Tool path generation for 5-axis flank milling of ruled surfaces with optimal cutter locations considering multiple geometric constraints

Ruled surfaces found in engineering parts are often blended with a constraint surface,like the blade surface and hub surface of a centrifugal impeller. It is significant to accurately machine these ruled surfaces in flank milling with interference-free and fairing tool path, while current models in fulfilling these goals are complex and rare. In this paper, a tool path planning method with optimal cutter locations(CLs) is proposed for 5-axis flank milling of ruled surfaces under multiple geometr...     

Dynamic Characteristic Analysis and Experiment for Integral Impeller Based on Cyclic Symmetry Analysis Method

A cyclic symmetry analysis method is proposed for analyzing the dynamic characteristic problems of thin walled integral impeller. Reliability and feasibility of the present method are investigated by means of simulation and experiment. The fundamental cyclic symmetry equations and the solutions of these equations are derived for the cyclic symmetry structure. The computational efficiency analysis between whole and part is performed. Comparison of results obtained by the finite element analysis (FEA) and experiment shows that the local dynamic characteristic of integral impeller has consistency with the single cyclic symmetry blade. When the integral impeller is constrained and the thin walled blade becomes a concerned object in analysis, the dynamic characteristic of integral impeller can be replaced by the cyclic symmetry blade approximately. Hence, a cyclic symmetry analysis method is effectively used to improve efficiency and obtain more information of parameters for dynamic characteristic of integral impellers.     

飞机整体壁板广义槽分层识别方法及其实现算法(英文)

To automatically obtain a machining area in numerical control （NC） programming, a data model of generalized pocket is established by analyzing aircraft integral panel characteristics, and a feature recognition approach is proposed. First, by reference to the practical slice-machining process of an aircraft integral panel, both the part and the blank are sliced in the Z-axis direction; hence a feature profile is created according to the slicing planes and the contours are formed by the intersection of the slicing planes with the part and its blank. Second, the auxiliary features of the generalized pocket are also determined based on the face type and the position, to correct the profile of the pocket. Finally, the generalized pocket feature relationship tree is constructed by matching the vertical relationships among the features. Machining feature information produced by using this method can be directly used to calculate the cutter path. The validity and practicability of the method is verified by NC programming for aircraft panels.     

Efflcient machining of a complex blisk channel using a disc cutter

For rough machining of a complex narrow cavity, e.g., a complex blisk channel on an aero-engine, the typically used cutting tools are the slender cylindrical cutter and conical cutter.Nevertheless, as neither of the two is particularly suited for rough machining, wherein the main purpose is to remove a large volume as quickly as possible, the machining efficiency is low, especially when the part materials are of hard-to-cut types(e.g., Titanium-alloy) for which it often takes days to rough machi...     

An approach for machining distortion measurements and evaluation of thin-walled blades with small datum

Inspection techniques for aero-engine blades are a hot topic in industry. Since these blades have a sculptured surface and a small datum, measurement results may deviate from an actual position. There are few proper approaches compensating for non-uniform distribution errors that are within specified tolerance ranges. This study aimed to develop a meshing structure measur-ing approach for the distortion of blades via non-contact optical 3D scanning. A rough measure-ment and a registration procedure are initially adopted to rectify the coordinate system of a blade, which avoids the initial coordinate system errors caused by the small datum. A measurement path with meshing structure is then unfolded on the blade surface. For non-uniform distribution errors, the meshing structure measurement is more visual and clear than the traditional constant height curves method. All measuring points take only 7 min to complete, and the distribution of error is directly and accurately presented by the meshing structure. This study provides a basis for future research on distortion control and error compensation.     

New Cutting Force Modeling Approach for Flat End Mill

A new mechanistic cutting force model for flat end milling using the instantaneous cutting force coefficients is proposed. An in-depth analysis shows that the total cutting forces can be separated into two terms: a nominal component independent of the runout and a perturbation component induced by the runout. The instantaneous value of the nominal component is used to calibrate the cutting force coefficients. With the help of the perturbation component and the cutting force coefficients obtained above, the cutter runout is identified. Based on simulation and experimental results, the validity of the identification approach is demonstrated. The advantage of the proposed method lies in that the calibration performed with data of one cutting test under a specific regime can be applied for a great range of cutting conditions.     

