Freestyle belt polishing technology for leading and trailing edges of aero-engine blade

As the key part of the blade, the leading and the trailing edges (LTE) play a very important role in aero-engine. The profile of the LTE can directly affect the aerodynamic performance of aero-engine, and its surface quality can largely determine the fatigue life of the blade. To reduce the profile error and improve the surface quality, the problems existing in LTE polishing process are analyzed. Based on the polishing requirements of LTE and the process features of abrasive belt polishing, the method of freestyle belt polishing process with tension force control system for LTE is proposed. The calculation formula for feeding step length and polishing path planning method are obtained. The polishing experiments of a blade are carried out. The test results show that the profile accuracy and surface quality of LTE are improved significantly, with the profile error being less than 0.01 mm and roughness less than 0.4 μm.