General Electric Company

Metem Corporation

Joseph William Janssen

Joseph Anthony Weber

Robert Frank Hoskin

Joseph Leonard Moroso

Eric Alan Overholt

Robert Aldo Del Freo

Matthew Ian Van Biervliet

John Malek

Malek John

A fixture for drilling a hole in a superalloy turbine blade includes a mount to selectively hold a root of the superalloy turbine blade with the superalloy turbine blade extending from the mount. The fixture may also include an actuator to apply a force to elastically deform at least a portion of the superalloy turbine blade when held by the mount from a relaxed, initial position to an elastically deformed position, the at least a portion of the superalloy turbine blade having a curvature in the elastically deformed position not present in the relaxed, initial position. The fixture may also include a drill guide configured to guide a drilling element into the superalloy turbine blade in the elastically deformed position.

Hole drilling elastically deformed superalloy turbine blade

A method includes applying a force to elastically deform at least a portion of a superalloy turbine blade from a relaxed, initial position to an elastically deformed position. The at least a portion of the superalloy turbine blade has a curvature in the elastically deformed position not present in the relaxed, initial position. A hole is drilled generally span-wise through the at least a portion of the superalloy turbine blade in the elastically deformed position, and when the force is released, the superalloy turbine blade returns to the relaxed, initial position and the hole takes on a hole curvature within the at least a portion of the superalloy turbine blade.

A method is provided for milling a thermal barrier coated metal part. This method includes selectively removing a portion of a ceramic coating using a mechanical cutting tool, thereby forming a counterbore, and machining the metal part through the counterbore. A drilling head for drilling thermal barrier coated metal parts is also provided. The drilling head comprises a mechanical cutting tool, which is operable to mill through ceramic, and an electrode for electrical discharge machining. The electrode may be used to mill the metal part, and may be interchangeable with the mechanical cutting tool.

Method and apparatus for milling thermal barrier coated metals

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Lambertville, NJ, United States of America

Joseph William Janssen