Electrochemical machining of a convex strips structure on a revolving part by using site directed power interruption

Revolving parts with complex surface structures are widely used in machinery and mechanical equipment. The ECM process provides its adequacy to cut hard materials with different shapes, and its applications are widely increased, due to its outstanding advantages. In this paper, a new method for machining a convex strips structure on a cylinder by using site directed power interruption(SDPI) in the ECM process is presented. A variable correction value of the power-off time was defined and optimized to obtain the ideal interval for better machining accuracy and stability.The electric field distribution and the simulated convex profiles show that the stray current density can be reduced effectively by using the proposed method. The correction value has an important influence on the machining accuracy. A suitable correction value in the range of 0.6–1.2 s can effectively improve the machining accuracy of the convex strips structure. Experiments were also conducted to verify the proposed method. Results have confirmed that the stray corrosion on the convex strips surface is significantly reduced and the machining accuracy of convex strips structure is remarkably improved by using the proposed method with a suitable correction value in the ECM process. Finally, a convex strip with a height of 2 mm on a thin-wall revolving part was also produced successfully using a correction value of 0.9.     

Rectangle expansion A*pathfinding for grid maps

Search speed, quality of resulting paths and the cost of pre-processing are the principle evaluation metrics of a pathfinding algorithm. In this paper, a new algorithm for grid-based maps, rectangle expansion A* (REA*), is presented that improves the performance of A* significantly. REA*explores maps in units of unblocked rectangles. All unnecessary points inside the rectangles are pruned and boundaries of the rectangles (instead of individual points within those boundaries) are used as search nodes. This makes the algorithm plot fewer points and have a much shorter open list than A*. REA*returns jump and grid-optimal path points, but since the line of sight between jump points is protected by the unblocked rectangles, the resulting path of REA*is usually better than grid-optimal. The algorithm is entirely online and requires no offline pre-processing. Experi-mental results for typical benchmark problem sets show that REA*can speed up a highly optimized A* by an order of magnitude and more while preserving completeness and optimality. This new algorithm is competitive with other highly successful variants of A*.     

Surface integrity of GH4169 affected by cantilever finish grinding and the application in aero-engine blades

GH4169 is the main material for aero-engine blades and integrated blisks. Because GH4169 has a poor milling performance, the profile precision and surface integrity of blades and integrated blisks are difficult to be met by utilizing the conventional milling process, which directly influence the global performance and reliability of aero-engines. Through grinding experiments on parameters and surface integrity optimization, the helical cantilever grinding process utilizing a300# CBN RB wheel is presented and applied in finish machining of GH4169 blades. The profile errors of the blade surface are within ±0.01 mm, the roughness is less than 0.4 lm, the residual compressive stresses and the hardening rate are appropriate, there are no phenomena of burr and smearing with the grinding chips, and the leading/trailing edge can be smoothly connected with the suction/pressure surface. All the experimental results indicate that this grinding process is greatly suitable for the profile finish machining of GH4169 blades.     

基于传动误差和齿面印痕控制的弧齿锥齿轮小轮加工参数的设计(英文)

This paper proposes a new approach to design pinion machine tool-settings for spiral bevel gears by controlling contact path and transmission errors. It is based on the satisfaction of contact condition of three given control points on the tooth surface. The three meshing points are controlled to be on a predesigned straight contact path that meets the pre-designed parabolic function of transmission errors. Designed separately, the magnitude of transmission errors and the orientation of the contact path are subjected to precise control. In addition, in order to meet the manufacturing requirements, we suggest to modify the values of blank offset, one of the pinion machine tool-settings, and redesign pinion ma- chine tool-settings to ensure that the magnitude and the geometry of transmission errors should not be influenced apart from minor effects on the predesigned straight contact path. The proposed approach together with its ideas has been proven by a numerical example and the manufacturing practice of a pair of spiral bevel gears.     

