Design for manufacturing with tool paths adapted to marine propeller

摘要

Marine propellers are complex surfaces that are usually machined with a perfect roughness not to disturb the theoretical flow. Because this requirement is penalizing from a manufacturing point of view, the global objective of the study is to propose an approach in which the machining parameters are linked to functional properties of the blade in order to cancel the polishing phase. Indeed, the flow around the blade, associated with the performance of the propeller, is characterized with stream lines. The approach that is presented in the paper links the tool trajectories to flow specifications, specifically by following those stream lines. To benefit from a rotational axis on a five-axis-machine-tool, the idea is to compose a continuous trajectory, especially at the leading edge, to mill the surface. As the tool paths follow specific hydrodynamical lines, the geometrical information such as peak heights vary along the blade. Finally, the strategy allows multiaxial milling of a blade surface in the context of design for manufacturing.