Improving the Rotor Balancing Process

During the overhaul of any gas turbine engine, rotating components must be balanced. In addition to the balancing machine, a key component in the balancing process is the fixturing used to interface the part being balanced with the balancing machine. Much of the fixturing currently employed by the Air Force is antiquated technology, incapable of reliably meeting the balancing demands of modern engines. Balancing measurement repeatability issues, and the time wasted on trying to make this antiquated fixturing work, is costing the Air Force significant amounts of money, as well as bringing into question the efficacy of the process. NextGen Balancing, a manufacturer of custom rotor-specific balance fixturing, proposes to adapt technology already being utilized in the private sector, to the needs of the Air Force.