Session: 18-08 Advanced Manufacturing and Design II

Paper Number: 126584

126584 - Wire EDM for the Manufacture of Fir Tree Slots Using Different Wire Electrodes 

The use of materials with increasing thermo-mechanical strengths for turbine disks brings conventional manufacturing processes to their technical and economical limits. As an alternative manufacturing approach, the WEDM process was therefore tested in several investigations. However, compared to conventional manufacturing processes, EDM has a lower productivity. This can be increased by using thicker wire electrodes. The increased wire diameter improves wear resistance so that higher energies can be used. However, the higher energy input has a negative effect on surface integrity. Especially for safety-critical components, these changes in surface properties must be considered critically. This paper therefore examines the use of thicker wire electrodes for the electrical discharge machining of fir tree slots on turbine disks. For this purpose, the process performance and surface integrity of Inconel 718 machined by using brass and coated wire electrodes with standard diameters and a new generation of 0.4 mm diameter wire electrodes are compared. Depending on the used wire electrode, individual process technologies are developed and tested with a comprimize of a high productivity and low wire consumption. Finally, a technological and economical assessment is carried out and the best-performing wire electrode with the appropriate technology variant for rough machining a fir tree slot is selected.

Presenting Author: Daniel Schulze Brock Manufacturing Technology Institute (MTI) of RWTH Aachen University

Presenting Author Biography: Daniel Schulze Brock studied mechanical engineering and automation technology at RWTH Aachen University. Today, he is working as a project leader at the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) of RWTH Aachen University.

Authors:

Ugur Küpper Manufacturing Technology Institute (MTI) of RWTH Aachen University
Daniel Schulze Brock Manufacturing Technology Institute (MTI) of RWTH Aachen University
Andreas Klink Manufacturing Technology Institute (MTI) of RWTH Aachen University
Tim Herrig Manufacturing Technology Institute (MTI) of RWTH Aachen University
Thomas Bergs Manufacturing Technology Institute (MTI) of RWTH Aachen University