Features:

• Three degrees of freedom motion controlled axes
• ±55° of rotation
• ± .020” positional accuracy
• PLC controls

Situation:

Many aircraft parts made from composite materials require inspection to insure that there are no delaminations or other defects. Typically, ultrasonic C-Scanning is used where a sound wave is passed through the part and the received signal examined for deviations from normal. This process is effective but slow due to the small “spot size” of the sound wave.

Problem:

Current process is slow and impacts overall throughput.

Implication:

The slow speed of this process increases the cost of the parts as each part may take several hours to examine for defects. Also, if the defect is found at the end of the scan all of the previous time was lost looking at “good’ areas although the part was still unacceptable.

Solution:

A new, faster technique has been introduced recently that uses the thermal properties of the material being tested to determine if defects are present. Heat lamps are used to quickly warm a large surface of the composite part. An Infrared (IR) camera captures an image of the heated surface and differentiates between relatively hot and cold spots. Using this data, analysis can determine if there is a local defect in the part.

The only part of the system that was missing was a motion platform that could manipulate the IR source and the camera. This is the part of the solution that Accudyne Systems provided dovetailing with the camera components to provide a full solution.

The IR Camera Motion Platform is a three degree of freedom positioning system that moves the IR camera and heat lamps to prescribed location for part imaging. The 400 pound inspection equipment can be moved 10 feet horizontally, 4 feet vertically, and through +/- 55 degrees of rotation. Accuracy of each linear axis position is +/- .020”. In addition, the motion platform is designed to be stable enough for clear imaging.