BEL Engineering is in the final stages of manufacture of an intermediate pressure compressor for a major UK aerospace project.
The innovative engine will set new benchmarks in the aviation industry for environmental performance, efficiency and air traffic management.
Manufacturing engineers at BEL Engineering took part in design for manufacture sessions with the customer over a two year period for both the intermediate pressure compressor (IPC) and torsion box.
Used within the demonstrator engine, the IPC case is a structural component that draws air in, which is then transferred to the engine’s compression chambers. The compressed air is then mixed with fuel and burned to create hot and rapidly expanding exhaust.
Using BEL Engineering’s in-house Forceturn machine, the free issued forging was turned for stress relieving, before being split using BEL Engineering’s vertical bandsaw. The two half rings were then manufactured and bolted together before being machined again as an assembly. The assembled piece will be inlayed with an abradable coating and finished on the Flexturn machine located in the large cell at the BEL Engineering site.
Phil Westgarth, Chief Production Engineer at BEL Engineering, said: “This component has been especially challenging due to its extremely thin walls and large diameter. This project has definitely tested our manufacturing engineering capabilities.
“The project is constantly evolving to accommodate the ever-changing design, with regular meetings and catch-ups with the customer’s design team to ensure progress is being made.”
Click here to see our plant list.
