fighter jet programme and the E-FanX hybrid electric/gas turbine engine.

Those attending the event also heard about new products from Kennametal (including a flat bottom drill for the fast and effective pre-drilling of pockets and corners, and the HARVI Ultra 8X helical milling cutter), and the KM4X spindle used on a Starrag customer’s STC 1000 machining centre (this offers ultra-high clamping forces, higher than HSK types says Starrag).

Starrag has eight machines at the AMRC and the Nuclear AMRC, and it was on the STC 1250 machining centre that two live machining demonstrations using Kennametal tooling were undertaken.

These included: machining Inconel 718 with a KCRA 63mm-diameter cutter with KYS30 ceramic inserts for face milling taking 2mm depths of cut at a cutting speed of 5,052rev/min and a feed rate of 2,425mm/min; and both plunge milling
and pocket milling titanium 6AL4V, along with five-axis profile cutting, using the new HARVI Ultra 8X cutter.