Blisks subjected to rough machining for channel creation must undergo finishing processes, and such processes must achieve the required tolerance limits. A high-quality surface finish and predictable long tool life are critical for the finish milling of blisks. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to optimize parameters for the finish machining of an Inconel 718 alloy monolithic blisk. Ball-cone mills were used to machine the blade surface at a constant depth. A sensory tool holder was used to collect cutting force signals during machining, and a digital microscope was used to examine tool wear. The surface texture measuring instrument was used to measure blisk blade surface roughness to evaluate processing quality. This study manipulated two cutting parameters, namely cutting speed and feed per tooth, and investigated their effects. The relationship between cutting conditions and machining efficiency was analyzed. According to the experimental results, we identified a set of optimal parameters at effective cutting speeds of 46.53 m/min, feed per tooth of 0.1 mm/tooth, and depth of cut of 0.05 mm for marginal tool wear and fast cutting speeds. Then the corresponding tool life was estimated by using the derived parameters.

Blisks are not easily machined because of their complex curved surfaces and the high-precision requirements of surface machining. Lightweight alloy materials with superior mechanical properties, such as titanium alloy and stainless steel, are popular material choices for manufacturing turbine blisks. However, these materials are difficult to cut and require advanced machine tools and processing technologies. Because aerospace-grade parts are complex and require precise dimensions and high surface quality, machining these parts by using three-axis machine tools is difficult. Using multi-axis machine tools for the machining of complex parts can cause the achievement of precise dimensions, high quality, and the required surface roughness. In the multi-axis machining of aerospace blisks, tool path planning is considered the most difficult task. In this study, we examined the implementation of five-axis machining technology for the manufacturing of an aerospace blisk. Processing modules from computer-aided manufacturing software (NX10) are used for five-axis tool path generating, and 5-axis machining numerical control code is generated through post-processing calculations. Solid cutting simulation software (VERICUT) is used to verify whether tools exhibited overcut or interference. A sensory tool holder (SPIKE) is used to analyze cutting force during the rough machining of a blisk. The sensory tool holder is also adopted to evaluate the spindle runout and tool holding status. In order to obtain a consistent cutting allowance and surface accuracy, the online measurement system is used to generate a measurement path for semi-finish and finish machining. The real cut is performed with SUS304 and demonstrates the practical application. Through improvements in process planning, the machining time was shortened by 16.5%.

Turbomolecular pumps (TMPs), boasting advantageous high pumping rates, stability, and cleanliness, have been widely used in the semiconductor and photoelectric industries. In the aviation industry, the lightweight rotors of turbomolecular pumps can enhance the performance of generators. With technological advancements and increased industrial performance demands, various designs for turbomolecular pump rotors utilizing twisted and curved blade surfaces have been proposed. This increase in complexity runs parallel with machining difficulties. Contact and noncontact reverse engineering equipment was used to reconstruct a computer-aided design (CAD) model of turbomolecular pump rotors. The machining of thin and long blades, cutting tool arrangement, and toolpath was planned. Postprocessing was used to convert the toolpath into numerical control (NC) programming codes, which were combined with solid model cutting simulation software to verify the efficacy of the generated machining NC program for turbomolecular pump rotors. A five-axis horizontal machining center (CK type) with aluminum alloy AL6061-T6 was used to conduct actual machining tests measuring the efficiency of the machining methods. The rapid prototyping (RP) blocks can be creatively used as a jig and stuffed between the blades to suppress the chatter problem during processing, and the roughness of the surface of the blades can be reduced from 4.4 μm to 1.3 μm. The processed rotor can meet the flow test requirements, and the overall research can be used as a reference for the industry.

Blisks subjected to rough machining for channel creation must undergo finishing processes, and such processes must achieve the required tolerance limits. A high-quality surface finish and predictable long tool life are critical for the finish milling of blisks. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to optimize parameters for the finish machining of an Inconel 718 alloy monolithic blisk. Ball-cone mills were used to machine the blade surface at a constant depth. A sensory tool holder was used to collect cutting force signals during machining, and a digital microscope was used to examine tool wear. The surface texture measuring instrument was used to measure blisk blade surface roughness to evaluate processing quality. This study manipulated two cutting parameters, namely cutting speed and feed per tooth, and investigated their effects. The relationship between cutting conditions and machining efficiency was analyzed. According to the experimental results, we identified a set of optimal parameters for marginal tool wear and fast cutting speeds and then estimated the corresponding tool life by using the derived parameters.

This study focuses on the rough machining of a blade-integrated disk (BLISK) made of Inconel 718 using a 5 mm diameter round-nose milling tool. The tool path was generated using the NX CAM impeller module and validated through VERICUT, a solid cutting simulation software, to ensure path accuracy and avoid machine interference. During the machining process, the bending moment was measured using a sensory tool holder, and tool wear was monitored using a 3D digital microscope to evaluate machining performance. A preliminary feasibility study was conducted to define reasonable ranges for machining parameters. Based on these results, a full-factorial experiment was carried out to determine optimal machining conditions, with maximum bending moment variation and tool wear used as evaluation criteria. Tool life tests were also performed under the optimal parameters, with life assessment based on the distribution of bending moment polar coordinates and flank wear observations. The optimal machining parameters identified through the full-factorial experiment were a cutting speed of 19 m/min, a feed rate of 35 mm/min, and an axial cutting depth of 0.6 mm. Under these conditions, the tool reached its wear limit after machining two grooves.

This research uses rotary ultrasonic grinding technology to grind zirconia (ZrO₂) ceramic. The purpose is the optimization of processing parameters for rough and fine grinding. According to Taguchi method, optimized processing parameters will be available to find and successfully verified. The objective function of rough grinding is the material removal rate (MRR), and a maximum is expected. The processing parameters can be spindle speed, ultrasonic power, feedrate, and cutting depth. The best MRR is 192mm³/s in Taguchi’s experiment, and the optimized MRR is 2.14mm³/s, which can be increased by 1.11 times. Moreover, the objective function of fine grinding is surface roughness (Ra), which needs to find a minimum value. The control factors are spindle speed, ultrasonic power, feedrate, and the number of times of grinding. In the Taguchi experiment, the minimum roughness predicted by the fine grinding is Ra0.16, but the roughness is obtained Ra0.2 by the verification experiment. It may be that the effects of the factors are not completely independent, and there are interactions between them. The predicted value will not be completely correct via the superposition of each factor effect. It can also be found that the independence of the fine grinding speed, ultrasonic power and feed factor is not strong enough for the variation analysis. It affects the results of the prediction and confirmation experiment.