Laserdyne's exclusive CylPerf is used to create complex patterns of laser drilled holes using trepanning, static percussion and on-the-fly drilling. Pictured is a pattern of 0.4 mm diameter holes at 30° from the surface. The latest version of CylPerf with advanced fiber laser control reduced the time per hole from 1.2 seconds to 0.3 seconds.
Prima Power Laserdyne's exclusive S94P laser process control feature CylPerf has been further enhanced to include improvements in fiber laser control that are designed to enable greater quality and throughput in on-the-fly percussion drilling of small shallow angle holes in aerospace engine combustors. In one application, this meant achieving air flow typically associated with trepanning while increasing throughput 4x faster than with previous methods.
"On-the-fly drilling has historically been associated with the shortest cycle time for drilling sheet metal components but with a compromise of hole consistency. Now, incorporating the results of the latest process R&D performed at Prima Power Laserdyne and new capability for fiber laser control, on-the-fly drilling is producing higher quality holes, both in terms of metallurgy and geometry, with the benefit of reduced cycle time," said a company spokesperson.
CylPerf, short for cylinder perforation, is a graphical software utility for programming and processing cylindrical components such as components for turbine engine combustion chambers. It can be applied to on-the-fly percussion drilling as well as static percussion drilling and trepanning, including a combination of these within a part and even within a section of a part. "The latest version of CylPerf incorporates advanced fiber laser control that is unique to LASERDYNE systems," said the spokesperson.
"On-the-fly percussion drilling is a proven process for producing small diameter (0.2 to 0.6 mm) holes," continued the spokesperson. "Both Nd:YAG and fiber lasers can drill these holes at steep angles and process difficult-to-machine materials. Thousands of holes can be produced quickly over a 3-D surface in a single set-up.
"Prima Power Laserdyne recently demonstrated the capability of the latest version of CylPerf in drilling a thermal barrier coated (TBC) Hastelloy X component. The material was 1.5 mm thick with 0.4 mm diameter holes drilled at 30° from the surface. This new process required only 0.3 seconds per hole compared to the previous process that required 1.2 seconds per hole.
"With traditional static percussion drilling in which the laser beam is stationary during drilling, 0.5 seconds is required to drill each hole of this diameter, depth, and angle. However, the challenge with static percussion drilling is that even in this short process time, the material is heated which can lead to delamination of the TBC. The thinner the TBC material, the more susceptible it is to delamination. Using the CylPerf on-the-fly drilling process in which one laser pulse is delivered in each revolution of the part, cooling between laser pulses minimizes delamination."
Laserdyne Software Enables Use of Coupons
"Developing and optimizing laser process parameters for any new combustor drilling application can be both time consuming and expensive, especially considering the cost and availability of test pieces," said the spokesperson. Laserdyne application engineers developed a technique for optimizing CylPerf parameters using relatively small, flat samples instead of finished parts. These test "coupons" are mounted to the laser system rotary table in the same orientation of the actual part when it is eventually drilled.
The technique makes use of tools (such as laser drilling calculators) that accurately simulate the use of mapping and CylPerf on-the-fly drilling parameters and other laser process parameters. This technique is effective in developing parameters that can be transferred to real-world parts with equal results in the final laser drilled components.
"This technique was used on the above described Hastelloy X component," said Terry VanderWert, President of Prima Power Laserdyne LLC. "By using multiple coupons at a far lower cost than the actual workpieces, this method allowed for multiple iterations of process parameters that lead to a reduction in process time per hole from 1.2 seconds to 0.3 seconds. As a result, total developmental time and cost were significantly lower than previously experienced."
CylPerf is a standard feature within the S94P control on Laserdyne's 3- to 7-axis systems, which include the LASERDYNE 795 and LASERDYNE 430BD systems.
For more information contact:
Prima Power Laserdyne
8600 109th Ave. North, #400
Champlin, MN 55316
763-433-3700
lds.sales@primapower.com
www.primapower.com