0000000000609303
AUTHOR
Coreen Mccubbin
Flexible integration of robotics, ultrasonics and metrology for the inspection of aerospace components
The performance of modern robotic manipulators has allowed research in recent years, for the development of fast automated non-destructive testing (NDT) of complex geometries. Contemporary robots are well suited for their accuracy and flexibility when adapting to new tasks. Several robotic inspection prototype systems and a number of commercial products have been created around the world. This paper describes the latest progress of a new phase of the research applied to a composite aerospace component of size 1 by 3 metres. A multi robot flexible inspection cell was used to take the fundamental research and the feasibility studies to higher technology readiness levels, all set for future in…
Robotic geometric and volumetric inspection of high value and large scale aircraft wings
Increased demands in performance and production rates require a radical new approach to the design and manufacturing of aircraft wings. Performance of modern robotic manipulators has enabled research and development of fast automated non-destructive testing (NDT) systems for complex geometries. This paper presents recent outcomes of work aimed at removing the bottleneck due to data acquisition rates, to fully exploit the scanning speed of modern 6-DoF manipulators. The geometric assessment of the parts is carried out with a robotised dynamic laser scanner encoded through an absolute laser tracker. This method allows scanning speeds up to 330mm/s at 1mm pitch. State of the art ultrasonic ins…
Fast ultrasonic phased array inspection of complex geometries delivered through robotic manipulators and high speed data acquisition instrumentation
Performance of modern robotic manipulators has enabled research and development of fast automated non-destructive testing (NDT) systems for complex geometries. This paper presents recent outcomes of work aimed at removing the bottleneck due to data acquisition rates, to fully exploit the scanning speed of modern 6-DoF manipulators. State of the art ultrasonic instrumentation has been integrated into a large robot cell to enable fast data acquisition, high scan resolutions and accurate positional encoding. A fibre optic connection between the ultrasonic instrument and the server computer enables data transfer rates up to 1.6GB/s. Multiple data collection methods are compared. Performance of …