Metrology within the Aerospace, Airfoil, IGT, and Power Generation Industries

Utilizing: ATOS 3D Scanners, TRITOP Photogrammetry, Software, and/or Automation

When building aircrafts for the commercial, defense, and space industries, the manufacturing is a labor intensive process which requires the capability to measure large structures quickly for fit, form, and dimensional validation accuracy. Turbine engines and sub-components, such as turbine blades, blisks, stators, etc., require a high level of accuracy at rapid speeds especially during inline production. In order to reach these goals, companies are utilizing Capture 3D metrology solutions for various applications inside these industries.

Some examples include:

Design
Analysis
Production
MRO (Maintence, Repair & Overhaul)
Related Case Studies

Design

	Design / Re-creation of Components Quickly scan components and generate an accurate 3D digital definition to support CAD model creation, documentation of design iterations, and archive “as manufactured” condition.
	“As Manufactured” Digital Assembly Shown is a 22 foot rotor assembly scan. Rapidly measure complex assemblies for accurate fitment, dimensional, CFD and FEA analysis.
	Rapid Capture of Complex Shaped Components Scan complex and intricate shaped components quickly and easily without costly fixturing set-ups. Having accurate and high resolution scan data allows for faster downstream processing.
	Small Parts Scan The ATOS 3D scanner’s ability to be configured to various size measuring volumes supports the precise scan capture of very small features such as edges, fillets, and rounds.
	Extra Large Parts Scan Measure large turbine buckets, casings, to full size airplanes while maintaining a high level of data accuracy. ATOS system flexibility supports extra small to extra large scan projects.

Analysis

	CFD/FEA Analysis Accurate scan data allows for easier and faster Computational Fluid Dynamics and/or Finite Element Analysis to assist with performance improvements.
	3D First Article Inspection Automatically compare your part’s scan data to the CAD model with an easy to interpret visual 3D color inspection map. Instantly see where the problematic areas exist.
	Dimensional Analysis (2D) Compare “as manufactured” part scan data to 2D drawings for inspection analysis.
	Ceramic Cores Analysis Inspect core dimensions, shrink rates, trip strips, and blisters to tooling to effectively modify molds/tooling for accurate part manufacturing.
	Turbulator Measurements Receive more thorough information in the fraction of the time compared to a CMM. Scan complex and small turbulator features. Measure tight areas between blades.
	Reduce Tool Tryout Minimize the number of iterations and tool tuning loops by viewing an ATOS color map inspection report. Identify problem areas and understand the affects of the corrective action on the entire tool.
	Root Cause Analysis Find solutions to issues by inspecting parts and tooling in each stage of the manufacturing process. Accurate and easy to interrupt color maps support informed corrective action plan.
	Trend Analysis Monitor your manufacturing process in order to depict trends. Applicable to parts, assemblies, fixtures, tooling, etc...
	Wing Analysis Cross-sectional analysis of the wing provides crucial data for aerodynamic engineering.
	Digital Assembly Analysis Accurately compare scanned components and assemblies vs. CAD. Interrogate mating components to solve assembly, form, fit and finish issues.
	Fuselage Analysis Ensure dimensional verification of entire fuselage to ensure fit and form with high resolution 3D scan data.
	Improve Product Performance Measure and calculate both individual and total throat areas. Identify the minimum throat distance between the trailing edge of each vane and the face of the adjacent vane.
	Touch Probe Analysis Enhance non-contact ATOS 3D scanning by adding on a Touch Probe kit to measure hidden features, discreet points, and deep cavities. Probes and adapters are fully customizable.

Production

	Part Verification Fast measurement of simple and complex parts. Robust dimensional inspection reports including cross sections, complex features, surfaces, holes, and edges.
	Coating Thickness Measurements Quickly measure before and after each coating (i.e. thermal barrier coatings) to determine coating thicknesses without destroying parts.
	Production Inspections Measure quantities of parts fast and accurately without operator variability. Achieve even higher volumes with Capture 3D’s automated solutions.
	Impeller Wheel Balancing Scan and calculate center of gravity on castings to position part optimally for “best balanced” machining. Minimize the machining away of material which can be used for future refurbishing and/or balancing.
	Combustor Measurements Rapidly measure entire component and extract feature information such as hole diameters, vectors, and locations automatically.
	Overall System Performance Improvement Create an “as manufactured” digital assembly, instead of CAD nominal. This digital definition can be utilized for overall system performance comparison, analysis and optimizations.
	Part and Tool Wear Trends Identify and document part and tool wear trends. Robust color map deliverable highlights potential problematic areas (out of tolerance conditions, part shrinkage, airfoil twist, and tool/mold wear).
	Direct Milling from ATOS Data Directly mill from ATOS point cloud data to accurately duplicate tooling or repair broken tooling without the time consuming task of creating CAD.
	Simplified Low Cost Fixturing Save time and money by eliminating high precision expensive fixturing. Part position in fixture is not critical providing a simple set-up. Shape and position of part are automatically transformed into a pre-defined coordinate position.
	Aerospace Certified Solutions certified within propulsion/ aerospace companies per VDI standards.