Rotating parts are essential in heavy industries, especially in wind power equipment.
A single wind turbine, for example, contains up to 32 different types of bearings—including main bearings, pitch bearings, yaw bearings, and generator bearings—as well as other rotating components like main shafts, gear rings, gear shafts, and tower barrels.
These parts are typically made of alloy steel, with cast iron also used for main shafts in large-megawatt turbines. Machining rotating parts relies heavily on lathes: vertical lathes are commonly used for large bearings, gear rings, and tower barrels, while horizontal lathes are preferred for large shaft parts.
Efficient Tooling Solutions for Rotating Parts
We provide advanced machining solutions for rotating parts using high-performance cutting tools, including:
- Heavy-duty milling
- Thread machining
- Profile copying
- Hole system machining
Rough Turning of Cylindrical Surfaces, End Faces, and Inner Holes
We offer a range of heavy-duty inserts, such as SN25 and CN19, with multiple chip breaker geometries (R, RM, NR, HR2). These inserts feature optimized chip control for smooth evacuation and advanced coatings that support high-feed and dry cutting. The result is superior metal removal rates and reliable performance.
Gear Ring Ball Groove Machining
We deliver standard and custom groove profile designs. For roughing grooves, RCMT round inserts are recommended to ensure efficient chip breaking and high productivity.
Bolt Hole Machining
U-drills provide a faster alternative to conventional drills, doubling the number of holes produced in the same time while improving hole quality and overall efficiency.
Large Threaded Hole Machining on End Faces
Custom large taps for wind power applications are available with ample local stock in China, ensuring quick delivery and no waiting time.
Heavy-Duty Turning: Standard Solutions
A significant portion of rotating parts require heavy-duty turning, often under challenging conditions—such as scaled surfaces, high cutting forces, and elevated temperatures. These demand robust tooling with exceptional performance.
For instance, a wind power main shaft with a 2.2-meter swing diameter and 5.5-meter length, made of 42CrMo with a 20mm machining allowance, presents typical challenges like surface cracks, folds, layered fractures, non-metallic inclusions, and hard scale. To overcome these and meet high-efficiency demands, large-allowance machining is essential.
Our heavy-duty turning tools feature cutting-edge lengths from 25–50mm, with a maximum single-edge depth of cut up to 36mm, and are available in positive or negative rake angles. With deep-cut capability and reinforced edges, these tools achieve metal removal rates of 1,500 kg/h—equivalent to the weight of a passenger car per hour.
Key performance requirements include:
- High impact resistance to prevent breakage and tool body damage
- Excellent wear resistance and chip control to manage chips safely in open machining environments
Heavy-Duty Turning: Custom Solutions
Beyond standard tool holders, we offer modular tool systems with interchangeable heads, providing:
Efficiency
Switch seamlessly from roughing to finishing without disassembling the tool body—simply replace the head. This reduces tool change time and operator effort.
Cost Savings
Minimize the inventory of expensive tool holders and lower insert consumption. If a tool head is damaged, only the head needs replacement—not the entire holder (e.g., size 50 or 60 tool bodies).
For example, in machining a slewing bearing:
- A right-side tool holder roughs the inner bore
- A combined end-face and cylindrical tool on the left completes the operation in one setup
- For difficult materials (like surface-hardened or high-tensile steels), a dual-screw clamping system enhances insert stability
Our heavy-duty turning solutions for rotating parts—especially in wind energy—combine specialized tooling, modular flexibility, and high-efficiency designs to maximize metal removal, reduce downtime, and lower total machining costs.
