TECHNOLOGY LEAPS IN PRODUCTION READINESS OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY TECHNOLOGY AND SOLUTIONS

摘要

As the complexity of aerospace components and manufacturing processes continue to increase, so does the need to move beyond the capabilities of traditional inspection methods, such as 2D radiography and ultrasound. Computed tomography (CT) enables the visualization of indications and internal geometries that traditional methods cannot. Visualization of indications and internal features using CT has been utilized in research and development environments for years, however has rarely been used as a production tool, especially in casting environments. Inspection speed, image quality of dense parts, data workflow, operator visualization and training have been some of the challenges to bringing the benefits of this technology to casting manufacturing. As the need for CT in the factory environment increases, so has the pressure on the industry and technology providers to solve some of these big challenges. Over the past year, giant leaps in CT technology have resulted from the increased pressure and industry collaboration to close the gaps and move closer to implementation in casting environments. Technology improvements have been realized to increase volumetric data collection by factors of over 10×, while maintaining and even improving image quality. System and data workflows have been modified from traditional expert R&D use cases to now allow for production workflows with various user levels and enabled DICONDE data management. CT training courses have also been developed to assist in the training and certification of operators.