Constructing Process Models of Engine Blade Surfaces for Their Adaptive Machining: An Optimal Approach

Abstract

In a new blade manufacturing process, manufacturers precisely forge blade billets with the blade suction and the pressure surfaces within tolerance. After that, only two blade edge billets should be machined to the leading- and the trailing-edges within tolerance. If these edge design surfaces are used to generate tool paths for machining the edge billets, the machined edges are not continuous with the suction and the pressure surfaces. To address this problem, an optimal approach to constructing process models of edge surfaces is proposed for adaptive blade machining. Specifically, the modified edge surfaces are optimized within the design tolerance and are continuous with the billet suction and pressure surfaces. These surfaces are used to generate tool paths for machining the edge billets. This approach addresses the current technical challenge in the new blade manufacturing process and can substantially promote this process in blade mass production.