WICHITA, Kan.,
July 19, 2018
/PRNewswire/ -- Spirit AeroSystems today announced its
engineers have combined a wide range of robotics
hardware and software technologies to meet the complex needs
of inspecting the company's composite aerospace components such as
fuselages, wings and substructures.
"Typically, inspections for meeting customer requirements
have been done by large, fixed systems that are difficult to adapt
to new applications," said Dan
Caughran, Spirit vice president, Global Quality. "Our
new approach is built around two industrial robots that can
interchange among seven different sensors and multiple inspection
methods. In short, had this technology not been available, we
would have had to rely on solutions of far less flexibility and
roughly twice the cost."
"Either cooperatively or independently, the robots
automatically inspect complex composite parts up to 200 feet long,
dramatically reducing the time required for inspection – sometimes
up to 40 percent faster," said Mike
Grosser, Spirit's lead non destructive inspection (NDI)
engineer. "Analysis of the results is achieved through
advanced phased array digital signal processing, which can be
automated through machine learning."
Spirit is implementing the new robotic NDI technology at
its headquarters location in Wichita,
Kan., and plans to use similar technology at its Prestwick,
Scotland, facility. Spirit
engineers are also investigating and applying robotics technology
for other manufacturing applications where flexible automation is
required, such as machining, sealing and material
handling.
On the web: www.spiritaero.com
On Twitter: @SpiritAero
About Spirit
AeroSystems
Spirit AeroSystems designs
and builds aerostructures for both commercial and defense
customers. With headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, Spirit operates sites in the
U.S., U.K., France and Malaysia. The company's
core products include fuselages, pylons, nacelles and wing
components for the world's premier aircraft. Spirit
AeroSystems focuses on affordable, innovative composite
and aluminum manufacturing solutions to support customers around
the globe. More information is available
at www.spiritaero.com.
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SOURCE Spirit AeroSystems Inc.