Liebherr-Aerospace puts new titanium machining center into operation

At its facility in Lindenberg (Germany), Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH recently put into operation a new 260 m² center for machining titanium parts – among others, hydraulic valve blocks for the electric back-up hydraulic actuator (EBHA) of the A380 program. In the future, components for new aircraft programs will also be produced there. The machining center includes a shelf magazine accommodating 80 pallets and an external tool storage and distribution system for 700 tools. The investment volume totals approx. € 2.7 million.

Both the material, which is difficult to machine, and the complex geometry of the hydraulic valve blocks place great demands on the technology employed at the Lindenberg machining center. Besides various special tools and tooling machines, cooling lubricants and extremely high-precision processes are necessary for machining titanium components. Liebherr-Aerospace therefore developed the design of the technological systems in a three-year aerospace research project in collaboration with the Institute of Manufacturing Technology at the Laboratory of Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of the RWTH Aachen University (Germany).

New center for machining titanium parts at Liebherr-Aerospace in Lindenberg

In recent years, Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH has increasingly developed the machining of titanium components for flight control and actuation systems into one of its core competences, now being considered one of the leading companies in this field. The new machining center will allow the systems supplier to build on this core competence and improve its productivity.