Rapid Prototyping Technology for Manufacturing GTE Turbine Blades

International Conference on Mechanical Engineering, Automation and Control Systems 2017

机械制造;无线电电子学;计算机科学

Balyakin, A.V.^1 ; Dobryshkina, E.M.^1 ; Vdovin, R.A.^1 ; Alekseev, V.P.^1

Samara National Research University, Moscovskoye shosse 34, Samara

443086, Russia^1

关键词: Additive technology;    Conventional approach;    Gas-turbine units;    Geometric precision;    Optimal temperature;    Rapid prototyping technology;    Solidification time;    Thermographic analysis;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/327/2/022025/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1757-899X/327/2/022025

学科分类：计算机科学（综合）

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

The conventional approach to manufacturing turbine blades by investment casting is expensive and time-consuming, as it takes a lot of time to make geometrically precise and complex wax patterns. Turbine blade manufacturing in pilot production can be sped up by accelerating the casting process while keeping the geometric precision of the final product. This paper compares the rapid prototyping method (casting the wax pattern composition into elastic silicone molds) to the conventional technology. Analysis of the size precision of blade casts shows that silicon-mold casting features sufficient geometric precision. Thus, this method for making wax patterns can be a cost-efficient solution for small-batch or pilot production of turbine blades for gas-turbine units (GTU) and gas-turbine engines (GTE). The paper demonstrates how additive technology and thermographic analysis can speed up the cooling of wax patterns in silicone molds. This is possible at an optimal temperature and solidification time, which make the process more cost-efficient while keeping the geometric quality of the final product.