1. Introduction
Harbin Turbine Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Harbin Turbine”) is a leading enterprise in China’s power generation equipment manufacturing sector, entrusted with providing core power equipment for the national energy strategy. In the independent development of high-end equipment such as heavy-duty gas turbines and million-kilowatt-class steam turbines, Harbin Turbine consistently prioritizes product quality and reliability. Facing extreme challenges in manufacturing and inspection of core hot components, Harbin Turbine has formed a deep partnership with Xi’an AEH Measurement Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “AEH”). As a nationally recognized specialized and innovative “Little Giant” enterprise, AEH offers a full-chain autonomous technology system covering “core algorithms – precision hardware – intelligent software.” AEH provides Harbin Turbine with a comprehensive precision measurement solution spanning R&D, manufacturing, and inspection, jointly overcoming key measurement challenges limiting the performance and reliability of domestic heavy-duty gas turbines, setting a benchmark for independent innovation and quality upgrades in the energy equipment field.
2. Case Background
Heavy-duty gas turbines are regarded as the “crown jewel” of the equipment manufacturing industry. Core components such as high-temperature turbine blades and large rotors have long faced industry-wide challenges of “measurement uncertainty, incomplete evaluation, and scattered data.” These parts are enormous in size, complex in surface shape, and made of special materials, requiring micrometer-level manufacturing precision to maintain long-term stability under extreme conditions of high temperature and high rotational speed. During its independent development, Harbin Turbine’s original measurement solutions revealed significant limitations: low efficiency in detecting rotor runout and concentricity for large components; heavy reliance on foreign software for complex 3D aerodynamic blade surface inspection and evaluation, resulting in poor data utilization; isolated data across R&D, process, and quality inspection stages, hindering an effective closed loop for design iteration and process optimization. Building an autonomous, high-precision, efficient, and data-interconnected precision measurement system became a strategic imperative for Harbin Turbine to break through technical bottlenecks and achieve high-quality independent development.
3. Key Approaches
1. Concept Integration: Establishing a new R&D paradigm that regards “measurement data as core process assets.”
The project abandoned the traditional view of measurement as a mere quality inspection step, adopting a new quality concept of “full-scale coverage, full-process traceability, and full-data empowerment.” The core is deeply embedding precision measurement throughout the entire process from blank verification, in-process measurement, to final acceptance. Measurement data becomes the authoritative basis and core asset driving design simulation optimization, process parameter correction, and assembly prediction adjustment. This aligns closely with AEH’s “human-centric empowerment” strategy, transforming experience into replicable intelligence.
2. Hard-Core Implementation: Building a one-stop measurement capability system covering “macro to micro.”
To meet full-scale inspection needs from tens of meters long rotors to millimeter-level blade film cooling holes, Harbin Turbine introduced AEH’s full measurement chain solution. This includes gantry-type measuring machines for ultra-large parts to control spatial accuracy in workshop environments; high-precision bridge-type CMMs equipped with five-axis high-speed scanning probes and laser scanning systems for blade and disk inspection, achieving combined contact and non-contact measurement. All hardware operates on AEH’s independently developed NET.DMIS software platform, certified by Germany’s PTB, ensuring measurement accuracy, reliability, and data security at the foundational level.
3. Software-Driven: Achieving an intelligent closed loop from “surface capture” to “process feedback.”
At the software and data layer, the project built a dual-layer intelligent hub. At the execution level, the NET.DMIS software integrates specialized blade and disk evaluation algorithms, automatically completing complex 3D surface data analysis and report generation, improving evaluation efficiency by over 30%. At the management decision level, all measurement data is fed in real-time into the EMRP intelligent quality management platform. As a “digital hub,” EMRP monitors all elements of “people, machines, materials, methods, environment, and measurement” and tracks materials. It uses big data algorithms for trend warning and root cause analysis. For example, analyzing multi-batch blade inspection data trends proactively warns of tool wear or fixture displacement in machining centers, shifting quality control from reactive to preventive. Practical data shows this can reduce abnormal downtime by 40% on similar production lines.
4. System Empowerment: Building a quality foundation with stringent standards and continuous service.
The project strictly follows Harbin Turbine’s existing international and industry quality management systems. AEH provides rigorous quality assurance from self-developed core motion components to 48-hour continuous stability testing of complete machines, along with a precision calibration system covering over 200 checks in a 20±1℃ constant temperature environment. This ensures high reliability and long lifecycle accuracy consistency of the measurement system itself. AEH’s professional service team offers support from solution customization and joint process analysis to full lifecycle maintenance, ensuring deep integration and continuous optimization of the measurement system with Harbin Turbine’s R&D and production processes.
4. Lessons Learned
The successful construction of Harbin Turbine’s heavy-duty gas turbine core component precision measurement system exemplifies China’s high-end energy equipment manufacturing industry’s autonomous and intelligent upgrade in critical “measurement, evaluation, and control” areas. It proves that a fully autonomous full-chain measurement technology foundation, combined with a unified intelligent software platform, can effectively break through “data silos” and “technical black boxes” in major equipment development.
The project’s value goes beyond improving single inspection efficiency by 50%. Its deeper significance lies in providing a high-fidelity, traceable data source for the “digital twin” of complex equipment. The massive real measurement data aggregated in the EMRP platform drives iterative optimization of aerodynamic design, material processes, and life prediction models, greatly enhancing the success rate and reliability of first-of-a-kind products. The “Harbin Turbine – AEH” model offers a replicable, scalable systematic solution for empowering major national equipment innovation with autonomous precision measurement technology, carrying significant industry demonstration value and national strategic importance.