Application of Rapid Prototyping Technology in the Manufacturing of Turbine Blade With Small Diameter Holes

The article presents the possibilities++ of using Rapid Prototyping (RP) technology in the manufacturing of turbine blades with small diameter holes. The object under investigation was gas turbine blade with small diameter cooling holes and holes for generating longitudinal vortices. A turbine blade model was produced by means of Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) technology and subsequently validated in terms of detection and accuracy of the obtained holes. The application of the computer tomography and digital radiography technique resulted in obtaining a series of cross-sections of the turbine blade model with a series of holes. Particular attention was pointed out at the investigation of the locations of micro-holes with a diameter of 0.3 mm. It turned out that it was impossible to make such small holes by the RP method. In the following part the results of the study on the possibilities of making the micro-holes using electrical discharge method have been presented. In addition, proposition of further works such as the development of the considerations and issues discussed in this article, has been offered.