This paper is concerned with a scientific study of the pinch and roll process that is currently used to produce compressor blades for jet engines. The investigation jointly uses experimental data and validated 3dimensional finite element analysis to improve the process. A unique data acquisition system was developed to gather process data as well as to improve the press set up for production runs. The data acquisition system provides process information such as die separation forces and displacements, and rotational die mismatch. Designed experiments were carried out on both the actual process and the simulations. The process experiments identified the intricacies of this complex process. The simulation experiments clarified the significant factors for proper simulations of the process. All of these methods of analysis are combined to improve the competitiveness of the pinch and roll process by improving the quality of the product while reducing the number of roll passes required, thus reducing the overall cost.
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