Flexible Conformable Clamps for a Machining Cell with Applications to Turbine Blade Machining

摘要

A flexible, conformable clamping scheme for a steam turbine blade machining cell is discussed. Experiments that have been carried out to investigate the clamping efficiency of this novel design are also described. Flexible fixtures for turbine blade machining have been developed and installed to demonstrate the reduction of human intervention for workpiece setup in the laboratory at Carnegie-Mellon University. The key features of the clamp design and the cell configuration are described. Subsequently, the theory of vibration is reviewed and the experimental results of damped natural frequencies of the clamped blade are presented. For future research a cell model may be established and simulated. Improvements in the clamp mechanism and an intensive study of vibration are also expected. (Author)