Virtual Alignment for Nozzle Guide Vanes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manual reworking of components like nozzle guide vanes and blades is inefficient and prone to variability due to reliance on skilled operator judgment, leading to inconsistent dimensional conformance, high rework rates, and potential for parts to be scrapped, with associated health and safety issues from manual processing.
Innovation Solution
A virtual alignment system that captures dimensional data, creates a digitized model, aligns it with a nominal CAD model, and adjusts the model to bring regions within defined tolerances, using a processor to control material removal by a CNC machine, minimizing operator intervention and ensuring precise conformance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If manual inspection and reworking is performed by skilled operators, then parts can be salvaged and reworked to improve dimensional conformance, but the process is highly variable and time-consuming due to operator skill dependency and iterative adjustments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical component through 3D scanning to generate a digital twin. This virtual model is then used for alignment assessment and reworking simulation, allowing multiple iterations in the virtual domain without physical intervention. The virtual copy enables precise measurement and analysis while eliminating the need for repeated physical disassembly and reassembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary alignment assessment and reworking simulation in the virtual domain before any physical reworking occurs. By using the virtual model to predict the outcomes of different alignment strategies and material removal patterns, the system identifies the optimal reworking plan in advance, preventing unnecessary iterative physical adjustments and reducing overall rework time.
2Manufacturing precision
If operators remove material from datum locations to bring parts into conformance, then dimensional tolerance can be achieved, but there is risk of removing too much material or reducing wall thickness below minimum requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors wall thickness and material removal during the virtual reworking process. By providing real-time feedback on the impact of alignment adjustments and material removal on critical features, the system prevents excessive material removal and ensures minimum wall thickness requirements are maintained throughout the reworking operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis of the virtual model to identify critical features and potential risk areas before physical reworking begins. This advance assessment allows operators to plan material removal strategies that achieve dimensional tolerance while preserving wall thickness integrity, eliminating the need for conservative material retention that would otherwise be required.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple small adjustments are made iteratively during manual reworking, then dimensional conformance can be approached, but the process becomes inefficient and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs all necessary alignment assessments and reworking simulations in the virtual domain before physical reworking begins. By calculating the optimal alignment strategy and material removal plan in advance, the system eliminates the need for multiple iterative physical adjustments, allowing operators to execute a single predetermined reworking sequence that achieves dimensional conformance in one operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual model serves as a test bed for evaluating different reworking scenarios and predicting outcomes without physical intervention. This allows comprehensive optimization of the reworking plan in the virtual domain, transferring the optimized solution directly to physical execution and eliminating repetitive measurement-adjustment-remeasurement cycles.
4Manufacturing precision
If skilled operators perform manual reworking with limited visual feedback, then parts can be recovered, but the process is susceptible to high variation and operator error
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual model acts as an intermediary between the physical component and the operator. It provides comprehensive visual feedback and quantitative analysis that would be impossible to obtain through direct physical inspection alone. The system translates complex three-dimensional geometry and tolerance requirements into intuitive visual representations and actionable guidance, reducing operator skill dependency while maintaining high dimensional conformance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides continuous, comprehensive feedback on dimensional conformance, wall thickness, and reworking progress through the virtual model. This feedback includes quantitative measurements, visual displays of tolerance compliance, and predictive analysis of reworking outcomes, enabling operators to make informed decisions without relying on extensive experience or intuition.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention concerns improvements in the inspection, assessment and re-working of manufactured components such as nozzle guide vanes (NGVs) and blades, in particular by improving the comparison of the component with nominal data. Dimensional data of a physical component is obtained and used to create a virtual digitized model of the component which is aligned with a nominal CAD model of the component in a virtual space. The correspondence is assessed and used to adjust weightings of different regions of the digitized model to improve the alignment. This process is repeated within the digital space until either conformance is reached or it is determined that this is not possible.