Patent ID: 7600404

Claim:
A surface treatment apparatus for inducing a desired compressive residual stress distribution in the surface of a workpiece based on specified surface treatment process parameters, the surface treatment apparatus comprising: at least one surface treatment element for inducing compressive residual stress in the workpiece; at least one actuator mechanically linked to the at least one surface treatment element for contacting and impinging the at least one surface treatment element against the surface of the workpiece; at least one sensor operatively connected to the surface treatment element for sensing the displacement of the at least one surface treatment element relative to the surface of the workpiece; a computer control unit in electrical communication with the at least one sensor and fluidly and/or electrically connected with the at least one actuator, the computer control unit for receiving and analyzing signals from the at least one sensor and which operates to identify dimensional variations of the workpiece and to control the actuator to adjust the specified surface treatment process parameters based on the dimensional variations to achieve the desired compressive residual stress distribution.