三元整体叶轮的曲面造型及其计算机辅助制造技术

针对一种三元整体叶轮,采用B样条方法对叶片中性面上顶部和根部的两组数据点进行了插值曲线的反算,进而构造出直纹面形式的叶片中性面和叶片曲面;研究了在五坐标机床上采用球头棒铣刀侧铣加工叶轮时的刀位计算方法,给出了在UG环境下的叶轮曲面建模方法及其数控加工仿真步骤。     

An automated approach to calculating the maximum diameters of multiple cutters and their paths for sectional milling of centrifugal impellers on a 4?-axis CNC machine

Power generators and chemical engineering compressors include heavy and large centrifugal impellers. To produce these impellers in high-speed machining, a 4?-axis milling machine(or a 4-axis machine plus an indexing table) is often used in the industry, which is more rigid than a5-axis milling machine. Since impeller blades are designed with complex B-spline surfaces and impeller channels spaces vary significantly, it is more efficient to use multiple cutters as large as possible to cut a channel in sections and a blade surface in patches, instead of only using a small cutter to machine a whole blade and a channel. Unfortunately, no approach has been established to automatically calculate the largest diameters of cutters and their paths, which include the indexing table angles. To address this problem, an automated and optimization approach is proposed. Based on the structure of a 4?-axis machine, a geometric model for a cutter gouging/interfering the impeller is formulated, and an optimization model of the cutter diameter in terms of the indexing table angle is established at a cutter contact(CC) point on a blade surface. Then, the diameters of the tools,their orientations, and the indexing table angles are optimized, and each tool's paths are generated for machining its corresponding impeller section. As a test, an impeller is efficiently machined with these tools section by section; thus, this approach is valid. It can be directly used in the industry to improve efficiency of machining centrifugal impellers.     

三元整体叶轮的几何造型与数控加工刀具路径规划

采用三次B样条曲线对叶轮中性面上盖盘和轴盘的两组数据点进行插值，得到盖盘曲线和轴盘曲线，进而得到直纹面形式的叶轮中性面；按照叶片的厚度做盖盘曲线和轴盘曲线的变距偏置曲线，得到叶片曲面的直纹化表达式；在此基础上，讨论了三元叶轮加工的刀具路径规划方法，给出了确定球头刀刀心位置和计算残留误差的两种迭代算法，最后给出了加工实例。     

闭式整体叶盘通道五坐标分行定轴加工刀轴矢量规划方法

闭式整体叶盘是新一代航空发动机实现减重增效的关键零件,其通道结构属于典型多约束复杂通道结构。针对闭式整体叶盘通道精加工,提出了一种基于五坐标分行定轴加工的刀轴矢量规划方法。从加工原理上给出了分行定轴加工方法的基本概念,并分析了闭式整体叶盘通道五坐标加工的特征;在刀具预定义和建立检查面球体包围盒层次树结构的基础上,给出了刀轴矢量无干涉区域的计算方法;基于刀位点最短刀长的计算与分析,进行了叶盘通道加工区域划分,建立了分行定轴加工刀轴矢量规划方法。实验验证表明:分行定轴相对五轴联动加工方法不仅可明显提高加工过程中的稳定性和叶片加工表面质量,还可提高叶片精加工效率。     

微小整体叶轮五轴联动微细铣削加工试验研究

微小整体叶轮作为微型发动机的重要组成部分,其加工质量直接影响微型发动机的使用性能。针对微小整体式复杂叶轮流道狭窄、叶片扭曲大和长厚比大等特点,开展了微小复杂扭曲整体式叶轮五轴联动微细铣削加工方法研究。针对微小叶轮加工过程极易发生变形、过切和碰撞干涉等问题,对微小叶轮的加工过程进行工艺规划,建立了微小叶轮流道加工刀具选择的约束方程,计算出叶轮加工刀具的最大理论直径。通过CAM软件对叶轮进行切削仿真,验证了刀具选择和工艺规划的正确性。通过五轴联动微细铣削试验,得到了具有6个直径10mm的叶片、叶片最小厚度0.15mm、叶片最小相邻间距0.58mm的7075铝合金微小整体叶轮。     

