Ultrasonic Techniques and Industrial Robots: Natural Evolution of Inspection Systems

摘要

The current tendency in the Aerospace industry is to save weight in the manufacturing of components, in order to reduce costs and ensure environmental friendliness. The world of today is constantly improving, as fast as technology allows. As a result, the presence of composites in structures is increasing every year, with new materials and new geometries emerging. This has made it necessary to innovate in the development of ultrasonic techniques, from conventional ultrasounds to phased-array technologies (pulse-echo and through transmission) and of new innovative techniques, such as laser ultrasonics. In parallel to this evolution, mechanical manipulators have evolved from gantries and bridge concepts to industrial robots such as those developed by TECNATOM, with the collaboration of KUKA, which are bringing accuracy, reliability, availability and good maintenance programs to inspections. This article describes the evolution of ultrasonic techniques and mechanical manipulators in a company that has more than 50 years of experience in non-destructive testing. This evolution has led to the current systems, where a perfect combination of innovative ultrasonic techniques and robots is satisfying customer requirements in the Aeronautical Industry.