Innovative Blisk Machining
Problem statement
Air travel has made the world smaller and traveling more comfortable. Integrally bladed disks (blisks) are complex and critical components for airplane engines. The current blisk manufacturing processes are not fast enough for our client, who creates manufacturing simulation software. Blisks are made by removing material from a single workpiece to reveal an intricate arrangement of airfoils along the edge. Integrally bladed disks have numerous advantages such as reducing part count, decreasing drag, lower the frequency of crack formation and propagation, and increasing efficiency. However, those advantages come at the cost of fully removing the blisk from the engine whenever they get damaged [1]. Blisks are normally made of metals that are expensive and hard to machine, so our strategy will be tested with a SAE 304 stainless steel part. Our work will focus on mechanical and thermal behavior of the tool and workpiece. Strategies that could decrease cycle time are varying the spindle speed based on the part’s local curvature or iteratively calculating the milling machines control positions. Nano-coolants or coolant delivery strategies could speed up the manufacturing process however our client specializes in analyzing tool and workpiece interactions. Our goal is to speed up the manufacturing process of blisks without decreasing part quality.
Team members
Jared Hanson – leader
Nick Edwards – communicator
Evan Gersh – accountant
Cory Asbjornson – admin
Client
Tyler Roth\Hashim Al Lawati, ThirdWave