United Technologies Corporation

Raytheon Technologies Corporation

Chung Y Wu

Daniel J Wright

Eric Fromerth

Bernard D Vaillette

Brian J Schwartz

Allan B Packman

Gennaro J Colacino

A forming tool for forming leading edges of turbine blades is disclosed. In various embodiments, a forming tool may comprise a cylindrically-shaped body having a notch around the circumference of the cylindrically-shaped body. The notch may be positioned perpendicularly to a center axis of the cylindrically-shaped body. Further, the notch may have a notch contour with an upper notch contour and a lower notch contour, and where the notch contour is a relief of a selected turbine blade leading edge. The forming tool may be a grinding tool or a cutting tool. Moreover, a forming process may comprise forming, by a forming tool, a first portion of a turbine blade leading edge with a rough edge result, and forming, by a milling cutter, a second portion of the turbine blade leading edge with a rough edge result.

Forming tool for leading edge of turbine blades

A compound fillet radii cutter may have a shaft having a cylindrical member, frustoconical cutting surface, a small radius cutting surface having an arc length of a first circle, and a large radius cutting surface having an arc length of a second circle. The frustoconical cutting surface may be disposed between the cylindrical member and the small radius cutting surface. The small radius cutting surface may be disposed between the frustoconical cutting surface and the large radius cutting surface, and a juncture of the large radius cutting surface and the small radius cutting surface may form a tangential union. In this manner, a single cutter may cut radii of various sizes or cut compound radii.

Compound fillet radii cutter

A method of machining an airfoil includes the steps of providing first and second cutting tools respectively having first and second cutting contours that are different than one another. A blank is cut with the first cutting tool to provide a first airfoil surface on a first blade. The blank is cut with the second cutting tool to provide a second airfoil surface on a second blade. An airfoil is produced having the first and second blades. A cutting tool for machining the airfoil includes a shank. A cutting surface adjoins the shank and provides a cutting contour corresponding to an airfoil surface. The cutting surface extends along a cutting length axially from a nose to near a cutting boundary. The cutting length is configured to be greater than the blade length.

Airfoil machining method and cutting tools

The present invention relates to a quill to be used to superabrasively machine complex shapes, such as airfoil shapes, into a substrate. The quill has a shaft portion, an enlarged head portion adjacent the shaft portion, and a tapered grinding portion adjacent the enlarged head portion. The tapered grinding portion has a layer of grit material selected from the group consisting of diamonds and cubic boron nitride thereon. In a preferred embodiment, the quill is a vitrified or plated cubic boron nitride quill on the grinding portion. A method of using the tool is also disclosed.

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Middletown, CT, United States of America

Chung Y Wu