Robotics and surface-adaptive ultrasound for fully-automated inspection of composites

摘要

Surface-Adaptive Ultrasound (SAUL) is a very recent advancement in phased-array technology that is being used to overcome inspec-tion challenges that include highly contoured surfaces, parts with small radii such as those often found on blades and stiffeners, rough and irregular surfaces including regions of ply drop-off and lap joints, and parts with varying shape, curvature, and thickness with length. Although vision systems and robots can be used to achieve highly accurate part following, the part-to-part variability that is typically encountered with composites creates problems for automated part and probe positioning, as well as accurate part tracking. This paper demonstrates the performance of a cost-effective inspection solution for complex-geometry composites in a high-volume production environment achieved by combining advanced ultrasound technology with industrial robotics and vision technologies.