Methods for creating a film cooled article for a gas turbine engine

A method for finishing a film cooled article comprising:

• providing a film cooled article including at least one inner cooling plenum and at least one opening connecting said inner cooling plenum to an exterior surface of the film cooled article;
• positioning a machining element in contact with said exterior surface of the film cooled article;
• automatically moving said machining element along said exterior surface while maintaining contact between the machining element and the surface;
• identifying an actual position of at least one film opening based on sensory feedback from the machining element using a controller while maintaining contact between the machining element and the surface;
• and
• removing material from said exterior surface at said at least one film opening using said machining element, thereby creating a depression at said at least one film opening, wherein identifying the actual position of the at least one film opening based on sensory feedback from the machining element, and removing material from said exterior surface at said film opening using said machining element, thereby creating a depression at said film opening is repeated for each film opening of said film cooled article.

A method for finishing a film cooled article comprising:

• providing a film cooled article including at least one inner cooling plenum and at least one opening connecting said inner cooling plenum to an exterior surface of the film cooled article;
• positioning a machining element in contact with said exterior surface of the film cooled article;
• automatically moving said machining element along said exterior surface while maintaining contact between the machining element and the surface;
• identifying an actual position of at least one film opening based on sensory feedback from the machining element using a controller while maintaining contact between the machining element and the surface;
• and
• removing material from said exterior surface at said at least one film opening using said machining element, thereby creating a depression at said at least one film opening, wherein identifying an actual position of at least one film opening based on sensory feedback from the machining element is performed by said controller in real time as said machining element is moved along the exterior surface.