Systems and apparatus relating to electrochemical machining

Abstract

A tooling piece in an electrochemical machining device that includes: an outer cathode surface, the outer cathode surface having a first side and, opposite of the first side, a second side; a plurality of spacer pads disposed on the first side of the outer cathode surface, the spacer pads each comprising thin, non-conducting pads of a predetermined thickness; one or more conducting strips; an electrolyte channel that is configured to direct a flow of electrolyte through an orifice cut through the outer cathode surface; and an elastomeric backing adjacent to the second side of the outer cathode surface, the elastomeric backing being configured to elastically support the outer cathode surface.

1 . A tooling piece in an electrochemical machining device, the tooling piece comprising:
 an outer cathode surface that is flexible; and   an elastomeric backing;   wherein one side of the outer cathode surface is supported by the elastomeric backing.   
     
     
         2 . The tooling piece according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer cathode surface comprises a thin sheet of metal. 
     
     
         3 . The tooling piece according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 means for positioning the tooling piece;   one or more spacer pads disposed on the outer cathode surface;   means for supplying an electrical current to the outer cathode surface; and   means for supplying a flow of electrolyte through one or more orifices that cut through the thickness of the outer cathode surface.   
     
     
         4 . The tooling piece according to  claim 3 , wherein:
 the means for positioning the tooling piece comprises a machine ram that is disposed at one end of the elastomeric backing and the outer cathode surface is positioned at a second end of the elastomeric backing wherein the first end of the elastomeric backing and the second end of the elastomeric backing are substantially opposing ends of the elastomeric backing;   the means for supplying an electrical current to the outer cathode surface comprises one or more conducting strips; and   the means for supplying a flow of electrolyte through one or more orifices that cut through the outer cathode surface comprises an electrolyte channel that extends from the means for positioning the tooling piece through the outer cathode surface.   
     
     
         5 . The tooling piece according to  claim 4 , wherein the electrolyte channel extends through at least a portion of the elastomeric backing. 
     
     
         6 . The tooling piece according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer cathode surface comprises an approximate circular shape that includes an approximate circular shaped cutout near the center. 
     
     
         7 . The tooling piece according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer cathode surface comprises a thickness of between approximately 0.00005 and 0.0005 meters. 
     
     
         8 . The tooling piece according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer cathode surface comprises a thickness of between approximately 0.0001 and 0.0002 meters. 
     
     
         9 . The tooling piece according to  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric backing is configured such that the elastomeric backing provides elastic support to the outer cathode surface. 
     
     
         10 . The tooling piece according to  claim 9 , wherein the elastomeric backing comprises one of a solid elastic material, a flexible outer membrane that is filled with a gas or a liquid, a mechanical system, and a hydraulic system. 
     
     
         11 . The tooling piece according to  claim 10 , wherein:
 if the elastomeric backing comprises a solid elastic material, the solid elastic material comprises one of rubber, synthetic polyisoprene, flouoroelastomer, silicone, butadience rubber, thermal olefin elastomer;   if the elastomeric backing comprises a flexible outer membrane that is filled with a gas or a liquid, the flexible outer membrane comprises one of polyethylene, nylon, and polyamide and the gas or the liquid comprises one of water, oil, air and nitrogen; and   if the elastomeric backing comprises a mechanical system, the mechanical system includes a plurality of springs.   
     
     
         12 . The tooling piece according to  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric backing is configured to provide support to the outer cathode surface such that the outer cathode surface deforms in a desired manner when a predetermined level of pressure is applied to the outer cathode surface and, when the predetermined level of pressure is no longer applied to the outer cathode surface, the elastomeric backing returns the outer cathode surface to substantially the shape the outer cathode surface had before the predetermined level of pressure was applied. 
     
     
         13 . The tooling piece according to  claim 1 , wherein the elastomeric backing is configured such that when the outer cathode surface is pressed against an uneven surface of a workpiece, the elastomeric backing allows the outer cathode surface to deform elastically such that the outer cathode surface comprises substantially the same surface contour as that of the workpiece to which the outer cathode surface is pressed but in spaced relation thereto. 
     
     
         14 . The tooling piece according to  claim 3 , wherein the spacer pads each comprise relatively thin pads made from a substantially non-conducting material that are distributed over the outer cathode surface. 
     
     
         15 . The tooling piece according to  claim 14 , wherein:
 the thickness of the several spacer pads comprise at least a plurality of different predetermined thickness measurements; and   the several space pads are arranged on the outer cathode surface based on the different predetermined thickness measurements such that, during operation, the flow of electrolyte is affected in a desired manner.   
     
     
         16 . The tooling piece according to  claim 15 , wherein the arrangement of the several spacer pads comprises the placement of thicker spacer pads toward the middle of the outer cathode surface and the placement of thinner spacer pads toward the periphery of the outer cathode surface. 
     
     
         17 . The tooling piece according to  claim 14 , wherein the spacer pads are configured such that when the outer cathode surface is pressed against a surface of a workpiece, the spacer pads substantially prevent the outer cathode surface from making contact with the surface of the workpiece and result in the formation of a gap of a desired distance between the outer cathode surface and the surface of the workpiece. 
     
     
         18 . The tooling piece according to  claim 17 , wherein the desired distance across the gap corresponds to a desired inter-electrode gap of an electrochemical machining process between the outer cathode surface and the surface of the workpiece. 
     
