Manufacturing or Repairing Composite Parts and Components Using Laser Scanning Technology

摘要

Many aerospace and automotive parts are made from advanced composite materialsfor increased performance and weight savings. Composite tooling is used tomanufacture composite parts when they are manufactured by the original equipmentmanufacturer, but this tooling is typically not available in an aircraft repair station orautomotive repair shop. The authors have developed a method using laser-scanningtechnology to design composite tooling that could be used to manufacture replacementparts or repair damage to a structure. The scanning system is portable and could be usedto scan components while they are on the aircraft or vehicle or when they are removed.The laser scanner will produce a solid model and CAD/CAM software will be used todevelop the tool geometry and program tool paths for CNC machining.