Technology-Based Re-Contouring of Blade Integrated Disks After Weld Repair

The widespread adoption of blade integrated disks (blisks) made of titanium demands tailored re-generation processes to increase sustainability and economic efficiency. High standards regarding geometrical accuracy and functional properties as well as the unique characteristics of each type of damage complicate the repair. Thus, flexible and well-designed processes are necessary. Typically, material deposit is followed by a milling or grinding process to restore the original shape. Here, not only the individual repair processes have to be controlled, but also their interaction. For example, depending on the resulting microstructure of the welded seam, the re-contouring process needs to be adapted to minimize tool wear as well as shape deviations of the complex blade geometries. In this paper, the process chain for a patch repair is examined, consisting of a TIG welding process followed by 5-axis ball nose end milling. Conventional TIG as well as a modified TIG process producing a finer grain structure and enhanced mechanical properties of deposited material were investigated. Grain refinement was achieved by SiC particles added to the weld pool. Based on the characteristics of the fusion material and static stiffness of the component, a methodology is introduced to minimize shape deviation induced by the subsequent milling process. Special attention is given to tool orientation, which has a significant impact on the kinematics and resulting process forces during milling. An electromagnetic guided machine tool is used for compensation of workpiece deflection.