Method and apparatus for producing a rotor welded together from discs

Abstract

A method for producing a rotor made from discs joined together in succession in side-by-side relation by welding comprises the steps of assembling each rotor disc and the succeeding disc next to be joined such that their axes are in horizontal alignment, pressing the two discs together thereby to place their interfaces under axial pressure, pre-heating each two discs to be joined to the proper working temperature, joining the discs by welding in a circumferentially extending welding seam while maintaining the pressure, repeating the assembling, pre-heating and welding operations until all of the discs have been welded together to establish the complete rotor, thereafter heat-treating the completed rotor, and finally subjecting the completed rotor to a hot true-running test. All of these operations take place within a common heating box into which hot air is introduced to effect the heating. The apparatus for performing the method features a trolley located within the heating box and on which each next-to-be-welded-on disc is carried into face-to-face pressure contact with a previously welded-on disc. The end discs of the rotor are provided with shaft extensions and the latter serve to support the rotor on rests in order to carry out the running and truing operations. The heating box is constituted by a number of axial modules joined together in succession as the discs are welded together in succession to provide a correspondingly increasing axial length.