Characterization and improvement of a robotized material removal process

As part of its services, GE Aviation provides rapid repairs for engines, including borescope inspection/blending, line replaceable unit (LRU), fan module, gearbox repair/removal, and many additional workscopes. One of this repair service centers around airfoils. During flight, the compressor and turbine airfoils get damaged by dust and other contaminants. During the overhaul process, the airfoils (also known as ‘’blades’’) get disassembled and repaired. For new parts, many processes make use of the repeatability from the previous operations to perform always the same material removal. These repaired parts have a much wider variability in incoming conditions. However, for the tip repair process, material is typically added by welding at the tip. Then, the original shape is restored by removing the excess material, in a process known as material removal. This step is often performed with manual tools by skilled operators. We aim to automate this material removal process using robotic solutions. The solution also needs to adapt to varying incoming conditions and to a wide selection of part numbers.

Faculty Supervisor:

Alexandre Girard

Student:

Partner:

GEC Aviation inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Aerospace

University:

Université de Sherbrooke

Program: