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What is a Rotor Shaft?
A rotor shaft is typically an item which is in situ in an environment where it interacts rotating with others parts often in a highly stressed environment. The entire transmission unit will turn around the rotor, as it is the beating heart of the set up.
What do we use Rotor Shafts for?
Once the rotor is in service it then becomes more apparent how critical it is that the part is both highly durable and its strength and reliability become paramount. In some of the applications that a rotor shaft often finds itself in, there can be whole cities relying on the part, whether it be for water for a hydro application.
Rotor shafts are also used in many large and traditional sectors of engineering, such as power generation and mining. They are key components in many power generation plants and are often of huge size and power. They are the centrepiece of the generation unit itself and are used in tandem with other manufactured parts such as slip- rings, discs and keys, which enables the shaft to operate successfully.
How does a Rotor Shaft Work?
Given that rotor shafts are normally found in large industrial manufacturing environments they need to interact and operate in conjunction with other smaller components. The unit location will have been designed with the rotor itself being the fulcrum of the unit. As it is the central key that enables the interaction of all other smaller parts. If you imagine a myriad of intricately connected separate items all attempting to move with a synchronicity to give an optimum level of output, this is often working environment of rotor shaft. The rotational speeds that they often operate at are often extremely high it is crucial that they have been produced to withstand often high levels of wear and working life expectancy has been maximised.
One thing that the majority of these types of shafts have in common, is the high stressed environment they invariably have to operate in. They often have to spin and rotate at very high speeds whilst being subjected to massive stress levels and working pressure. To this end, the usual grades they are required in are very durable and hard wearing, which often means that the price is quite expensive. Common grades used include 8CrNiMo7-6 and 30CrNi3Mo1VA. To achieve both the longevity and stability required in them, these are very much pre-requisites when supplying a rotor shaft.
How we make Rotor Shafts?
Initially, we would look to produce shaped forgings, which will put a good grain flow and structure into the rotor shaft from the outset. We have capacity to produce from small basic rotors, right up to very large heavy rotors often for mining and power station applications. In full scope of materials right up to very exotic high-end grades. Following on from forging, the items are then heat-treated to strengthen the metal and to improve the structure. Treatment will also help to remove any imperfections or impurities which may be present in the material. Although it may be necessary to carry out vigorous and stringent non-destructive testing. After treatment there are numerous machining operations carried out from turning and milling through to boring and trepanning the rotors. This will effectively mean that the shaft is ready to go into service and can have all smaller parts and fittings put on.
As previously referred to the stress that rotor shafts are subjected to is intense and to combat this, it necessitates critical and multi-facetted heat treatment operations to be carried out. You need to try to remove stress from the material wherever possible and this can often be achieved by stringent heat treatment and testing as part of the process. Somers have a proven method of manufacture to produce these types of shafts successfully. With each operation carefully undertaken and scrutinised all the phrases.
COVID Update
As a critical supplier, the whole of Somers Team has put additional measures in place from the start, for the safety and welfare of our workforce and customers.
We are still fully operational and continue to manufacture with the measures in place and are following all government guidelines.
Stay Safe
Forged Valves vs Cast Valves
Valves are used as a device to regulate and control the flow of gas, liquid, slurries and fluidized solids in the oil and gas forging sector. They also prevent backflow or relieve pressure, passageways can be opened, closed or marginally obstructed with the use of a valve.
A wide variety of valves are available in various configurations for on/off control, different fluids, materials, temperatures and pressures. The most common types of valve include Diaphragm, Globe, Gate, Parallel Slide, Ball, Knife Gate, Butterfly, Check, Plug, Piston, Pinch and Sluice.
The most common production of good quality valves is either through forging or casting, but what are the benefits and weakness of each – forged valves vs cast valves. Forged valves are produced by shaping the metal in its solid form, with the use of heat, tools and dies, to create the valve shape.
Benefits of Forged Valves
The benefits of forged valves include minimising wasted material (due to the fact they are shaped in one solid piece), the strength and reliability of a forged valve means they handle high temperatures and high pressure well with minimal shrinkage, porosity and cracks occurring. Making them perfect to fitted in applications in nuclear, oil and gas and power generation.
Thermal fatigue reduction is a major benefit of forged valves as they have a thinner wall which means if they are heated or cooled quickly it won’t be detrimental to the functionality of the valve.
There are 3 main types of forging that include rolled ring forging, closed die forging and open die forging. Rolled ring forging uses curved discs to deform the metal, closed die shapes the metal into the contours of a die and open die forging deforms the material with a number of compressive forces.
Benefits of Cast Valves
Cast valves are produced from a liquid form of metal that has been melted down and then poured into a valve mould to cool and set. When the metal is completely solid it is broken from the mould and can be produced in a number of detailed and complex sizes and shapes.
Other benefits of cast valves include the fact that they are cost effective due to the fact of reduced labour and time compared to forged valves. But on larger valve bodies they are often more expensive due to the amount of welding and changes needed to try and achieve the same level of quality.
There are number of different types of casting processes, these include pressure casting, shell mould casting, sand casting, gravity casting, investment casting, low-pressure casting and cavityless casting.
In conclusion, castings are ideal for long runs which do not require a high level of integrity, with the biggest benefits being turnaround time and cost. Open die forging are the best forging option and a better solution than castings due to the process achieving greater microstructure and better fatigue resistance. In the long run these will also be more economic.
UK Manufacturer
Why buy from a British Manufacturer?
In recent times there has been a growing demand for UK manufacturing, this been driven by many factors, including:
- Slow lead times
- Volatile international delivery cost
- High supply chain risk
- Focus on more bespoke product
- Greater quality control importance
What are the biggest benefits of using UK based manufacturer?
- Less supply chain risk
- Greener supply chain
- High level of control over quality
- Bespoke/ low minimum order products
- Lower transportation costs
- Greater flexibility
- Greater communication
- Reduced lead times
Advantages of Somers Forge being world leading forging supplier based in the UK
With greater communication comes great control. Being customer focused, all customers are invited for a tour of Somers facilities and can even witness their items manufacturing process, whether that be forging, machining, testing etc.
At Somers Forge, all of our facilities are inhouse, enabling us to offer our complete forging solution. Having complete inhouse manufacturing improves efficiency, gives greater flexibility and reduces risk all round. Other forging companies outsource, making the process longer and they will have to go back and forth with any modifications.
All Somers products are made bespoke to customer requirements and as a UK manufacturer, we offer on-off individual items. Often these items are needed quickly for breakdowns or as a new trial project. We also ofter longer run items. Our quality team will make suggestions on materials and route techniques which could improve your product quality and life span.
With over 150 years of experience, this comes with world renowned name and worldwide recognised quality approvals. Somers has a multilingual team and export licenses for many counties.
