Product Code: ICA11_1406

Laser-Based Remanufacturing of Engineering Compnents and its Environmental Impact Analysis
Authors:
J. Michael Wilson, Purdue University; West Lafayette IN
Cycil Piya, Purdue University; West Lafayette IN USA
Vance Murray, Purdue University; West Lafayette IN USA
Yung Shin, Purdue University; W. Lafayette IN USA
Fu Zhao, Purdue University; West Lafayette IN USA
Karthik Ramani, Purdue University; West Lafayette IN USA
Presented at ICALEO 2011

Laser direct deposition provides an attractive and cost effective means of repairing or remanufacturing high value engineering components. Laser direct deposition technology towards repairing defective voids in high-value metallic components can be time consuming, since traditional geometric reconstruction methods are not seamlessly connected to the laser direct deposition process. In this study, we demonstrate the successful repairing of defective voids in turbine airfoils based on a new semi-automated geometric algorithm and a direct laser deposition process using the LENS system. A boolean difference between the original defective model and the final reconstructed model yields a fully parameterized geometric representation of the repair volume. The experimental results of this method demonstrate the effectiveness of laser direct deposition in remanufacturing and its ability to adapt to a wide range of airfoil defects. An analysis on the economical benefits and environmental impact is also presented.