Aerospace Companies Flying High With 3D Laser Trackers

Image Source: FARO

In aerospace — whether that's space travel, turboprop or jet manufacturing — a defect, mismeasurement, or slight error can be the difference between a successful launch and mission failure. It's because of this that aerospace companies have the most stringent requirements for quality and dimensional accuracy.

Manufacturing aerospace parts that have such a high quality requirement is extremely challenging. With traditional post-machining inspections, many of these parts may have to be completely scrapped or reworked. This scrap and rework can lead to wasted material, production line halts, and supply chain issues for both the OEM and connected suppliers. In the end, this will lead to increased cost and delayed programs, results that are unacceptable for any market leader.

One way to greatly relieve these issues is to use portable metrology equipment such as laser trackers, CMM arms, and 3D metrology software. The equipment can be used to quickly inspect first articles, check pre-machined dimensions, and position the rough part to help ensure the machining will run smoothly — preventing the waste of material, energy and time.

Many aerospace parts are large. Because of this, the machining time for these parts is very high and the rework time can be very large. To minimize rework time, many operators will use 3D laser trackers and metrology software to verify the quality of the part during the machining process. This is a huge benefit, because it allows manufacturers to identify issues as they arise — ensuring that the operator can rework the part earlier and faster, plus ensuring the quality of the part when it's pulled off the machine. Due to the high accuracy requirements and large part size, in-process verification like this is easiest when it's done with high-quality 3D laser trackers.

According to a recent case study, one aerospace company found that its quality control workflow could be performed "twice as fast" with 3D laser trackers and metrology software when compared to doing the job without it.

Finally, the machining equipment can also be calibrated using laser trackers. The laser tracker can measure the actual machine position versus the intended position over the full machine travel; this information can then be used to adjust machining parameters for more precise manufacturing. This will help improve the quality of future machined parts, reducing cost and schedule overruns.

After machining, assembling the parts into a final craft can be even more challenging because minor misalignments can lead to critical defects. This is an area where portable metrology solutions — including laser trackers and portable CMM arms — can be extremely powerful. To maximize production and minimize waste, aerospace organizations use these metrology solutions to measure the assembly quality and adjust it with real-time feedback from the metrology software. With this process, the operator can be certain that the final assembly will have the right dimension and they won't have to rework it later. And when paired with powerful software with automation capabilities, this even allows operators at varied skill levels to feel confident in the execution of their tasks.

This shows how and why 3D laser trackers and metrology software are absolutely essential to the success of aerospace companies — both by ensuring quality meets the highest standards and also by using smarter tools to eliminate wasteful time, scrap and supply chain issues.

However, for an organization to successfully implement laser trackers in its process, there are a few essential requirements. OEMs should take all of these into consideration when updating and optimizing their workflows.

Image Source: FARO

Important aspects of a 3D laser tracker solution for aerospace workflows:

Image Source: FARO

Ultimately, 3D laser trackers are incredible tools that can be implemented into aerospace workflows. They provide both human-level benefits — by ensuring the utmost level of quality was used on the manufacturing floor — and organizational benefits — by maximizing timesavings and minimizing scrap, rework and wasted materials. Plus, as the world continues to innovate toward zero carbon emissions, efficient technologies like laser trackers are one way the aerospace industry can help do its part in achieving that goal.

Leo Martinez, product manager, FARO. For more information, email [email protected] or visit www.faro.com.