Browse Topic: Inspections
This SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice establishes the requirements and procedures for eddy current inspection of open fastener holes in aluminum aircraft structures
This specification establishes the requirements for etch inspection of steel parts to detect overheating (rehardening or over-tempering) caused by abusive machining or grinding or to detect localized discontinuous carburization
Manually checking the quality of components or products in industry is labor-intensive for employees and error-prone on top of that. The Fraunhofer Institute for Mechatronic Systems Design IEM is unveiling a solution that provides total versatility in this area. In an it’s OWL supported collaboration with Diebold Nixdorf and software specialist verlinked, Fraunhofer IEM has created a combination of collaborative robot (cobot), AI-based image analysis and IoT platform. The system frees employees from having to perform visual inspections and can be incorporated into all kinds of testing scenarios. The Fraunhofer researchers presented a demonstrator of the cobot/IoT platform at the 2024 Hannover Messe Trade Show in February
This specification establishes the classification, technical requirements, tests, and test procedures for the qualification, approval, and quality verification of all materials used in the liquid penetrant methods of inspection with the exception of those excluded in the application section
This specification covers a polysulfide sealing compound with low adhesive strength, supplied as a two-component system that cures at room temperature
This recommended practice establishes the requirements and procedures for Barkhausen Noise (BN) inspection of ferromagnetic steel components. See Appendix B for a list of common materials for BN inspection. Applications of the method are listed in 1.2 through 1.5
This specification establishes nondestructive testing methods, sampling frequency, and acceptance criteria for the inspection of metal castings
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the field of parallel kinematics was viewed as being potentially transformational in manufacturing, having multiple potential advantages over conventional serial machine tools and robots. Many prototypes were developed, and some reached commercial production and implementation in areas such as hard material machining and particularly in aerospace manufacturing and assembly. There is some activity limited to niche and specialist applications; however, the technology never quite achieved the market penetration and success envisaged. Yet, many of the inherent advantages still exist in terms of stiffness, force capability, and flexibility when compared to more conventional machine structures. This chapter will attempt to identify why parallel kinematic machines (PKMs) have not lived up to the original excitement and market interest and what needs to be done to rekindle that interest. In support of this, a number of key questions and issues have been identified
Additive manufacturing (AM) is currently being used to produce many aerospace components, with its inherent design flexibility enabling an array of unique and novel possibilities. But, in order to grow the application space of polymer AM, the industry has to provide an offering with improved mechanical properties. Several entities are working toward introducing continuous fibers embedded into either a thermoplastic or thermoset resin system. This approach can enable significant improvement in mechanical properties and could be what is needed to open new and exciting applications within the aerospace industry. However, as the technology begins to mature, there are a couple of unsettled issues that are beginning to come to light. The most common question raised is whether composite AM can achieve the performance of traditional composite manufacturing. If AM cannot reach this level, is there enough application potential to warrant the development investment? The answers are highly
This technical paper reports the development of an automatic defect detector utilizing deep learning for “polished skins”. Materials with a “polished skin” are used in the fabrication of the external plates of commercial airplanes. The polished skin is obtained by polishing the surface of an aluminum clad material, and they are visually inspected, which places a significant burden on inspectors to find minute defects on relatively large pieces of material. Automated inspection of these skins is made more difficult because the material has a mirror finished surface. Defects are broadly classified into three categories: dents, bumps, and discolorations. Therefore, a defect detector must be able to detect these types of defects and measure the defects’ surface profile. This technical paper presents details related to the design and manufacture of an inexpensive automated defect detector that demonstrates a sufficiently high level of performance. The system employs multiple line sensor
This SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) covers visible surface defects on aerospace hose assemblies which have been installed and are functioning within a working environment at the time of visual inspection
This SAE Aerospace Standard (AS) covers water conditioning agents used to facilitate aqueous wet-method magnetic particle inspection
This specification covers a procedure for revealing the macrostructure and microstructure of titanium alloys
When deploying robots in an industrial setting, one of the primary goals is performance. In an industrial robot workcell, performance is often measured as cycle time: the time required to complete a set of tasks. Typical tasks include painting, welding, and inspecting. Regardless of the tasks, the goal is to complete them as fast as possible, so that the workcell can begin work on the next set of tasks. A long cycle time for a given cell can cause that cell to become the bottleneck on an assembly line
Ultrasonic Testing (UT) is a typical Non-destructive testing (NDT) method for examining the structural components for aircraft production. Manufacturing aircraft made of fiber metal laminates (FML) includes cascaded steps such as placement of aluminum, glass prepreg, adhesive, doublers, stringers, vacuum bagging and curing in an autoclave. Quality control (QC) is performed first at the layup of the component (without stringers) after curing and the quality assessment is visually evaluated. The manually performed examination of anomalies is very time-consuming. In addition, conducted NDT inspection using a manual UT phased array for Glass Reinforced (GLARE®) FML of A380, it lacked the high capacity of data and additionally an evaluation software
Machine vision dates back to the beginning of the modern industrial robot age in the 1980s. Augmenting collaborative robots (or ‘cobots’) with vision allows them to perform with higher precision, flexibility, and intelligence. However, integration is not a one-size-fits-all process as the specific requirements of each application can vary greatly
