Patent 7481573 was granted and assigned to SPX Corporation on January, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A blade is disclosed for use in a mixing impeller assembly. The blade includes a top skin element and a bottom skin element without an internal framework in between the elements. A unitary pre-shaped tip element is attached at an end of the blade to the top and bottom skin elements. The tip is welded to the top skin and the bottom skin, and has a bevel at the weld location. The top skin has an edge that abuts the tip and the lower skin has an edge that abuts the tip, and respective bevels are provided on these edges.