ThyssenKrupp VDM GmbH Plettenberger Str. 2 58791 Werdohl
ThyssenKrupp VDM GmbH Plettenberger Str. 2 58791 Werdohl
ThyssenKrupp VDM GmbH Plettenberger Str. 2 58791 Werdohl
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<strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong><br />
<strong>Plettenberger</strong> <strong>Str</strong>. 2<br />
<strong>58791</strong> <strong>Werdohl</strong>
Ein Unternehmen<br />
von <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong><br />
Stainless<br />
The new open-die forge shop of<br />
<strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong><br />
Die neue Schmiedelinie bei <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong><br />
Hans-Peter Jaeger, Franz-Josef Wahlers and Christian Dettmer<br />
<strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong><br />
tk
The new open - die forge shop<br />
of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong><br />
<strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> has invested strongly to increase its competitiveness. A major part of more than 70<br />
million € strategic investment program, which was launched in 2006, was spent on the construction of the new<br />
forging line at the Unna production site of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong>. The facility is one of the most advanced<br />
open-die forging plants in the world and was realized in only two years from fi rst idea to the date of commissioning<br />
on 15 th of Febuary 2008. All milestones with regard to the new forging line were achieved during the fi rst<br />
couple of month in operation.<br />
Die <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> hat zur Erhöhung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit umfangreiche Investitionen getätigt.<br />
Ein großer Teil des mehr als 70 Mio. € umfassenden strategischen Investitionsprogramms, das im Jahre 2006<br />
gestartet wurde, ist für den Bau der neuen Schmiedelinie und die Erweiterung der Umschmelzkapazitäten am<br />
Standort Unna der <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> verwendet worden. Der neue Schmiedebetrieb gehört zu den<br />
modernsten Freiformschmieden der Welt und wurde in nur zwei Jahren von der ersten Idee bis zur Inbetriebnahme<br />
am 15. Februar 2008 realisiert. Alle Projektziele bez. der terminlichen Realisierung der Investition,<br />
dem Anlagenlayout und der erzeugten Produktqualität konnten in den ersten Monaten der Hochfahrphase des<br />
neuen Betriebes verifi ziert werden.<br />
<strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong>, a<br />
subsidiary of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong><br />
Stainless AG, has been developing<br />
high-performance materials<br />
for challenging applications<br />
and processes for more than 75<br />
years and is one of the world’s<br />
leading manufacturers of Nickel<br />
Alloys and high-alloy special<br />
stainless steels.<br />
The product range includes<br />
strip, sheet, rod, forgings as<br />
billets and bars, pipe material,<br />
wire as well as precision mechanical<br />
parts, fi gure 1. The company<br />
headquarters is based in<br />
<strong>Werdohl</strong>, Germany and further<br />
production sites in Germany are<br />
located in Unna, Altena and Siegen.<br />
In the USA, <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong><br />
<strong>VDM</strong> operates plants in Florham<br />
Park (New Jersey) and Reno (Nevada)<br />
specialized in the production<br />
of high-temperature materials<br />
for the aerospace industry.<br />
A global sales organization with<br />
14 branch offi ces, combined<br />
with service centers in Guangzhou<br />
(China) and Melbourne<br />
(Australia), ensures an optimum<br />
world market presence. In fi scal<br />
year 2007/2008 the company<br />
supplied more than 42000 t of<br />
products and generated sales of<br />
about 1.2 billion € with a global<br />
workforce of 1800 employees,<br />
fi gure 2.<br />
1.<br />
<strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> Stainless major business fi elds<br />
Hauptgeschäftsfelder der Thyssenkrupp Stainless AG
2.<br />
<strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> production sites<br />
Produktionsstandorte der <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong><br />
3.<br />
Plant layout of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> Unna site with new forge shop<br />
(top left)<br />
Layout des Werks Unna der <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> mit der neuen<br />
Schmiede (links oben)<br />
The company’s Nickel Alloy and special stainless steel<br />
products are used in aerospace, oil and gas, energy, environmental,<br />
automotive and many other industry sectors.<br />
The strategy of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> comprises predominately<br />
