The robot repair rig was able to directly access the blades on-site without removing them from their mounting, resurfacing them using the laser, mounted on a coaxial head able to follow the edge of the turbine blade. Conventionally, it would be impossible to resurface the entire blade without dismantling the turbine.

The direct diode laser is a “cool” laser, creating a very intense light that produces little heat that might otherwise warp or distort the precision blades, worth up to $25,000 each.

The resurfacing was done with a new metallic compound developed by the CRC-TXU team that they believe will last 10 times longer than the original metal of the blade.

CRC-WS chief executive officer Colin Chipperfield believes the robot repair rig can be developed into a commercial product.

“We're very excited at the potential of this Australian-designed technology, not only for steam turbines, but also for use in gas turbines, boilers, impellers, hydroelectric turbines and other applications.”