Adaptive geometry transformation and repair for hybrid manufacturing

In recent years, hybrid manufacturing has transitioned from research and development to commercially available industrial machine tools. This proliferation has led to a growing interest in the unique capabilities of these machines. Manufacturers in the mold and die, oil and gas, and aerospace industries are investigating hybrid manufacturing as a means of repairing high value components to reduce operating costs. As these parts become worn or damaged and taken out of service, each has its own unique distorted and worn geometry, and requires a distinct repair plan. This requires the repair strategy for these components to adapt to these fluctuations in geometry by modifying the re-manufacturing process on a part by part basis. This paper details a method of model transformation for adaptive part repair for use in a commercial hybrid manufacturing system. Nominal CAD geometry of the component is transformed based on data captured from the actual part geometry in a two-step process. The nominal geometry is first rigidly registered to the measured part data using an iterative algorithm. Then, individual cross sections of the nominal model are then deformed to match the actual data. After this transformation, final profile geometry can be constructed by using these informed transformations. This overall hybrid repair framework is shown to be of high accuracy and capable of yielding significant improvements in material usage efficiency and processing time compared to conventional repair approaches.