A holding fixture includes a first blade support assembly and a second blade support assembly. The second blade support assembly is spaced at a distance from the first blade support assembly and includes a base plate removably mounted to a milling machine, an adjustable conic support connectable to the base plate via a spacer block, and a blade adjustment assembly movable to control a pressure applied by the blade adjustment assembly.

A method and apparatus for securing a rotor blade is disclosed. The apparatus includes a base and an offset member configured to maintain the base at a selected distance from a set point. A clamping member is supported by the base and is receptive of the rotor blade at a selected location of the rotor blade, wherein the rotor blade is positioned against the set point. A slidable component supports the clamping member and slides the clamping member within the base to the selected location of the rotor blade. The free end of the clam shell assembly can be secured to a support beam that raises the clam shell assembly and rotor blade from the base for immersion testing.

A fixture for a thin-walled workpiece includes two clamping devices. Each of the clamping devices has a metal carrier and a damper. The metal carrier has a carrying portion and a supporting portion, where the supporting portion has a stair portion having a plane surface and a standing surface with a slope. The damper has a metal clamping portion and a damping portion. One end of the metal clamping portion is formed as an inclined surface. The damping portion has at least two elastic layers and at least one metal layer, which are laminated in an interlacing arrangement with the same slope of the inclined surface. One of the elastic layers is disposed to connect the inclined surface. The end of the metal clamping portion connecting the elastic layer is located on the stair portion, while the opposite end of the metal clamping portion protrudes out of the supporting portion.

Tooling assemblies and methods for using a tooling assembly to shape an article are provided. For example, a tooling assembly has a forward end and an aft end and comprises a first tool segment, a second tool segment, a forward cam portion near the forward end, and an aft cam portion near the aft end. The forward cam portion defines a follower surface, and at least a portion of the follower surface has a curvilinear profile. The aft cam portion defines a first surface extending at a first angle and a second surface extending at a second angle. The first and second tool segments define a cavity for shaping an article. An exemplary method comprises positioning an article preform within the cavity and inserting a fastener within the aft end of the tooling assembly until the fastener is fully inserted within the tooling assembly.

A flay assembly for separating a workpiece from a manufacturing fixture has a horizontal beam assembly and a pair of vertical beam assemblies. The horizontal beam assembly includes a horizontal beam having a horizontal drive motor. Each vertical beam assembly includes a vertical beam operably engaged to the horizontal drive motor and has a workpiece attachment assembly operably engaged to a vertical drive motor. The workpiece attachment assembly has an attachment mechanism attachable to the workpiece. The horizontal drive motor and the vertical drive motors are operable in a manner to move the vertical beams away from each other along a horizontal drive axis while simultaneously moving each workpiece attachment assembly along a vertical drive axis to cause the attachment mechanisms to pull the workpiece side portions away from the manufacturing fixture while a center support of the horizontal beam maintains a workpiece crown in contact with the manufacturing fixture.

A universal jig is provided for clamping wind turbine blades. The jig has a rectangle-like shape forming a space for clamping a blade at the blade root or the blade body. The jig comprises a set of vertically-moving parts; a set of horizontally-moving parts; a plurality of adjusted pads; and a plurality of positioning parts. The vertically-moving parts comprise two upper connecting posts and two lower connecting posts sheathed with each other separately to form two length sides of the jig. The horizontally-moving parts comprise two left connecting posts and two right connecting posts. The adjusted pads are locked on the left and the right connecting posts. The positioning parts are locked at the upper and the lower connecting posts of the length sides of the jig and are locked at the left and the right connecting posts of the width sides of the jig.

A holding fixture includes a first blade support assembly and a second blade support assembly. The second blade support assembly is spaced at a distance from the first blade support assembly and includes a base plate removably mounted to a milling machine, an adjustable conic support connectable to the base plate via a spacer block, and a blade adjustment assembly movable to control a pressure applied by the blade adjustment assembly.

A fixture for repairing a fan blade may comprise a base having a first side, a second side, a tip end, and a foot end, a first support coupled at the first side and perpendicular to the base, a second support coupled at the second side and perpendicular to the base, and a footboard, perpendicular to the base coupled orthogonally between the first support and the second support at the foot end of the base, wherein the footboard comprises a chuck adapted to receive the foot of a fan blade.

A fixture and method for resistance welding of at least one pad to at least one surface of an article is disclosed. The method includes mounting the article in the fixture, placing the at least one pad on the at least one surface of the article, positioning a first electrode of a resistance welding apparatus to the at least one pad and a second electrode of the resistance welding apparatus to the article, and applying pressure and electric current across the at least one pad and the at least one surface. The fixture includes a first, second and third support element, which, respectively, include a first, second and third contact surface being adapted and disposed to support a first, second and third portion of the article. The first, second and third contact surfaces are each inelastic and electrically insulating. The fixture is arranged and disposed to non-rotatably cradle the article.

A method for processing a CMC airfoil includes nesting an airfoil fiber preform in a cavity of a fixture that has first and second tool segments, closing the fixture by rotating a first tool segment about a hinge, the closing causing the tool segments to clamp on a tail portion of the fiber preform and thereby conform the tail portion to the fixture. While in the fixture, the fiber preform is then partially densified with an interface coating material to form a partially densified fiber preform. While still in the fixture, one or more cooling holes are drilled into the trailing edge of the partially densified fiber preform. After the drilling, the partially densified fiber preform is removed from the fixture and further densified with a ceramic matrix material to form a fully densified CMC airfoil.