FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The following is directed to a method of removing material from a workpiece, and more particularly, a method of using a coated abrasive and platen to remove material from a workpiece.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Gas turbine engines typically include a plurality of sections mounted in series. Two of the sections are the turbine section and the compressor section. These sections each include a plurality of rotors, each mounting a plurality of circumferentially spaced blades.

One recent development in gas turbine engines is the integrally-bladed rotor (IBR). Such components include a hub, which is attached to a drive shaft, and which includes a plurality of airfoils extending outwardly from the hub. There may be between 50 and 100 airfoils on a single integrally bladed rotor.

Each of these blades must be finished to demanding tolerances to ensure proper functioning of the rotors, and ultimately the engine. Generally, each of the blades is in form of an airfoil having a complex curvature, thus adding to the difficulty in the finishing process. Various grinding and/or machining operations have been utilized, including for example, the use of mounted point bonded abrasive tools designed to fit between the blades.

Accordingly, the industry continues to need improved abrasive tools and methods of finishing.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, a method of removing material from a workpiece includes moving a coated abrasive over a receiving surface of a platen, the receiving surface comprising at least one opening configured for the flow of an ejection material therethrough; moving the platen and workpiece relative to each other to contact the coated abrasive to the workpiece and removing material from the workpiece; and controlling a flow pressure for the ejection material through the at least one opening during removing material from the workpiece, wherein the flow pressure of the ejection material is adjusted based on at least one of the operation parameters from the group of i) a translation rate of the coated abrasive over the receiving surface, ii) the weight of the coated abrasive, iii) a material removal rate, iv) a coefficient of friction between the coated abrasive and the platen, v) or a combination thereof.

In yet another aspect, a method of removing material from a workpiece includes moving a coated abrasive over a receiving surface of a platen, the receiving surface comprising at least one opening configured for the flow of an ejection material therethrough; moving the platen and workpiece relative to each other to contact the coated abrasive to the workpiece and removing material from the workpiece; and controlling a flow pressure for the ejection material through the at least one opening during removing material from the workpiece, wherein the flow pressure of the ejection material can be within a range of at least 1 psi and not greater than 100 psi.

According to another embodiment, a system for conducting a material removal operation includes a platen having a receiving surface including at least one opening configured for the flow of an ejection material therethrough; and a coated abrasive configured to be translated over the receiving surface of the platen; and movement assembly configured to move the platen relative to a workpiece and control a distance between the coated abrasive and the workpiece for a material removal operation.