signifi cant growth of its market share in high<br />
performance alloys for the oil & gas and the aerospace<br />
markets.<br />
Although <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> was producing and<br />
delivering billets and bars for these sectors in the past<br />
there has been a limitation in production and lead times,<br />
as forging was contracted with third party conversion partners<br />
outside the TK-Group with limited capacities and capabilities.<br />
On the other hand <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong><br />
strategy targets on being process owner of all sensitive<br />
operations which are affecting quality issues. Consequently<br />
this resulted in the idea to plan the construction of<br />
an own forging line in early 2006.<br />
An important part of the layout considerations was not<br />
only to design a forge shop with the best possible capabilities<br />
for forging Ni- and Co-alloys but also to allocate a<br />
signifi cant capacity for active conversion for other companies<br />
in order to increase utilization of the new plant.<br />
Besides the opportunity for insourcing forging activities<br />
with regard to the sister company TKL-Titanium within the<br />
Stainless Group a substantial tonnage for forging of steel<br />
grades was contracted in a long term agreement a year<br />
before the new plant went on line.<br />
Milestones – Time schedule<br />
The project was started with the kick off meeting on 19th of April 2006, parallel to the internal company approval<br />
process. At that point in time the general time schedule<br />
was defi ned. The major milestones were:<br />
• <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> AG supervisory board approval by August<br />
2006<br />
• Order placement of main machinery by September<br />
2006<br />
• Start of bay construction in November 2006<br />
• Start of hot commissioning in February 2008<br />
• Internal product qualifi cation process March to<br />
August 2008.<br />
From April to August 2006 the project team compiled<br />
the technical specifi cations for the forging press, the manipulators<br />
and the heating furnaces followed by technical<br />
discussions with several potential suppliers for the main<br />
machinery. This resulted in the fi rst order placement on<br />
September 20th 2006 for the press forge followed by the<br />
manipulators order in early October 2006. Bay construction<br />
started as scheduled with the ground breaking ceremony<br />
on November 30th 2006, after getting the preliminary<br />
authority approval for the whole investment already<br />
in August 2006.<br />
Although there were many obstacles during the machine<br />
construction, <strong>VDM</strong> project management could in mutual<br />
cooperation with the main suppliers discover these<br />
obstacles in time and resolve critical issues before the targeted<br />
delivery date was going to be in danger of slipping.<br />
This led to on time fi nishing of the civil engineering works<br />
and on time delivery of the press parts, manipulators and<br />
furnaces as well. After a total project time of 22 months<br />
since kick off, the hot commissioning took place on 15th of February 2008, one week ahead of schedule. By the<br />
20th of March the main work regarding the hot commissioning<br />
was fi nalized.
Accordingly the internal product qualifi cation process<br />
started on time. During this process all forging parameters<br />
for most of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> forging products<br />
could be developed prior to the starting of fi rst customer<br />
related production in May 2008.<br />
Scope of alloys and dimensions<br />
The <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> alloy portfolio is the main<br />
element in the range of alloys to be forged on the new<br />
production line. Additionally, titanium grades for Thyssen-<br />
Krupp Titanium <strong>GmbH</strong> are being forged. In order to utilize<br />
the capacity of the new Forge Shop at its optimum a substantial<br />
contract conversion is part of the planning. From<br />
Carbon Steel grades to Stainless Steel and Copper Alloys<br />
a wide range of different alloys are involved.<br />
Similar to the alloy variety the scope of dimensions co-<br />
4.<br />
View on the forge shop building<br />
Die Hallen des neuen Schmiedebetriebs<br />
5.<br />
Layout plan of the forge shop; footprint<br />
Grundriss und Maschinenaufstellungsplan des Schmiedebetriebs<br />
vers a wide range. It spans from rounds of between 150<br />
and 1100 mm to fl ats of about 1700 mm x 600 mm maximum<br />
size. The ingot size range being forged is between<br />
1,5 t and 60 t. The press design in terms of e.g. daylight<br />
and max. press force derives from the above mentioned<br />