     
         19 . The tooling piece according to  claim 3 , wherein:
 the means for supplying an electrical current to the outer cathode surface comprises one or more flexible conducting strips that extend from the means for positioning the tooling piece to the outer cathode surface, and are connected to a power supply; and   the means for supplying a flow of electrolyte through one or more orifices that cut through the outer cathode surface comprises one or more electrolyte channels that are configured to transport the flow of electrolyte through the elastomeric backing to the one or more orifices cut through the outer cathode surface.   
     
     
         20 . The tooling piece according to  claim 19 , wherein the means for supplying an electrical current is configured such that a voltage may be applied across an inter-electrode gap formed between the outer cathode surface and a surface of a workpiece. 
     
     
         21 . The tooling piece according to  claim 20 , wherein the voltage comprises one of an uninterrupted voltage with a regular amplitude, an uninterrupted voltage with a varying amplitude, a pulsed voltage with a regular amplitude, a pulsed voltage with a varying amplitude, and some combination of a pulsed voltage and an uninterrupted voltage. 
     
     
         22 . The tooling piece according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 part of the outer cathode surface comprises an insulator coating that substantially prevents the area covered by the insulator coating from reacting electrolytically with a workpiece during the operation of the electrochemical machining device; and   the part of the outer cathode surface that comprises the insulator coating includes a predetermined targeted area.   
     
     
         23 . The tooling piece according to  claim 22 , wherein the predetermined target area comprises at least one of an area of the outer cathode surface that resides adjacent to an electrolyte outlet; and an area of the outer cathode surface that resides along the outer periphery of the outer cathode surface. 
     
     
         24 . The tooling piece according to  claim 1 , wherein the electrochemical machining device is configured to machine the surface of at least one of compressor rotor blades, compressor stator blades, turbine rotor blades, and turbine stator blades that are configured to operate in at least one of gas turbine engines and steam turbine engines. 
     
     
         25 . The tooling piece according to  claim 24 , wherein the outer cathode surface and the elastomeric backing are configured to electrochemically machine the curved surfaces of at least one of the pressure side and the suction side of the turbine blades and the compressor blades of gas turbine engines and steam turbine engines. 
     
     
         26 . A tooling piece in an electrochemical machining device, the tooling piece comprising:
 an outer cathode surface that comprises a thin flexible sheet of metal, the outer cathode surface having a first side and, opposite of the first side, a second side;   a plurality of spacer pads disposed on the first side of the outer cathode surface, the spacer pads each comprising thin pads of a predetermined thickness made from a substantially non-conducting material;   one or more conducting strips, each being configured to conduct an electric current from a first end to a second end that is connected to the outer cathode surface;   an electrolyte channel that is configured to direct a flow of electrolyte through an orifice cut through the outer cathode surface; and   an elastomeric backing adjacent to the second side of the outer cathode surface, the elastomeric backing being configured to elastically support the outer cathode surface.   
     
     
         27 . The tooling piece according to  claim 26 , wherein the elastomeric backing comprises one of a solid elastic material, a flexible outer membrane that is filled with a gas or a liquid, a mechanical system, and a hydraulic system. 
     
     
         28 . The tooling piece according to  claim 26 , wherein the elastomeric backing is configured to provide support to the outer cathode surface such that the outer cathode surface deforms in a desired manner when a predetermined level of pressure is applied to the outer cathode surface and, when the predetermined level of pressure is no longer applied to the outer cathode surface, the elastomeric backing returns the outer cathode surface to substantially the shape the outer cathode surface had before the predetermined level of pressure was applied. 
     
     
         29 . The tooling piece according to  claim 26 , wherein the elastomeric backing is configured such that when the outer cathode surface is pressed against a surface of a workpiece, the elastomeric backing allows the outer cathode surface to deform elastically such that the outer cathode surface comprises substantially the same surface contour as that of the workpiece to which the outer cathode surface is pressed but in spaced relation thereto; and
 wherein the spaced relation corresponds to the thickness of the spacer pads.   
     
     
         30 . A flexible electrochemical tooling piece configured to polish blades of a turbine engine, the tooling piece comprising:
 an outer cathode surface that comprises a thin flexible sheet of metal, the outer cathode surface having a first side and, opposite of the first side, a second side;   a plurality of spacer pads disposed on the first side of the outer cathode surface, the spacer pads each comprising thin pads of a predetertnined thickness made from a substantially non-conducting material; and   an elastomeric backing adjacent to the second side of the outer cathode surface, the elastomeric backing being configured to elastically support the outer cathode surface;   wherein:
 when pressed against a portion of a pressure side of the blade, the outer cathode surface and elastomeric backing are configured to elastically deform such that the outer cathode surface forms an inter-electrode gap between the outer cathode surface and the portion of the surface of the pressure side of the blade, the outer cathode surface forming a convex surface contour that maintains an approximate spaced relationship to the concave surface contour of the portion of the pressure side of the blade; 
 when pressed against a portion of a suction side of the blade, the outer cathode surface and elastomeric hacking are configured to elastically deform such that the outer cathode surface forms an inter-electrode gap between the outer cathode surface and the portion of the surface of the suction side of the blade, the outer cathode surface forming a concave surface contour that maintains an approximate spaced relationship to the convex surface contour of the portion of the suction side of the blade; and 
 the approximate distance across the inter-electrode gap formed between either the portion of the suction side of the blade and the outer cathode surface or the portion of the pressure side of the blade and outer cathode surface substantially corresponds to the thickness of the spacer pads.