High Head Pump Impellers

What are Pump Impellers?

The most critical part of a pump is the impeller.  The impeller is a component that rotates in order to create suction and move the liquid through the pump.  The vanes in the impeller dictate the performance properties of the pump.

Manufacturing Processes

These impellers require a high level of precision.  The water passage is very narrow but with a large overall impeller diameter.

Investment Casting – These impellers are carefully manufactured using investment casting. In investment casting, a wax pattern is created using custom tooling.  This wax pattern is coated with refractory material to create a mould.  The molten metal is poured into this mould, and the wax melts away and is replaced by the metal, which solidifies to create a very high precision casting.

CNC Machining – These impellers are then machined on CNCs to ensure a high level of accuracy with tight tolerances.

Thread cutting – Threads are cut and checked carefully using specialized go/no-go gauges.

Balancing – The impellers are then dynamically balanced to ensure smooth, vibration-free operation in the pump.  In balancing, material is carefully removed over a large area to maintain the integrity and thickness of the impeller shrouds.

Sand Blasting – Finally the parts are sand blasted to give the final part a good clean finish

Where they are used

These impellers are used in high head/pressure pump sets which are assembled by our customer.  These types of pumps are often used in the mining industry or other applications where high pressures are required.