demands regarding alloy and size portfolio.<br />
Layout of the New Forge Shop<br />
The plant layout of the Unna mill and the general layout<br />
of the new forge shop will be described now.<br />
Plant layout of the Unna mill<br />
The new Forge Shop was erected on the Unna production<br />
site of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong>, where the melting<br />
shop is located, fi gure 3. On about 400000 m2 Thyssen-<br />
Krupp <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> operates an open melt shop with a 30<br />
t Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) and three 16 t Induction Furnaces<br />
(IF). Secondary metallurgy facilities such as Vacuum<br />
Oxygen Decarburization (VOD) and Vacuum Ladle Furnace<br />
(VLF) are available. Casting takes place in conventional<br />
ingot casting with mould sizes from 1.5 to 26 t and a semi<br />
continuous slab caster for plate and strip production. The<br />
special melt shop in a separate building comprises a 20 t<br />
VIDP-Furnace, which can be extended with a 30t crucible.<br />
This is predominantly used for melting of Superalloys and<br />
casting in electrode moulds under vacuum for subsequent<br />
remelting in ESR or VAR processes. ESR and VAR facilities<br />
are located directly adjacent in a separate building, which<br />
as part of the investment projects has been extended to<br />
provide space for 5 additional remelting furnaces. Two<br />
spaces are already occupied by new VAR and ESR facilities.<br />
The largest ingot size on VAR is 30 t on ESR 20 t.<br />
Including the new forge shop crew about 320 employees<br />
are engaged in a yearly production of more than 70000 t<br />
ingots at the Unna mill.<br />
General Layout of the new Forge Shop<br />
The general forge shop setup as well as the machine<br />
specifi cations were developed under two criteria. Both<br />
shall provide excellent conditions for the special demands<br />
of Super Alloys and at the same time offer best opportunities<br />
to serve a wide range of possibilities for contract<br />
conversion for other companies.<br />
Following this target the construction phase started in<br />
November 2006 with an area of about 30000 m2 which<br />
had been developed for the erection of the forge shop<br />
building, considering the possibility to extend the area under<br />
roof for extending activities in fi nishing of forgings in<br />
a later step.<br />
The new forge shop building consists of three production<br />
bays with about 11000 m2 under roof, fi gure 4. The<br />
central main bay has a length of 145 m, a width of 30 m<br />
and a height of 23m. The two side bays are 125m long<br />
with a height of 18 m each and widths of 26 and 28 m.<br />
The side bays are occupied predominantly by the heating<br />
furnaces. Initial equipment includes 11 heating furnaces.<br />
Between the main bay and side bays space for another<br />
9 furnaces of similar dimensions is available to cater<br />
for increasing heating/annealing demand. Additionally the<br />
width of the side bays can accommodate the next investment<br />
steps in fi nishing equipment for forgings as well.<br />
The forge press and the two railbound manipulators are
located in the main bay. Directly beside the forging line an<br />
area of about 1000 m2 divides one of the two side bays.<br />
All electrical and hydraulic supply units for the forge shop<br />
are located there, close to the press. A part of this area<br />
is occupied by the water cooling plant, which is providing<br />
cooling capacity for all hydraulic systems and the water<br />
quench tank.<br />
The tank is positioned directly parallel to the track of one<br />
of the manipulators. This guaranties the shortest transfer<br />
times. The maximum length of pieces that can be quenched<br />
is about 11 m. Tank cross section is 3 m x 3 m.<br />
The complete building is equipped with an automatic<br />
fi re detection system including the whole shop fl oor area.<br />
All supply rooms are connected to an automatic fi re extinguishing<br />
system based on inert gas for all electric control<br />
rooms and water systems for the others.<br />
6.<br />
45 MN press and railbound manipulators<br />
45 MN Presse mit schmiedegebundenen Manipulatoren<br />
7.<br />
Technical key data of 45 MN press<br />
Technische Daten der 45 MN Presse<br />
Technical key data<br />
The technical key data of the 45-MN press, of the manipulators<br />
and transport units and of the heating furnances<br />
will be presented now.<br />
The 45MN Press<br />
The Forging Press is designed as a four column press<br />
and has a total height above shop fl oor of about 13 m with<br />
a weight of more than 700 t. Due to diffi cult soil conditions<br />
and statutory requirements a lot of design work was conducted<br />
on the issue of vibration.<br />
