Laser Drilling of Cylindrical and Shaped Holes

NCMS/CTMA Symposium: Track 1b Terry L. VanderWert PRIMA North America, Inc.

Outline

Laser drilling technology overview Capability Applications Recent developments benefits of integration Repair applications Potential benefits Potential projects Summary

Customers
Serving Turbine Engine Manufacturers

Laser Drilling - An Enabling Technology Incremental improvements have led to substantial increases in the number of cooling holes in new engine designs. Laser drilling is fast relative to competing methods for small holes translates into substantially lower cost. No tooling means lower cost, faster turnaround the tool is a focused beam of light Flexible single part lot sizes Easily interfaced with CAD/CAM Drills/machines a wide range of materials At shallow angles Complex shapes
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Laser Drilling of Cylindrical Cooling Holes Typical applications Cooling holes in blades, vanes, combustors, and afterburners 0.3 to 1 mm diameter holes at 15-90 in cast, sheet, and machined components, uncoated and with TBC Rates 0.25 to 5 holes per second

Film cooling holes

Air flow Airfoil

Laser Drilling of Shaped Cooling Holes Film cooling holes increase efficiency of cooling air by 30%, reducing the amount of air required for cooling. Used sparingly today because of their cost when produced using EDM.
12-20 degrees 1.5-3.0 mm
Top View

Race Track Shape (Fan in, straight out) 0.8 - 1.2mm 10-30 degrees

Wine Glass Shape (Fan in, Fan out) 0.8 - 1.2mm

0.4-1.2 mm

1. Pierce undersized through hole 2. Trepan fan shape- through hole 3. Finish through hole to size (trepan to exit hole diameter)

Recent Developments by PRIMA North America for New Part Manufacturing and Repair

Process control for improved airflow consistency Optimum laser process parameters for cylindrical shaped holes Distribution of Exit Hole Diameter W ithout Breakthrough Detection Drill at focus Breakthrough Detection Breakthrough detection Optical focus control (for TBC) Simple shaped hole drilling
0.50 0.60 0.70 0.80 Hole Diameter, mm 0.90

The bottom line? More consistent holes

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Repair Applications for Laser Drilling Re-drilling of cooling holes. Some cooling holes become blocked during repairs by welding or brazing Holes must be re-drilled to restore component airflow.
Blades and vanes repaired by welding or brazing. Cooling holes become blocked and component suffers some distortion

Cooling holes redrilled by laser

Repair Applications for Laser Drilling Removal of TBC overspray Coatings must be removed before any repairs can take place. Re-coating partially fills cooling holes and this must be removed to restore component airflow.
Coating must be stripped from components before repair. Repaired components must be re-coated. The new coating covers existing cooling holes

Coating overspray removed by Laser

Issue: Amount of new coating in the hole varies

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Potential benefits of laser drilling for repair depots

Reduced costs Reduced turnaround time - keep aircraft flying Provides a method for producing engines having increased engine performance Thermal barrier coatings Film cooling shaped and cylindrical

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Potential Projects Laser source technology for combined machining and drilling in uncoated as well as thermal barrier coated (TBC) components Automation of set-up and drilling Probe repaired components to compensate for deviations in shape and position Identify actual hole locations In process gauging - improve process efficiency and quality by automating part inspection
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Laser source technology for combined machining and drilling Objective - Develop laser source capable of both pulsed drilling of cylindrical holes and ablative machining of shaped holes. Challenges Produce laser source having both ms (deep hole drilling) and s (machining) pulse widths, with high beam quality. Potential return Improve productivity and reduce cost for laser drilling by taking advantage of the speed of laser machining and producing complete shaped holes in a single setup.
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Laser Drilling Capability is Source Dependent

CW
Mechanism
Melt expulsion Coarse to fine
Pulsed Nd:YAG (ms/s) Cu vapor Q-switched (ns) Nd:YAG (ns) Excimer (ns)

fs
Vaporization Ablation
Nd:YVO4 (ps)

Cold Ablation
Ti:Sapphire (fs)

Throughput Feature size Debris HAZ/recast Depth control

holes/second

minutes/hole

f (wavelength, lens focal length, beam diameter, beam quality) 10s m tens to hundreds m
Removal rate, mm^3/sec

negligible less than 10 m

1.E+01 1.E+00 1.E-01 1.E-02 1.E-03 1.E-04 1.E-12

inversely related to removal rate

4 F Beam = M2 D

1.E-09

1.E-06

1.E-03

1.E+00

Pulse duration, sec

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Automation of Setup and Drilling Objective Develop vision and probing tools to gauge the shape and hole location of repaired components. Challenges - Parts are deformed; shape will not match that of the new component. However, the repair holes must be coincident with the original holes. Potential return Improved productivity by automating time-consuming setup steps.

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In Process Gauging Objective Actively monitor component airflow to determine which holes should be re-drilled. Challenges Integration of gauging tools with laser machines. Potential return Higher quality components. Greater machine utilization by avoiding inefficiencies of removing/resetting the part into the drilling system.
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Summary Improvements in laser drilling technology for modern, new component manufacturing can benefit repair whether at the repair depot or commercial partner. Additional technology development is needed to improve productivity, reduce dependence on skilled operators, and improve consistency in repair operations. PRIMA North Americas 20+ years history of innovation in lasers for turbine engine manufacturing and repair will reduce risk and cost of these developments.

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