Aeroprobe
Aeroprobe Image
While RFID technology allows users some search capability, it requires unobstructed line-of-sight between the reader and the tag and it can’t see through metal. Thus if a tool has fallen into a cowling, RFID isn’t much use in finding it.
Snap-on Image
That’s where a portable magnetic technol- ogy system like Aeroprobe could come in handy. The system induces a durable residual magnetic field in carbon-based hand tools. It then uses a portable elec- tronic gradiometer to locate the pre- charged tools. “The common element in approximately 98 percent of most aircraft technicians’ tools is high carbon steel,” explains Gene Mitchell, sales manager for Adducent Technology, which makes Aeroprobe.
The system consists of four elements: an activator to sensitize hand tools, a validator to verify that the tools have enough sen- sitivity to be detected, a detector/probe assembly and a headset. The detector is a portable, battery-powered unit with a sensing probe. The searcher wears a head- set which receives an audio signal from the detector when it senses the presence of a sensitized tool. The Aeroprobe is capable of detecting a field strength above 0.5 Gauss in pre-charged tools up to 16 inches away. Even small tools such as an allen wrench and an apex bit have been recov- ered using the Aeroprobe, Mitchell says.
Aeroprobe isn’t a total tool FOD solu- tion, Mitchell stresses. “We’re a part of tool control—we complete the circle.” Adducent’s customers include the likes of Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy.
Snap-on’s Level 5 ATC (Automated Tool Control) system uses digital imaging technology which can shave seconds off of transaction times, according to Joe Chwan, director for worldwide aerospace at Snap-on.
employees without requiring them to know anything about computers. When an employee opens a drawer, takes three tools out and closes the drawer, for example, the system says, “issue three.” The mechanic then touches the lock button and goes to work. If he brings two tools back and takes two more, it says, “return two, issue two.”
Employees use their ID badges—proximity
cards—to get access to the Level 5 ATC tool box. Scanning the badge conveys the identity of the mechanic, the time of the transaction, what drawer was opened, and what tools were checked in or out.
Imaging vs. RFID
Digital imaging technology has several advantages over RFID technology, Chwan says. It is faster, he says, because it doesn’t have to have an antenna to activate chips on the tools, read all the chips and then compare the information against a database. He says that RFID technology can involve a seven- to 10-second delay between the opening of different drawers while the system is checking data. When multiplied out over three shifts a day
28 Aviation Maintenance |
avm-mag.com | February / March 2013
through the working year, that adds a lot of lost time waiting for tools, he says. CribMaster replies that its technology takes about five seconds between users but no time between drawers. Digital imaging technology also can identify tools down to less than 1/8th inch, about half the size of a screwdriver bit standing up, Chwan says. The system can accurately issue and return screwdriver bits, sockets and allen wrenches, he says. CribMaster, on the other hand, thinks RFID technology is superior to imaging technology for tool control. Harper views imaging-based tool control technology as insufficient and overly rigid. For one thing, “it doesn’t give you the ability to find things outside of the box,” he says. “Our customers have found many ways to defeat [it],” he adds.
CribMaster technology is more flexible,
he argues. You can put extra tools into a cabinet or return a broken tool to a rework cabinet, for example. “You need not be so rigid as to match a picture.” Another strong point of RFID technology is its ability to differentiate between two, say, identical crescent
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