Generating the tool path directly with point cloud for aero-engine blades repair

Abstract

Aero-engine is an essential component of the aircraft. Due to the high cost of raw materials and precise structure, the maintenance cost of aero-engine is great. By repairing worn blades rather than replacing them with new ones, the aero-engine maintenance cost can be reduced effectively. For repairing worn blades, existing methods mainly generate tool path based on the reconstructed surface with the aid of CAM software. In this paper, an effective tool path generation method for repairing blades after additive manufacturing process is presented, which overcomes the low efficiency and complicated process weakness of existing methods. The tool path is generated directly with point clouds without surface fitting. By splitting point cloud and analyzing geometric parameters of points, machining areas could be recognized from the entire blade model. The cutter location point is generated by extending on the normal vector direction of the corresponding point. The five-axis tool path could be obtained by connecting cutter location points in turns. Tool path optimization is further studied after the generation process. These algorithms eliminate the time consumption caused by surface fitting operations, and could generate five-axis tool paths for repairing aero-engine blades efficiently.