ADVANCED HOLE DRILLING PRODUCTION CENTER

LAI has pioneered development of processing shaped cooling holes using an enhanced abrasive milling technology that eliminates thermal distortion, re-cast layers and the need for secondary operations. LAI recently expanded its Advanced Hole-Drilling Production Center to process turbine components for power generation and aerospace industries. Located at LAI's plant in Minneapolis, the facility is also home to LAI's Waterjet Research and Development Center.

LAI's Drill-to-Flow Abrasive Waterjet ProcessTM drills precision shaped holes to diameters as small as 0.018 inches. This innovative process provides a number of advantages over traditional machining methods, including:

  • Superior hole quality.
  • Greater design freedom.
  • Tighter flow control.
  • Improved hole profiles.
  • No re-cast layers or globules.
  • Lower processing cost.
  • Ability to drill through thermal-barrier-coated parts.

Advanced Hole-Drilling Production Center

waterjet-drilled-shaped_hole
A close-up shows the detail of a waterjet-drilled shaped hole.

 

LAI International, Inc., has developed its Advanced Hole-Drilling Production Center to process turbine components for power generation and aerospace industries.

A recent expansion of the Advanced Hole-Drilling Production Center, increases production capacity by 25 percent for high-speed waterjet coating removal, drilling and machining of shaped holes. The Advanced Hole-Drilling Production Center also features a development laboratory and flow-testing workstations that support drill-to-flow methods to achieve optimum flow performance and precise control in turbine components.

The latest waterjet workstations and supporting equipment are specially designed by the engineering group for advanced shaped hole drilling in a production environment.

LAI’s engineering staff has pioneered development of processing shaped cooling holes using an enhanced abrasive waterjet technology that eliminates thermal distortion, re-cast layers and the need for secondary operations. LAI’s Advanced Drill-to-Flow Abrasive Waterjet ProcessTM drills precision shaped holes to diameters as small as 0.018 inches.

The innovative process provides a number of advantages over non-traditional machining methods, such as reducing cycle-times, producing superior hole quality and allowing greater design freedom. The process also allows for tighter flow control, improved hole profiles, elimination of re-cast layers and lower processing costs.

The company’s specialized waterjet machining operations, which are used to cut slots in spacer bands and rings, excel at near-net cutting of difficult-to-machine materials, including stainless steel, Inconel, titanium and high-nickel-content super-alloys. The world leader in precision shaped hole drilling with abrasive waterjet technology, LAI processes blades, buckets, blisks, shrouds, nozzles, vanes, impingement plates and other precision turbine parts.

The company uses advanced laser, EDM, abrasive waterjet, CNC grinding and CNC milling technologies to process precision components for industrial and aerospace gas turbines. LAI’s precision five-axis laser machining centers cut, weld and drill pre-formed, three-dimensional and rotary parts.