Factory

The site covers an overall 219,000 square meters area, of which 131,000 are built, and is equipped with 800 machine tools. 
The excellence of the Ansaldo Energia production process is based on skills, experience and cutting-edge technologies.

• Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) is used to precisely shape and profile turbine blades. In this process, material is not removed through direct contact between the tool and the workpiece, but through a series of high-frequency electrical discharges that cause localized micro-fusions.
• Tungsten Inert Gas welding (TIG) is used to ensure that the welded joints are of the highest quality. This process is performed with an infusible tungsten electrode under protection of inert gas. 
• Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) requires a continuously fed consumable electrode. The molten weld and the arc zone are submerged under a blanket of granular fusible flux which becomes conductive when molten, and provides a current path between the electrode and the work. 
  Both TIG and SAW procedures are used to stack and weld GT36 and GT26 rotors. 
• The welding area is also equipped with unique handling systems. The GT36 rotor weighs around 160 tons and its length is close to 14 meters, and must be moved from the vertical position of the TIG welding station to the horizontal position of Submerged Arc Welding.
• Heat treatments after rotor welding are carried out for Gas and Steam Turbines by dedicated machinery equipped with ultrasound control.