Flank Millable Component Design Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
The design of turbomachinery components often results in complex geometries that are difficult or impossible to flank mill, leading to inefficient manufacturing processes and excessive machining times, as designers may not realize the components are not flank millable until late in the design process.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that allow designers to select geometry options and receive notifications when a component is not flank millable, providing options to modify the geometry to ensure flank millability, and calculating optimized machining instructions to reduce machining time and improve surface finishes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If designers use complex design processes to optimize component geometry, then design flexibility and component performance are improved, but the component becomes difficult or impossible to flank mill
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of design geometry during the CAD phase to determine flank millability before manufacturing begins. This early detection allows designers to modify complex geometries to be flank millable while maintaining design optimization, avoiding the need to choose between design flexibility and manufacturability later in the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback to designers about the flank millability of their designs in real-time during the design process. This feedback loop enables designers to adjust complex geometries to ensure flank millability while maintaining design optimization, resolving the contradiction between design flexibility and ease of manufacture.
2Reliability
If designers proceed with point milling for non-flank millable components, then manufacturing can continue, but manufacturing time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system determines flank millability in advance during the design phase, allowing manufacturers to plan the appropriate machining process beforehand. This prevents the need to switch to slower point milling processes and maintains high manufacturing efficiency while ensuring manufacturing continuity.
3Ease of manufacture
If CAM software calculates machining instructions for complex geometries, then manufacturing instructions are provided, but excessive machine motion and long machining times result
Solution Approach 1:
The system analyzes geometry and determines flank millability before generating CAM instructions. This preliminary assessment allows for the optimization of machining paths to minimize machine motion and reduce machining time, rather than generating instructions that result in excessive motion for non-flank millable geometries.
Data Source
AI summary
Flank milling checks during a computer automated design process which may include notifying a user when a component geometry option is selected that will result in the component not being flank millable. In some examples, the user is prevented from selecting a geometry option that would result in the component not being flank millable. In some examples, devices, systems, and methods are provided for manufacturing a component with a flank milling process, in which optimized machine instructions are determined that minimize milling machine motion.