Structural aerospace component case study for additive friction stir deposition: Path planning, metrology, and CNC machining

Abstract

A common aerospace and defense industry challenge is low volume production of components for legacy aircraft due to compromised casting and forging supply chains. A hybrid manufacturing approach is presented to address this challenge that uses additive friction stir deposition, structured light scanning, and CNC milling. The paper describes a novel slicing and toolpath development strategy for additive friction stir deposition of a relevant aerospace geometry, post deposition measurement of the two-sided preform and identification of the machining work coordinate system, and five-axis CNC machining to obtain the final part geometry while ensuring stable machining behavior.