Blisk Finishing System Cuts Processing Time

Walther Trowal’s CM rotary vibrator finishing system eliminates manual operations and is said to cut the processing times for finishing blisks for airplane and land-based turbines from several days to a few hours. Plus, unlike with manual grinding, the system provides a uniform, homogeneous finish with repeatable results, the company says.

The system allows deburring and general surface improvement of components with diameters as large as 980 mm. Single workpieces are mounted to the inner dome of the processing bowl, grinding media is added to the bowl, and a motor vibrates the bowl, causing constant “rubbing” of the media against the fixed workpiece. Parts with an initial surface roughness of 4 to 5 microns Ra can be finished to 0.2 to 0.4 micron Ra within about five to six hours, the company says.

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