Finally the press is based on 12 shock absorber blocks<br />
containing a total of 250 single springs combined with<br />
damping devices. The press basement is additionally decoupled<br />
from the other bay or machine basements in the<br />
new building. Vibration measurements during production<br />
proved that this design emits only very limited oscillation<br />
levels far beneath the limit value.<br />
The Forge Press has a maximum press force of 45 MN.<br />
Three equally designed press cylinders transmit the force<br />
proportionately to the moving cross head. By activating<br />
all three, two or only one of the cylinders, the penetration<br />
speed can be increased if less press force is needed,<br />
fi gure 6.<br />
The hydraulic system of the press contains 14 pressure<br />
pumps providing a nominal pressure of maximum 350 bar<br />
for achieving the maximum press force of 45 MN. With<br />
this setup and the 3-cylinder design a wide range of adapted<br />
penetration speeds from near zero to max. 170mm/<br />
sec are possible. This offers the opportunity of providing<br />
a fast process when needed e.g. in fi nishing and/or for<br />
highest productivity fi gures. On the other hand by selecting<br />
pumps the penetration speed can be adapted to the<br />
specifi c demands according to alloy restrictions. This is an<br />
important issue considering the variety within the scope<br />
of alloys and dimensions, which will be processed on the<br />
new press.<br />
The Forging Press is equipped with a die shifting device<br />
designed for three die positions and a die magazine covering<br />
space for four additional dies. The press table can<br />
be shifted to either side of the press with a stroke of 4m<br />
for loading and unloading of e.g. upsetting parts.<br />
The technical key data of the 45 MN press are summarized<br />
in fi gure 7.<br />
The Manipulators and transport units<br />
The manipulator unit contains two railbound manipulators<br />
(SSM 1000 and SSM 300), one pop up turn table and<br />
a mobile transport manipulator (MTM300) for charging<br />
and discharging the batch furnaces.<br />
The railbound manipulators provide dynamic features,<br />
which in terms of acceleration and speed of all movements<br />
support the press speed capabilities. Although both machines<br />
are of different dimensions they can be operated<br />
in a combined dual manipulator mode for forgings up to<br />
18 t ingot size. This range covers almost all Nickel Alloy<br />
ingots. Ingots in the range of 18 to 60 t are processed only<br />
with the SSM 1000. For loading, unloading and turning of<br />
ingots and forgings, a 60 t pop up turn table is installed<br />
between the tracks of the SSM1000.<br />
The transport of ingots and forgings between the forging<br />
line and the heating furnaces is performed by either bay
8.<br />
Technical key data of manipulators<br />
Technische Daten der Manipulatoren<br />
9.<br />
Batch furnaces and one of the 70 t car bottom furnaces<br />
Kammeröfen und einer der 70 t Herdwagenöfen<br />
10.<br />
70 t car bottom furnace during hot commissionong on 15 Feb 2008<br />
70 t Herdwagenofen während der Inbetriebnahme der Schmiede am 15.02.08<br />
crane or MTM 300. MTM 300 is designed to carry loads<br />
from 100 to 1000 mm in diameter with a maximum weight<br />
of 8 t. It is designed for fast transport from the batch furnaces<br />
to the forging line. Ingots and forgings heavier than<br />
8t are moved by the bay crane with two lifting units with<br />
max. carrying capacity of 80 t.<br />
The technical key data of the manipulators are shown<br />
in fi gure 8.<br />
Heating furnaces<br />
The installed heating capacity contains fi ve Batch Furnaces<br />
(BF) and six Car Bottom Furnaces (CBF), fi gure 9.<br />
All furnaces are equipped with natural gas fl at burner<br />
systems. The combustion air preheating is provided by a<br />
central recuperator system at each unit. Maximum process<br />
heating temperature of 1300 °C is specifi ed. Due to the<br />
necessity of very tight temperature tolerances in processing<br />
Nickel and Titanium Alloys especially for aerospace<br />
applications temperature uniformity in the working zone of<br />
the batch furnaces and the 70 t CBF are periodically surveyed<br />
according to AMS 2750. The furnaces are capable<br />
for max. +/-10K deviation from set point temperature above<br />
750 °C. Figure 10 shows the 70 t car bottom furnace<br />
during hot commissioning on the 15th of Feburary 2008.<br />
The furnace control system is linked to a central furnace<br />
visualization system as well as to the new Forge Shop<br />
Management System.<br />
The technical key data of the furnances are summarized<br />
in fi gure 11.<br />
IT environment in the new Forge Shop<br />
The new forge shop also included a new shop management<br />
