Saturn Turbo Services
Teesside University has joined forces with Saturn Turbo Services in a pioneering Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP).
Research and innovation
When legacy steam turbine components require refurbishment, manufacturers often have little or no original design documentation to work from. Through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), researchers at Teesside University worked with Saturn Turbo Services Ltd to develop a digital reverse engineering process that improves the speed, accuracy and consistency of component refurbishment.
Challenge
Saturn Turbo Services regularly refurbishes critical rotating components, such as steam turbine shafts, without access to original engineering drawings or material specifications. Traditional methods rely on manual measurements and engineering judgement, making the process time-consuming and increasing the risk of inaccuracies when restoring worn or damaged components.
Solution
The project introduced a digital workflow that combines high-resolution 3D scanning, reverse engineering and CAD modelling to recreate accurate digital versions of legacy components.
The approach also included:
- cloud-based collaboration for secure sharing and version control of engineering data
- material identification using Positive Material Identification (PMI) and a digital material database
- manufacturing-ready engineering drawings with quality verification through post-manufacture scanning.
This created a repeatable, data-driven process that improved confidence throughout refurbishment.
Impact
The new digital workflow delivered significant improvements across the refurbishment process, including:
- reducing component measurement time from 4–5 hours to around 30 minutes
- cutting refurbishment cycle times by an estimated 40%
- reducing documentation-related errors by approximately 30%
- lowering scrap and manufacturing costs by an estimated 10–20% through improved engineering accuracy.
Beyond these immediate benefits, the project established a scalable digital engineering framework that supports future automation, intelligent decision-making and long-term knowledge retention, helping Saturn Turbo Services modernise its refurbishment capabilities and strengthen its competitive advantage.
Working with Teesside University has allowed us to explore Industry 4.0 solutions that would have been impossible to achieve alone. This partnership is helping us move from manual processes to a fully digital workflow, strengthening our capabilities and future-proofing our business.
This project demonstrates the successful translation of advanced engineering research into industrial practice. By embedding digital reverse engineering and structured engineering workflows, we've significantly improved accuracy, consistency and efficiency while creating a scalable platform for future innovation.