通道曲面的柱面逼近方法及其在叶轮插铣中的应用

为了使叶轮粗加工后的通道表面与其设计曲面尽可能接近,将整体叶轮的定轴插铣理论模型概括为通道曲面的最大内接柱面优化问题。同时,为简化该问题的计算难度,将最大内接柱面的优化问题转化为柱面直母线方向和柱面准线的确定两个步骤。提出了确定内接柱面直母线方向的最小二乘模型与解算方法,在此基础上,将通道曲面沿柱面的直母线方向进行投影,通过相关曲线间的裁剪操作,获得了最大内接柱面的准线。以最大内接柱面的准线作为插铣加工时的边界曲线,以柱面直母线方向作为插铣加工时平头刀的轴线方向,给出了计算刀心位置和安全高度的迭代算法。最后通过数值算例验证了所提方法的正确性。该方法将有助于叶轮粗加工效率的提高,同时为叶轮的精加工预留较均匀的加工余量。     

一种基于点搜索的叶轮清根轨迹生成方法(英文)

清根区域的加工质量严重影响着叶轮的工作性能。为了快速地规划出清根加工刀位轨迹并获得较好的表面加工质量,提出了一种基于点搜索的叶轮清根轨迹生成方法。本文中的清根加工主要包括利用球头刀对自由曲面叶轮进行单刀清根和多刀清根。对于单刀清根,刀心位置通过判断其是否满足距离准则来确定。在确定了搜索方向和追踪方向后,借助于点搜索算法,得到所有切触点,刀位点以及清根边界,从而生成刀位轨迹。基于单刀清根的原理,提出了一种分层多刀清根的方法,清根刀具半径小于清根圆角设计半径。使用一系列中间虚拟刀具将清根区域分成若干层,给定最后一层的残留高度,然后计算出所有刀位轨迹。最后给出了仿真实例,结果证明了所提方法的可行性。     

基于非均匀余量的整体叶轮加工工艺优化策略

针对超薄结构叶片整体叶轮在制造过程中叶片产生较大的变形和切削振动,使用非均匀余量加工工艺方案,减小叶片变形提高加工质量。分析了集中载荷对薄壁结构和加厚结构变形的影响,对生产中的叶轮叶片进行非均匀余量加工工艺设计,依据优化后的工艺对叶轮进行刀具轨迹规划并进行加工试验,结果显示该工艺优化策略能有效减小超薄叶片的铣削振动和铣削变形,最大误差优化率为54.47%,平均误差优化率为52.57%,对类似高度与平均厚度比值较大且叶片扭转曲率较大的复杂零件的实际加工有一定的指导意义。     

整体叶轮侧铣数控加工刀位轨迹生成新方法

为提高整体叶轮的加工质量和效率,提出了分段侧铣的方法,在每一段曲面上,基于斜等距曲面的原理,推导出叶片分段侧铣加工时刀位轨迹的生成和计算;并用计算仿真和刀心轨迹图对刀位进行了验证。结果表明,采用分段侧铣的方法,生成的刀位轨迹刀轴矢量变化均匀,刀轴未发生干涉,且加工效率和加工质量明显得到提高。     

高缠绕叶轮流道4+1轴高效分段开槽方法

高缠绕叶轮流道的高效粗加工是提高整个叶轮加工效率和缩短生产周期的关键。针对高缠绕叶轮流道的粗加工,提出了一种4+1轴高效分段开槽方法。首先,给出了分段开槽加工方法的基本概念,并分析了高缠绕叶轮流道加工特点;然后,结合机床结构特征,给出了五轴机床在主轴摆角固定为常值时切削点处单点最大刀具尺寸的计算方法;基于各切削点加工特征参数的分析,采用聚类算法进行了叶轮流道加工分段区域的划分;最后,确定了各分段区域的可加工刀具尺寸和4+1形式的刀轴矢量。算例分析表明,提出的4+1轴分段开槽方法得到的开槽轨迹旋转轴变化均匀,材料去除量较传统开槽方法增加了32.5%,改善了切削过程稳定性,提高了叶轮的粗加工效率。