Overview
Struggling to find a vendor you trust to assist your team with emergency repairs? Phoenix Laser recently completed a multi-service impeller repair for a turbomachinery customer in Texas. The component was a single-suction impeller from a 6-stage gas compressor.
Our team had already assisted them on several quick-turnaround repairs, so they had confidence that we could help bail them out of the unfortunate situation.
The customer was in a bind after the impeller fell off their lathe and severely damaged the outer edge. We responded quickly by laser welding the damaged areas, machining the welds back to specification with our 5-axis mill, and lastly, our quality team validated the repair.
Project
Impeller Repair
Services
Laser Weld, Milling, Inspection
Material
A 470 Grade D steel
Before working with Phoenix, the customer would have kept this entirely in-house.
While keeping processes under a company’s own roof is often advantageous, the customer was more than happy to send this job out to PLS. Trying to fit this emergency repair into their regular production schedule would have created a major bottleneck on their shop floor, causing other critical projects to be delayed.
We were able to cut their turnaround time and cost of the repair in half!
Had they handled this internally, they would have had to excavate out the damaged areas, design and build a fixture plate to prevent warping from their conventional welding process, go through several heat treat steps, and finally finish machine the component.
After Laser Weld
Welded with a 1200 w Fiber Laser.
After Machining
Turned down on our 5-Axis mill.
If you find yourself in need of technical repair expertise, give us a call at (814) 724-3666 or fill out the form below.