Siemens additively manufactures its first metal replacement part for industrial steam turbine
An oil sealing ring for an industrial steam turbine, designed and produced by Siemens using metal AM (Courtesy Siemens)
Siemens reports that it has produced its first metal additively manufactured replacement part for an industrial steam turbine, reducing lead time by as much as 40%. The parts produced are two oil sealing rings, used to keep oil separated from steam inside the steam turbine using pressurised air. The rings will be installed as replacement parts on a SST-300 industrial steam turbine, operating at the JSW Steel Ltd. plant in Salem, India.
Siemens engineered, designed and developed the components as part of a collaborative project between its teams in Germany and India, as well as in Sweden, where the company operates an Additive Manufacturing centre of expertise. It stated that Additive Manufacturing has opened up new possibilities by which small, high-impact changes can be made to further adapt the components to the client’s challenging environment and needs; adding functional enhancements that could not have been made using traditional manufacturing processes.
“This latest breakthrough is a game changer as it significantly reduces the lead time needed to produce these spare parts, enabling us to meet our customers’ needs even more quickly,” stated Thorbjoern Fors, CEO of Siemens Power Generation Services, Distributed Generation and Oil & Gas. “With this latest achievement, it’s evident that the investments and innovative advancements we are making in Additive Manufacturing are positively impacting the energy industry in this new and exciting digital age, just as we had anticipated.”
In 2017, Siemens successfully completed the first full-load engine tests for its metal AM gas turbine blades. During testing, the company validated multiple AM turbine blades with a conventional blade design at full engine conditions, reaching 13,000 rpm and temperatures beyond 1,250°C.
