The Engineering Technology Group (ETG), based in Wellesbourne, has introduce the HSA5-III Laser Ablation system from the Winbro Technologies Group. Winbro has installed over one hundred of its HSA5-III machines at many of the world’s most advanced aero and land-based gas turbine manufacturers.

The HSA5-III incorporates the latest design, control and process concepts to take productivity and performance to an entirely new level. The machine includes features specifically developed for intricate laser processing of precision forms and features in components such as blades, vanes and segments in both aero and industrial gas turbines.

The HSA5-III is built upon a robust fabricated steel base which is welded, stress relieved and machined. The fabricated column, mounted to the rear of the base, carries the Z-axis and this is where the integrated laser scanning head is mounted.

The X and Y axes assembly is mounted on machined pads at the front of the base while the A and B-axis rotary/tilt table is mounted directly to the X and Y table that is driven by torque motors. The spacious work envelope of 200 x 200 x 250mm in the X, Y and Z axes is complemented by a continuous A axis and a B axis of -135deg to +100deg.

The Winbro Laser Ablation process has a 1,070nm wavelength Laser that combines vaporisation and melt erosion of material from the surface. The HSA5-III machine uses a fibre laser that delivers anything from 50-300 watts of average power, pulsing through a Q-switch for high-speed, short-pulse width waveform. A Galvo scanning head is used to move the beam on a pre-programmed tool path.

The Winbro HSA5-III Laser Ablation machine is perfect for localised removal of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), re-opening of blocked cooling holes and the processing of 2-D and 3-D diffuser shapes in coated or uncoated components. To ensure ease of use, Winbro has installed a Windows-based operating system and the advanced Winbro TCPro and TCPose l software that enables the end-user to work with all common file formats such as IGES, STEP, NX, STL, CATIA and ProE.

The machine incorporates patented part probing that gives the end-user confidence that they can produce components to the tight dimensional parameters specified for this machine. The machine achieves 0.010mm precision level in the X, Y and Z axes with repeatability of 0.008mm which is complemented by an A- and B-axis accuracy of 0.0055deg and repeatability of 0.004deg.