system and auxiliary systems which will be described<br />
next.<br />
Forge Shop Management System<br />
The new forge shop is embedded in the IT-world of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong><br />
<strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong>. Therefore part of the project has<br />
been the programming of the related software modules.<br />
Besides the Order Management System (SAP) emphasis<br />
was put on the Quality Data System (PRINS) and the Forge<br />
Shop Management System (SLS). Both PRINS and SLS<br />
are developed in-house and are focusing on overall data<br />
collection. This includes all actual press, manipulator and<br />
furnace data. On the other hand, all set point data such as<br />
heating/reheating curves and forging schedules are stored<br />
in these systems and linked to the material code of the<br />
products to be forged. Moreover SLS provides 100% material<br />
tracking from the moment an ingot enters the Forge<br />
Shop stock area until the delivery note is issued and the<br />
forged products leaving the Forge Shop. Specifi cally, all<br />
handling during heating, forging and release procedures<br />
are documented with regard to a single piece tracing. This<br />
fi nger print of forgings being processed in the new Forge<br />
Shop provides the highest transparency of production history<br />
of material. Finally, it provides an automatic forging<br />
report with all relevant data stored in the forge shop data<br />
base.<br />
An automatic internal quality release is provided within<br />
the PRINS system, including automatic issuing of non conformance<br />
reports in case of deviation between set point<br />
and actual process data. PRINS also checks between SAP
and SLS whether the data set for issuing an internal forging<br />
order is defi ned completely. This guarantees that no<br />
orders enter the shop fl oor level unless all necessary production<br />
parameters are determined and standardized.<br />
The data documentation and material tracing is in full<br />
compliance with all requirements for production of Superalloys<br />
e.g. for aerospace applications.<br />
Auxiliary Systems<br />
With the new production unit on line FEM-Software is<br />
being implemented in order to investigate opne die forging<br />
processes on the theoretical level for development<br />
purposes as well as for evaluating process borderlines of<br />
existing forging practices. Prediction of grain size distribution<br />
and development during conversion is an important<br />
part of the future investigation. The software is applied in<br />
the central R&D department of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong><br />
and in the process development at the forge shop, where<br />
an engineer is fully occupied on forging issues.<br />
In September 2008 the implementation of an inline<br />
Laser Measurement System took place. The system has<br />
been adapted to the special demands of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong><br />
<strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> in terms of scan velocity, tolerance accuracy<br />
and bite shift optimization features. This development focuses<br />
on providing as much assistance as possible to the<br />
press operator for optimizing the forging passes in terms<br />
of homogeneity of the forgings. Furthermore this system<br />
provides additional process data for the data documentation<br />
and process control e.g. complete thermal scans<br />
of the intermediate or fi nal forgings and geometry data.<br />
Together with the described Order Management Systems,<br />
the FEM software and a Pass Scheduling software the new<br />
forge shop is having the most modern IT-tools at its disposal.<br />
Staff qualifi cation<br />
A very important aspect has been the qualifi cation plan<br />
for the forge shop crew. Most of the employees engaged<br />
in the Forge Shop had no forging experience or hot conversion<br />
experience at all and were previously working in<br />
cold fi nishing departments of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong>.<br />
Together with the few newly hired employees with press<br />
11.<br />
Technical key data of the furnaces<br />
Technische Daten der Wärmöfen<br />
forge experience the whole crew started a 4 month qualifi<br />
cation period in October 2007. By January 2008 they<br />
were trained in the theory of deformation technology, machine<br />
design, function of forging presses, manipulators<br />
and heating furnaces. Knowledge on material technology<br />
of Nickel Alloys, test lab activities and occupational safety<br />
issues were also imparted.<br />
The crew spent most of the four month time on internships<br />
in forging mills and fi nishing departments for billets<br />
and bars. Forging internships were conducted at the open<br />
