Superabrasive Tool with Tip Protuberance for Turbomachine Undercuts
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing machining technologies face challenges in efficiently machining complex geometries and undercuts on turbomachine components, particularly with superalloys and titanium alloys, due to limitations in tool accessibility and material removal rates.
Innovation Solution
A superabrasive machining tool with a tip protuberance and a concave longitudinal profile is used, featuring a radial span of at least 20% of the radius with abrasive material coatings like cubic boron nitride, diamond, or silicon carbide, which is rotated at high speeds and cooled to enhance cutting effectiveness and access to hard-to-reach areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional machining tools are used on turbomachine components, then tool accessibility to complex geometries and undercuts is limited, but material removal rates are also limited
Solution Approach 1:
The tool is segmented into a shank portion and a separate abrasive portion that can be independently configured. The abrasive portion includes multiple abrasive elements arranged in specific patterns, allowing the tool to access complex geometries while maintaining high material removal rates through the distributed abrasive action
Solution Approach 2:
The abrasive portion is positioned to extend beyond the shank portion in multiple directions, creating a three-dimensional abrasive structure. This dimensional extension allows the tool to reach into undercuts and complex geometries that would be inaccessible to conventional end-mills, while the distributed abrasive elements maintain high productivity
2Productivity
If superabrasive materials are used to increase material removal rate, then machining efficiency improves, but tool complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tool separates the abrasive functionality from the shank structure, with abrasive elements mounted on a simplified substrate. This segmentation allows the use of complex superabrasive materials while keeping the overall tool structure relatively simple and manufacturable
Solution Approach 2:
The abrasive portion is designed to perform multiple functions: cutting, finishing, and deburring, all in one tool. The distributed abrasive elements can machine various surfaces and geometries, reducing the need for multiple specialized tools and simplifying the overall machining system
3Productivity
If high rotation speeds are used to improve machining efficiency, then material removal rate increases, but heat generation and tool cooling requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
A coolant delivery system is integrated into the tool, using hydraulic pressure to force coolant through channels in the shank and directly onto the abrasive portion. This high-pressure coolant delivery effectively removes heat generated at high rotation speeds, enabling sustained high-speed machining without tool overheating
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The tool effectively removes material from hard-to-reach areas and undercuts on turbomachine components, improving machining efficiency and precision while reducing chemical waste and hazards associated with traditional methods.
Implementation Method 1
A superabrasive machining tool with a tip protuberance and a concave longitudinal profile is used, featuring a radial span of at least 20% of the radius with abrasive material coatings like cubic boron nitride, diamond, or silicon carbide
Implementation Method 2
The tool is cooled by guiding a cooling liquid flow to the tip grinding surface along a surface of the shaft and radially diverging to the grinding surface
Implementation Method 3
The tool is cooled by guiding a cooling liquid flow to the tip grinding surface along a surface of the shaft and radially diverging to the grinding surface
Data Source
AI summary
A tool for use in an abrasive machining process has a body extending along a central longitudinal axis from a first end to a tip end. An abrasive material is located on the tip end. The body has a tip end protuberance. An abrasive material is located on the protuberance. A body lateral surface has, over a radial span of at least 20% of a radius of the protuberance, a continuously concave longitudinal profile diverging tipward.