Canyon Hydro, the Waterpower Division of Canyon Industries, has built a new CNC fabrication center for manufacturing hydropower systems. The new fabrication center is located in Washington State, a few miles from Canyon Hydro's primary fabrication plant in Deming.
Canyon Hydro completed a major expansion to its manufacturing facility, including a 7-axis CNC milling machine capable of maintaining tight tolerances on the company’s hydroelectric turbines. The company said that a 7-axis CNC milling machine is capable of producing Pelton and Francis hydroelectric turbines up to 16 feet in diameter.
Canyon’s Pelton runners are typically milled from a single, stainless-steel casting. The company also rebuilds turbine systems for existing hydroelectric projects. The 7-axis CNC machine can accommodate components up to 36ft long, 16ft in diameter, and 25 tons.
Richard New, vice president of manufacturing at Canyon Hydro, said: “With this investment, Canyon Hydro has set the highest standard for turbine quality. Tighter tolerances translate to better turbine efficiency, which goes right to the bottom line for our customers.”
According to the company, CNC machining eliminates the minor imperfections that result when turbines are hand-ground to match a series of templates.
In addition to the 7-axis machine, the new facility houses several smaller CNC machines for milling other turbine components, plus a fully-equipped computer lab for design and modeling.
The CNC fabrication center is fully integrated into the Canyon Hydro manufacturing process. It is currently undergoing certification to meet AS9100 quality management standards.