Aerospace CNC Machining Services
Test Devices by Schenck provides aerospace CNC machining services for the safety-critical rotating parts inside jet engines, rocket motors, and high-speed industrial machinery. From a 55,000 square foot facility in Hudson, Massachusetts, our team machines turbine and compressor disk forgings for leading propulsion suppliers and performs that work alongside the pre-spin and overspeed testing carried out in the same building. The convenience from the arrangement is unique and what sets us apart from the others. Rather than shipping a forging between vendors as it moves through the process, our customers receive rough machining, spin processing, semi-finish machining, and dimensional inspection from a single source.
We have been working with critical aero-propulsion rotating hardware since 1973, and our machining group grew directly out of that testing heritage. Every operation we perform is informed by decades of watching how rotating parts actually behave under centrifugal load. Our operation currently pre-spins, overspeed tests, machines, and balances more than 10,000 parts each year for advanced aerospace companies, and we have processed well over 50,000 parts to date.
Machining to Streamline the Pre-Spin Process
Our machining service focuses on the steps adjacent to the forging spin work. Rough machining comes first, shaping the forging into a prescribed sonic shape that prepares it for the spinning operation and the ultrasonic inspection. Following the rough machining, the part then goes through our pre-spin process, where controlled rotation yields the material, relieves residual forging stress, and stabilizes it. Semi-finish machining follows on material that is now dimensionally predictable, removing excess stock to bring the part within roughly 0.05 inches of target dimensions so your finish machining operation starts from a stable, well-characterized workpiece.
Combining the forging spin, rough and semi-finished machining steps in one location result in reducing the handling and freight time between those steps, if these tasks are performed at different service providers. That is especially a meaningful advantage on programs where lead time drives everything.
Ask an Expert
Have a question about machining a difficult alloy or a complex rotating part? Our engineers are ready to talk it through with you.
Rough, Sonic, and Semi-Finish Machining Capabilities
Our precision machining services cover the full span of operations required to move a raw aerospace forging toward finish machining. Each operation is documented and repeatable, and our engineers work directly with customer drawings and specifications to establish the setup.
- Rough machining to remove bulk stock and establish the basic part envelope before spin processing
- Sonic shape machining to prepare forgings for ultrasonic inspection
- Semi-finish machining to bring parts into the tolerance range needed for final machining
- Pre-weld machining for assemblies that require joining operations
- Custom tooling and arbor fabrication produced in our tool room to half-thousandth tolerances
Expertise in Machining Aerospace Alloys and Turning Capacity
The challenges in machining aerospace forgings is defined largely by material behavior. The alloys that survive turbine environments are strong and tough – the same properties resist cutting tools, work harden aggressively, and punish inconsistent setups. Our machinists and process engineers understand these concerns and specialize handling these materials.
Our turning capacity is built for a range of jet engine disk and rotor geometries. Okuma horizontal lathes handle parts up to a 25 inch turn diameter, an Okuma vertical turning lathe accommodates taller forgings, and a large Toshiba vertical turning lathe with a 60 inch table takes on our biggest work. We have continued adding capacity as production volumes have grown, and you can read more about that expansion in our post on in-house rough machining.
Quality Standards for Aerospace CNC Machining
Our machining operation runs inside an aerospace quality management system, not adjacent to one. Test Devices holds the following certifications and registrations.
- AS9100 Rev D
- ISO 9001:2015
- ISO 14001 and ISO 45001
- ITAR registration for defense-related work
Beyond those standards, we comply with the specific quality procedure requirements of leading jet engine OEMs, and we have FAA Designated Quality Representatives on staff. Dimensional validation is handled on Zeiss Contura coordinate measuring machines with resolution to 0.000018 inches, and we measure parts both before and after spin processing, so growth and geometry are documented at every stage. More detail related to our comprehensive aerospace quality management program is available on our Quality System and Inspection page.
Industries That Depend on Precision Machined Rotating Parts
Most of our machining volume supports the aerospace industry, where turbine and compressor disks for commercial and military propulsion carry the highest consequences of failure. We also machine and process other high-value and operationally critical rotating components for commercial space, defense, energy, electric motor, and automotive programs. Whether you need contract machining services for an established production part or engineering support on a component that has never been built before, our team is set up to take on the harder version of the problem.
One Partner for Machining, Testing, and Inspection
Managing an aerospace supply chain is complicated task. It involves balancing the selecting the right vendors for necessary expertise and deciding the number of handoffs sit between each process. Test Devices consolidates rough machining, pre-spin conditioning, semi-finish machining, spin testing, balancing, and CMM inspection into one supplier relationship with one quality system behind it. Contact us to talk through how our service offers fits and enhance your program, ask an expert on our team and we will walk through your part and your specifications with you. When you are ready to move forward with pricing and lead time, submit a request for quote and we will respond with a detailed proposal.