die forge shops of Deutsche Edelstahlwerke <strong>GmbH</strong> in Krefeld,<br />
Germany and Società delle Fucine s.r.l. in Terni, Italy,<br />
a company of <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> Acciai Speciali Terni.<br />
As a matter of fact from the very beginning this extensive<br />
qualifi cation program has been the foundation on<br />
which the successful operation of the new forging line was<br />
based upon.<br />
Ramp-up curve and fi rst results<br />
After completion of the main machine optimization the<br />
internal product qualifi cation of Nickel Alloy forgings started<br />
on the 20th of March 2008. In a three month period<br />
until the end of June, a program was conducted which<br />
covered almost 90 % of the <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong><br />
forged products range. During this program more than<br />
400 t of Nickel Alloys were forged and tested according<br />
customer specifi cation to assure that all new designed<br />
forging recipes were capable of producing material in accordance<br />
with specifi cation demands. Almost all forging<br />
procedures delivered successful repeatable results on fi -<br />
nal products according customer specifi cations from the<br />
very beginning. As a result about four months earlier than<br />
originally scheduled signifi cant reduction of external conversion<br />
to in house forging in the new Forge Shop could<br />
be accomplished. In the same way, conversion for other<br />
companies started much earlier than planned already in<br />
May 2008 with fi rst forgings for <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> Titanium<br />
<strong>GmbH</strong> in alloy TiAl6V4 directly followed by fi rst conversion<br />
for Deutsche Edelstahlwerke <strong>GmbH</strong> in low alloyed carbon<br />
steel grades. The amount of toll forging activities for both<br />
of these companies and others as well increased signifi -<br />
cantly during the past months since May.
12.<br />
52 t ingot carbon steel before forging<br />
52 t Block vor dem Schmieden<br />
13.<br />
17 t forging in Nicrofer 5520Co for power plant application<br />
17 t Schmiedeteil aus Nicrofer 5520Co für neue Kraftwerksentwicklung<br />
14.<br />
Nicrofer 5219Nb AMS<br />
premium qualitty in as<br />
forged condition<br />
Nicrofer 5213nB AMS<br />
für rotierende Turbinenteile<br />
in geschmiedetem<br />
Zustand<br />
Figure 12 shows a 52 t ingot carbpon steel before forging.<br />
Beyond these important results during the fi rst months<br />
of operation, the heaviest ESR ingot with a diameter of<br />
about 1 m has been successfully forged to a forging of<br />
about 17 t weight ready to be processed in further tube<br />
manufacturing for a the new 700 °C power plant project,<br />
fi gure 13.<br />
First premium quality forgings of Nicrofer 5219Nb AMS<br />
from triple melt ingots (VIDP-ESR-VAR) were forged including<br />
upsetting according a special designed forging schedule<br />
for 8” inch fi nal size, fi gure 14. All results were in<br />
full compliance with the related specifi cations for rotating<br />
parts in jet engines. The grain size distribution was homogeneously<br />
at about ASTM 8,5 across the billet cross<br />
section in the as forged condition.<br />
Conclusion<br />
<strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> together with all its suppliers<br />
succeeded in on time commissioning of the new Forge<br />
Shop. All objectives defi ned during the early project phase<br />
were achieved. The time schedules were even reduced,<br />
exceeding expectations. This was an important issue as<br />
it enables the earlier than planned reduction of external<br />
conversion and the earlier start of contract conversion for<br />
other companies.<br />
The forging schedules developed during the fi rst press<br />
utilization were focussed on establishing a stable quality<br />
level on forged products as quickly as possible. Since<br />
August 2008 the forging schedules are being gradually<br />
optimized in order to increase the productivity on the new<br />
forging line to the target levels. This is being supported<br />
by FEM calculations and growing experience of in-house<br />
forging.<br />
With the fi rst forgings of Nicrofer 5219Nb, AMS premium<br />
quality in June 2008, <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong> <strong>GmbH</strong> proved<br />
that know how, procedures and process capability are<br />
available for the entire production line, including in-house<br />
forging of premium quality billets for rotating parts in aircraft<br />
turbines. This confi rms the Forge Shop investment<br />
decision to be fully aligned to the <strong>ThyssenKrupp</strong> <strong>VDM</strong><br />
<strong>GmbH</strong> growth strategy.<br />
hans-peter.jeager@thyssenkrupp.com