GF AgieCharmilles milling solutions aid MTU Aero Engines

The new building in Munich boasts one of the world's most advanced machine pools, including a large feet of GF AgieCharmilles' milling machines. MTU Aero Engines adapted several high-performance Mikron HPM 800U milling machines to accommodate its pallet and clamping systems. The shop is designed to house up to 24 Mikron milling machines as part of MTU's optimised, automated process workflow system. With one of the world's largest flexible systems for the production of high and intermediate pressure blisks, MTU can manufacture many compressor stages for commercial and military engines, including Pratt & Whitney's PW1000G family of engines and its PW800 business jet engine, as well as Europrop International's TP400-D6 which powers A400M military transport aircraft. A 96m long main distribution centre - connected to a host computer capable of automatically controlling all processes at any time - is the core of the automated process workflow concept. Every new component will have a routing card, unique order number and an integral radio frequency identification chip. The order number, in combination with data on the availability of fixtures, tools and programs, will allow the host computer to calculate the workloads of all of the shop's work stations and allocate components to the available machines through the main distribution system. www.gfac.com