Impeller manufacturing has been integral to our business since we first began performing five-axis simultaneous milling. Our long-term turbomachinery customers value us as their single source for professional, flexible, and reliable contract impeller manufacturing. To meet our customers’ developing needs, we are constantly advancing our hardware, software, and employees skills.
We produce a variety of open and shrouded impellers and pump wheels. Sizes vary from 40 mm up to 1400 mm in diameter. Materials we work with include aluminum, various stainless steels, nickel-based alloys, and titanium.
Open impellers
We provide a full range of manufacturing solutions for open impellers, starting with either a raw blank or a pre-manufactured part. This includes pre-turning and finish turning of impeller blades with ruled and free-formed surfaces.
Shrouded impellers
We manufacture shrouded impellers with either an integral or modular process, depending upon impeller geometry, material, and customer specifications.
Integrally shrouded impellers are manufactured from a single blank. For modular shrouded impellers, the hub and shroud disc are manufactured separately and then subsequently joined. We perform various joining methods depending upon the material and geometry.
Our brazing process uses an inert gas atmosphere. This ensures low surface porosity of the brazing material and a high-quality joint between the shroud and the blade.
For stainless steels and Inconel alloys, we perform T-joint welding at the blade and shroud interface from inside a channel. This method guarantees a strong joining between both parts.
We apply laser welding with impellers when low accessibility makes T-joint welding impossible. The hub and shroud are joined from the outside, through the covering shroud disc, resulting in a high-quality joint.
Slot welding is used for impellers with low accessibility and large dimensions. We apply the welding joint from the outside of a slotted shroud disc.
Impeller repairs
Our welding departments also specialize in repair and refurbishment of used and damaged impellers and blades.
For minor repairs of impellers and gas turbine blades, we use laser welding without a subsequent heat treatment.
Major repairs are executed by our welding shop. This process includes removal and reconstruction of damaged blade parts as well as subsequent heat treatment.
Re-engineering
We can easy replace impellers damaged beyond repair. In-house we will perform the required engineering, project management, material analysis, procurement, turning, and machining. The process is completed by our long-term external partners in heat treatment and 3-D scanning.