SYSTEMS

The United States Air Force has selected Minneapolis-based company Third Wave Systems for a $2.97 million SBIR Phase III contract. The project is multi-faceted: demonstrate high-performance machining technologies for an advanced engine Integral Bladed Rotor (IBR), fabricate full-scale advanced engine titanium IBRs, validate physics-based modeling, and perform dimensional and metallurgical inspections of fabricated IBRs. Third Wave Systems will work closely with engine original equipment manufacturers (OEM) throughout the two-year SBIR Phase III project. Third Wave Systems' commercially-available finite element analysis software, AdvantEdge FEM and AdvantEdge Production Module, will be critical to the successful completion of the contract. Using this game-changing technology, engineers can efficiently and affordably analyze everything from chip formation, curl heat flow, and peak tool and workpiece temperatures; to cutting forces, temperatures, and stability lobe diagrams. Third Wave Systems will also employ other proprietary hardware, software and data in the completing of the project. Upon successfully completing the program, Third Wave Systems will have assisted the U.S. Air Force in reducing the time and cost in bringing vital new defense systems on line. This outcome will be a result of achieving reduced cycle times, recognizing and correcting model shortcomings, minimizing impacts on tool life and dimensional part quality, improving other engine blisk machining processes, predicting and possibly avoiding chatter, and much more. Third Wave Systems' willingness to enhance and modify the AdvantEdge software to meet specific customer needs has opened the door for future collaborations, helping machining industry companies improve processes and get products to market faster.