Innovative inspection options for 3D-printed aerospace parts

Goodbye to scrap Researchers demonstrate robotic system for quality assurance in 3D printing

2024-10-01 Source: Fraunhofer-IPA | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

Additive manufacturing offers designers maximum freedom. This makes it possible to produce bionic components, for example for aircraft construction. Now, there is also the necessary means of control...

Without efficient quality control, even the most productive manufacturing process is of no use. In the field of additive manufacturing, it is said that the Fraunhofer-IPA has now created a corresponding robot-assisted system that makes life easier for aircraft manufacturers.(Image: Fraunhofer-IPA / R. Bez) — Without efficient quality control, even the most productive manufacturing process is of no use. In the field of additive manufacturing, it is said that the Fraunhofer-IPA has now created a corresponding robot-assisted system that makes life easier for aircraft manufacturers.
(Image: Fraunhofer-IPA / R. Bez)

Manufacturing aviation components with 3D printing is considered dubious by many, primarily because these parts are often critical to safety. Furthermore, these components must be rigorously inspected before they can be installed in passenger and cargo aircraft, as explained by experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA). Until now, the issue has been that even identical printed parts can have slight differences. As a result, the outcomes of material tests cannot be transferred one hundred percent to similar parts. Traditional destructive testing methods have not been a viable alternative due to their high resource and energy requirements. The same applies to more complex measures, such as X-ray examination. However, this could soon change...

A 6-axis robot checks the hardness of 3D-printed parts

In the future, each individual component from the 3D printer could be tested non-destructively. This is possible with a testing method that was trialed in the "Enabl3D" project by Imprintec GmbH, in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Facility for Additive Production Technologies IAPT and Visiconsult GmbH. Quality characteristics are captured through penetration testing, process monitoring, and micro-computed tomography — all performed on the finished component. The entire process is designed to be fast and reliable. As part of a subproject, experts from the Fraunhofer IPA were also brought on board. The goal was to combine the measurement head for automated use with a 6-axis industrial robot. Together with Imprintec, the IPA experts then conducted initial trials and feasibility studies to integrate the measurement head through the robot into mass production.

Initial measurements give researchers a positive outlook

The challenge was that while the measurement system in the testing laboratory is fixed firmly on a table, the use of a robotic arm can introduce inaccuracies. Researchers therefore investigated whether the robot could reach all the desired measurement points on the component and how accurately the measurements could be repeated. The focus was specifically on the positioning capability, the positioning accuracy, and the quality of the measurements. The effort proved worthwhile, as the result, according to participants, was consistently positive. All desired measurement points could be targeted and examined with the robot. Additionally, the quality of the measurements was very good, as emphasized. The deviation was only in the single-digit percentage range, which is considered excellent for a pioneering application.

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