have to be lined up. We were able to make streams of water, which are each manipulated by five axes of servo motion, concentric within 0.020" [0.508 mm].”
Select Components for Precision and Reliability To ensure precise control, accuracy and reliability, MNDT
used drive and control components from Bosch Rexroth. Rexroth’s components—including digital servodrives and controllers, profiled guiderails and pneumatic components— allow the machine to follow intricate path planning for scanning complex, curved objects with tightly controlled motion tolerance. Rexroth distributor Livingston & Haven provided design and programming expertise for the new line of machines. “Te high-quality controllers are reliable and easy to
program. Tey can also accommodate the large number of interpolated axes of the machines,” said Cooper. In addition, the controllers generate minimal overall electrical noise to minimize ultrasound interference, which can distort the im- age quality of the scan. Te pneumatic components include a vacuum generator to remove air from the nozzle which also improves the quality of the ultrasonic scans. According to Ben Strong, automation specialist at Livings-
ton & Haven, the linear guiderails used in the AG2 also con- tribute to the overall rigidity and accuracy of the machine. “If the machine is not stiff enough to handle the squirter system, it will begin to vibrate, which adversely affects the testing,” Strong said. He added that from a maintenance perspective, the linear guiderails are an ideal solution due to their longer lubrication interval, dual rail datums and interchangeable runner blocks. In addition, the rails are plated with thin, dense chrome to resist rust, a crucial consideration for a machine that incorporates water. Livingston & Haven also assisted MNDT in adapting the
Rexroth control system to communicate with LabVIEW, a robust platform and development package that design and control engineers use to automate measuring equipment. It’s commonly used for data acquisition, instrument control and industrial automation on a variety of programs, including Microsoſt Windows and Mac OSX. “Using TCPIP sockets, we implemented a solution that provides real-time communica- tion of position commands,” said Strong. “As a result, MNDT can present an image of the machine in real time.” Tis allows for remote viewing of the status of the system and for virtual programming of parts.
Scalable Machine with Consistent, Reliable Testing Capabilities “Because of the path planning and motion control, this ma-
chine is greatly improved over other inspection equipment,” said Cooper. Te new squirter-based machine can perform scans accurately and quickly with complete part coverage. “We
The vacuum generator from Rexroth helps improve the quality of the ultrasonic scans.
can scan parts at about 25 ips [635 mm/sec], which increases our speed and output,” said Cooper. Because the programming, soſtware and mechanics are
configurable, the machine can easily accommodate a variety of parts from the same customer; before, customers had to order separate, custom-built systems to inspect each individual part. Te AG2’s functionality extends its usefulness and significant- ly reduces the cost of ownership for customers. MNDT is currently working on the next set of improve-
ments for the scanner, by designing an interface to simplify the machine’s operation even further. MNDT engineers are currently integrating a CAD file importing feature to allow for automatic motion path planning. “Te machine is specifically designed so users can update new part sets easily,” said Coo- per. “We want operators to be able to simply log in and create their own scan plans.” ✈
Article edited by Yearbook Editor Michael Anderson from information provided by Bosch Rexroth.
Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing 2013 81
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256 |
Page 257 |
Page 258 |
Page 259 |
Page 260 |
Page 261 |
Page 262 |
Page 263 |
Page 264 |
Page 265 |
Page 266 |
Page 267 |
Page 268 |
Page 269 |
Page 270 |
Page 271 |
Page 272 |
Page 273 |
Page 274 |
Page 275 |
Page 276 |
Page 277 |
Page 278 |
Page 279 |
Page 280 |
Page 281 |
Page 282 |
Page 283 |
Page 284 |
Page 285 |
Page 286 |
Page 287 |
Page 288 |
Page 289 |
Page 290 |
Page 291 |
Page 292 |
Page 293 |
Page 294 |
Page 295 |
Page 296 |
Page 297 |
Page 298 |
Page 299 |
Page 300 |
Page 301 |
Page 302 |
Page 303 |
Page 304 |
Page 305 |
Page 306 |
Page 307 |
Page 308 |
Page 309 |
Page 310 |
Page 311 |
Page 312 |
Page 313 |
Page 314 |
Page 315 |
Page 316 |
Page 317 |
Page 318 |
Page 319 |
Page 320 |
Page 321 |
Page 322 |
Page 323 |
Page 324 |
Page 325 |
Page 326 |
Page 327 |
Page 328