This standard establishes the requirements for performing and documenting FAI. It is emphasized the requirements specified in this standard are complementary (not alternative) to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements
With funding from the US Departments of Transportation, Energy, Defense, and others, Airborne LiDAR Pipeline Inspection Sensor (ALPIS®) has evolved from a simple proof of concept model to a fully capable and successful commercial airborne pipeline inspection system. The ALPIS® system has undergone a long development period
Nearly every company in the world performs some level of quality inspection on their products before delivering them to customers. If you’re in the downloadable software business, this might involve making sure the product is bug-free and easy to use. But in the realm of physical products, the appearance of the product is nearly as important as its functionality. Would you want to purchase a new car that has scratches on the bumper or hubcaps? What if there was a crack in the windshield? From large to small, the same is true of many other items including appliances, laptops, cellphones, watches, and earbuds
Light from an object contains continuous various colors, the spectrum of light, that result from the interaction between light and the object. Spectral measurement is thus the basis of remote sensing, allowing for highly accurate material analysis and image recognition. Although the world is full of colors, human being and standard color cameras receive light through their eyes/sensors and perceive it as only three primary colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B). Hyperspectral (HS) imaging is a technology that splits and detects light into more colors than humans and color cameras can. The richer spectral information of HS image is promising for machine vision to provide more information than human eyes or color cameras in visual inspection of foods, industrial products, and so on
Traditional solutions developed for the aerospace industry must overcome challenges posed for automation systems like design, requalification, large manual content, restricted access, and tight tolerances. At the same time, automated systems should avoid the use of dedicated equipment so they can be shared between jigs; moved between floor levels and access either side of the workpiece. This article describes the development of a robotic system for drilling and inspection for small aerostructure manufacturing specifically designed to tackle these requirements. The system comprises three work packages: connection within the digital thread (from concept through to operational metrics including Statistical Process Control), innovative lightweight / low energy drill, and auto tool-change with in-process metrology. The validation tests demonstrating Technology Readiness Level 6 are presented and results are shown and discussed
Equipment used in aerospace non-destructive inspection presents opportunity for modernization. Many inspection cells in production operate using a widely available control system software that is suitable for most inspection applications with minimal customization. The size and complex geometry of airframe components demand more application-specific system design to ensure the reliability and cycle time required for an aerospace production schedule. Ordinary inspection systems require manual teaching for program generation and lack datum-finding systems required to rerun programs without modification. Integration of offline programming software and machine vision instruments can save inspection technicians hours or shifts per part by eliminating the need for program retraining due to variation in part delivery position. Modernized inspection cells will reduce labor burden on technicians and provide reliable cycle time information to production planners
The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic that began at the end of 2019 accelerated technology to support remote work environments. While the technologies were not new, the capabilities of those technologies significantly increased. The number of users embracing the remote working technologies significantly increased within a very short timeframe. The expanded remote work capabilities have enabled new collaborating mechanisms that will carry-forth in the future, pandemic or not. SAE ARP 4761 [1] provides guidelines to perform a safety assessment. The Zonal Safety Assessment (ZSA) is one of the tools described in ARP 4761. An aspect of ZSA is an audit (or inspection) of the physical article. The remote work capabilities, along with cameras and software presenting a virtual environment, can allow individuals to participate in the physical audit without traveling to the site of the physical article
This SAE Aerospace Recommend Practice (ARP) is intended to cover the external lights on fixed wing aircraft for illuminating the wing leading edge and engine nacelles and the upper surfaces of the wing. The addition of an ice detection system should be implemented when the areas to inspect are not visible from the aircraft cockpit. It is not intended that this recommended practice require the use of any particular light source such as halogen, LED, or other specific design of lamp
Jobsites look to overcome challenges posed by mixed fleets and proprietary telematics to achieve “one-dashboard” vision and increased machine utilization. Wouldn't it be great if the entire jobsite - the general contractor, subcontractors, designers, owners, equipment vendors and material suppliers - were all working in sync with the data that shifts with each condition change, progress report, change order, telematics warning and machine inspection? That the right people got the right information at the right time to make informed decisions? This “one-dashboard” vision is much easier said than done. The journey of one equipment manager illuminates the roadblocks. Several years ago, Langdon Mitchell, equipment division general manager for heavy civil contractor Morgan Corp., needed to have someone physically go machine-by-machine to update the software in his fleet
NASA Kennedy Space Center developed the Inductive Non-Contact Position Sensor for motion control applications. The sensor was designed to monitor the precise movements of an optical inspection system that measured defects in Space Shuttle windows. The technology has been prototyped and successfully field-tested. Its small size, low cost, wide range, and accuracy give it a distinct advantage over other types of sensors used for similar applications
NASA researchers have developed a compact, cost-effective imaging system using a co-linear, high-intensity LED illumination unit to minimize window reflections for background-oriented schlieren (BOS) and machine vision measurements. The imaging system tested in NASA wind tunnels can reduce or eliminate shadows that occur when using many existing BOS and photogrammetric measurement systems; these shadows occur in existing systems for a variety of reasons, including the severe back-reflections from wind tunnel viewing port windows and variations in the refractive index of the imaged volume
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